Di Jones's Blog, page 2
November 28, 2013
Thanksgiving Giving
28 November 2013
Here in New Zealand we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but every year I think back to the days growing up in North America when my family did. Despite the fact I now live thousands of miles away, and my parents are gone, the day still has special meaning for me and I reflect on all I am thankful for. The only problems in my life are first world problems, and I know I’m blessed to be in that position.
One of the things I’ve been particularly grateful for in the past few years is t...
September 23, 2013
A Little Help From My Friends
22nd September 2013
Was the Beatles song that inspired the title of this post really released as far back as 1967? It sounds prehistoric and yet the lyrics and the sentiments behind them are as relevant today as they were back then. We all want someone to love, and we all want – or at least appreciate – a little help from our friends.
I released my second novel Meeting Miss Mollie last year, and up until this point it hasn’t had any publicity, any fanfare, or shouting. The novel is the story of...
April 20, 2013
Farewell To My Friend
21 April 2013
On Friday I said goodbye to Bronson, my friend and companion. I had forgotten how hard grief is, how heavy your heart feels in your chest, how every breath is slow and ponderous, and how the world feels harsh and intrusive in its very ordinariness. Everything looks the same, but somehow you feel isolated and apart from it, not quite comfortable in your own skin. Life isn’t the same without your best mate beside you.
I got Bronson when I was grieving the death of my father, and eve...
April 15, 2013
On Tour with Transplanting Holly Oakwood
15 April 2013
I’m pleased to announce my first ever blog tour, for my first ever novel, Transplanting Holly Oakwood. Organised by the lovely Samantha March of ChickLitPlus, the tour starts today and runs through until the 6th of May.
Everyone who leaves a comment on the tour page at CLP Blog Tours will be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift card! And anyone who purchases their copy ofTransplanting Holly Oakwoodbefore May 6 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, will get f...
March 5, 2013
Love My Liebster
6 March 2013
The dynamic Donna Joy Usher has nominated me for the Liebster Award, a blog award that’s been doing the rounds for some years now. Acceptance of the Award means you have to tell 11 random facts about yourself, answer a number of questions about yourself set by the person who nominated you, and then recommend others whose blogs you should read.
In the interests of brevity I’m going to do a shortened version of these instructions, but first I’m going to tell you a bit about Donna.
Don...
February 11, 2013
Can’t Buy Me Love
12 February 2013
Fine wines. Gold and diamonds. Red roses. Swiss chocolates. If you are the male of the species and you haven’t considered buying your partner one of the above, or a close variation, you might be in trouble with the woman in your life.
But maybe you’re tired of the usual spin on Valentine’s Day?
Perhaps you’re alone. No one to send you a card or red roses, and you’re sick of being left out?
Or maybe you just don’t like the commercial nature of the holiday? After all, who in their...
December 18, 2012
A Kiwi Christmas Present
18 December 2012
After so many years in New Zealand, I still find Christmas a little, well, odd. It’s not that the Christmas spirit isn’t alive and well here, but somehow spending Christmas on the beach still doesn’t feel quite right. The idea of being wrapped up in warm clothes, drinking mulled wine while looking out the window at carollers in the snow, seems more normal.
New Zealand is the first place in the world to usher in Christmas, and you have to feel sorry for Santa leaving the Pole an...
November 7, 2012
Authors Tagging Authors
8 November 2012
I was thrilled to hear the news that the super-talented Donna Joy Usher has tagged me for the next big thing – Authors Tagging Authors.Donna is the author of The Seven Steps to Closure, and a finalist in the Shirley You Jest! Book Awards.
Here’s how Authors Tagging Authors works:
·You answer a set of questions about your book
·Then post them in your blog
·At the end of the post you nominate 5 authors, and
·They do the same.
So here goes.I’m going to be answering questions about my cu...
August 21, 2012
Good Girls Go To Heaven, Bad Girls Go Everywhere
21 August 2012
Phyllis Diller was to comedy was Helen Gurley Brown was to sex, and in one sad week the world’s lost both of them.
Diller and Gurley Brown were pioneering women of the swinging sixties who spoke their minds – particularly about taboo subjects such as sex and the relationships between men and women. In the forty odd years since both were at the pinnacles of their careers, values have changed, in part due to their influences, but their currency has remained as valid today as ever....
