Almost There...

It was a busy weekend, as I was trying to get everything still to do for Serena's website and remaining social media links completed.

Although I published Serena's first proper blog post on Saturday and it could be read via my links, it wasn't showing up on the blog page I'd created. Clearly I hadn't done something I should have and I couldn't see what it was... :(

After consulting fellow writers: Patsy Collins and poet, Liz Brownlee who both have Wordpress sites, I finally found what I needed to do. It did mean changing pages and moving text, but finally this evening everything went where it should- and worked.

Tomorrow I'll start the domain mapping process to apply Serena's domain name - and pay the annual fee for doing so.

Meanwhile, Serena now has a Facebook page to go with the  existing Twitter account...

My pictures from my trip to Bath last year have begun to be helpful. Beside my lady with a fan, you will probably be seeing the dancing figures- these were on the wall in the Fashion Museum and represent the different positions in a dance- sadly I didn't make a note of what the dance was...

All I need now is to get on with the Nottinghamshire novella/potential short novel.

I've probably got another three to four chapters left of my contemporary romance to write, and as soon as that draft is completed, I'll be returning to Hugh and Sarah's historical romance story.

I'm amazed how much I've managed in a little over a week. And now that's done I can concentrate on writing, knowing the support framework is in place and there when I need it...

How to dance...

Have you Been Glomming?

No, it isn't euphemism. :-)

As part of my new regime I've been trying to catch up on all the websites I haven't looked at for months to see what interesting items I've been missing, and this was one of them from www.heroesandheartbreakers.com

If you've found a new to you author, and then started buying all their books . then you've been glomming.

The article above asked who was the first author you glommed?

But I'm going to expand on this, for those slightly older individuals, who like me, started off borrowing book after book from the local library...

I can remember working my way through every Jean Plaidy on the library shelves. It was only a couple of years ago that I discovered my other favourite authors of that time, Victoria Holt, and Philippa Carr, were actually all the same writer!

This article gives a fascinating insight into her books and personal life, read it here.

Obviously my early reading experiences must have sunk in, hence my preference for historical romances.

My reading broadened out, and surprisingly I didn't start reading Georgette Heyer until much later, and while I have a few of her books, there's many I still haven't read.

The next author whose books I bought and avidly read, is M M Kaye. Her book 'The Far Pavillions' went on to be made into a mini-series for television. There's a very interesting piece in the above link about the authors determination to ensure the story was done right, by the right people when the film rights were on offer...

Of her novels my two favourite stories are 'Shadow of the Moon' which centres around the fight for survival (during the Indian Mutiny) of the main protagonists, Alex and Winter.

The other story, 'Trade Wind', whose story takes place in Zanzibar- the hero Rory Frost, is a trader, who pulls the heroine Hero Hollis, (an American) out of the sea after she is swept off the ship she is travelling to Zanzibar on.

And finally from this time period, the Poldark books by Winston Graham. He's probably best known for his Poldark books, but he did so much more, including 'Marnie', the thriller filmed by Alfred Hitchcock. Find out more about Graham here and here.

So those are my first few glomms.

Who were yours?

Deadlines and Decisions...

Over the past few days I've been pondering my Good Housekeeping Novel Competition entry- well my would-be entry that is.

I'm still not happy, and I have to be realistic- as I said last week, I won't submit a sub-standard entry; and at the moment it's not good enough and time is running out- with the closing date the last day of this month, and as entries have to be posted.

 I spent most of February coughing and unable to think due to uncontrolled asthma that had been triggered by the bad chest infection at the end of last year. (I never realised you could develop asthma when you are older.)
I'm still in the process of getting the right inhaler regime for me, but it takes time, and I'm not quite there yet.

I'm not sure how I managed to blog at all last month, considering my brain felt like cotton wool!

In the meantime I still have the rest of the novel to get on with, and that's what I'm going to do for the rest of this year.

As I also have the novella and a few short stories to get on with too, I'm not going to be wasting time.

In a few months I'll be telling you more about the (e-book) anthology in which I have two pieces of flash fiction; one piece under my own name, and the other- historical- under my Serena Lake pen-name.
It's still a work under construction at the moment and I don't yet know the expected date of availability, but when I do, I'll let you know.

And of course, you'll have to meet Serena officially... :-)