4/7 Books & Biking!

Couldn’t decide which one so here’s both – you choose!

ISBN

WOW! Has it really been 2 years since my first novel was published?

Today my publisher contacted me because they needed to renew the ISBN for each edition of the book. Although it isn’t a number one best seller I still get people asking where they can buy it. I often just give them one from my stash because then I can sign it, which I know is not good for sales but I still maintain it isn’t about the money it’s about the achievement. I renewed the ISBN’s for both paperback & ebook (not the hardcover) if anyone is still interested in helping out a trashy romance writer. In the meantime I’m working on a novel I wrote about 18 months ago, one that my beta readers say is my best one yet. I would like to follow the traditional route of publishing with this one, but we’ll see. This is not something you can hurry, & I’m willing to be patient & not give up.

Watch this space…

Editing…

Just realized I haven’t posted tonight. I was editing my 3rd novel so that definitely counts as writing – well it will have to for today!

 

Lazy Sunday…

I’ve actually been quite productive today with laundry, grocery shopping & housey stuff, but now I’m suffering from a wine fuelled laziness. Can editing a chapter count as today’s writing please?

Me & my shadow…

Poor Tessy can’t get near me as you can see. Java even pushed younger son off the sofa last night so she could sit next to me. I am clearly her second mum, or maybe I’m just flattering myself & it’s because I’m the only person who defends her highly strung ways – oh, that says a lot about me! In the words of my hubby when he sees her like the picture above, ‘I like it best when it’s like this!’, & I kinda know what he means but she is quite sweet, massive & greedy & drools water everywhere after drinking… but quite sweet really… honest!

On with the editing 🙂

We don’t always need a sequel…

I wrote a sequel to Bruises because it was simply a two-part story, & if I ever have it published readers will discover that it is actually a better book – according to those who have read it of course. Really both books needed to be put out there together but unfortunately that wasn’t possible at the time. I personally think that a lot of the trilogies out there today are dragged out, but people read them. I too am guilty of wasting away hours only to get to the end & think it could have all been packed into one decent sized book. Then, we have all read books that we didn’t want to end & one of my favourites is ‘Me before You’. I re-watched the movie again last week (twice actually because I love it), partly because it had just been released, & partly because I was reading the sequel ‘After you’.

I finished it yesterday & honestly it was a sequel that didn’t need to be written, in my opinion. Moyles should have just left us with the book hangover that we suffered when Me before You ended. Of course we all wanted know that Louisa spread her wings & used the potential that everyone saw, but we didn’t really need to read about it. I kept waiting for it to get going, but the plot was weak till the end. Yes there were a couple of storylines that had the potential to be interesting, but I won’t spoil the surprise in case you want to read it & make your own mind up. However, they became a bit far-fetched & frankly not very believable in the end, & don’t even get me started on the accident at the beginning – that was just stupid.

So why did I read it? I expected more of the same I guess, just different circumstances of course. It lacked the humour & chemistry that you experience between Louisa & Will. It felt like she was milking the previous success by knowing we would read it away, & therefore it didn’t have to be as good. I don’t think she really thought about the plot carefully, resulting in a jumbled up novel of mundane life events & completely ridiculous incidents. Sorry JoJo, you didn’t do it for this time some books just need to stand alone.

We loved it!!

It was a risk we were willing to take because we both loved the book. I knew from the trailers that, for me, the main characters had been cast well. All I could hope was they didn’t mess with the story…

I can remember reading the back of the book when I bought it, intrigued at how a quadriplegic could be the main character of a romance. Of course, it’s that that makes it very poignant, especially in this day & age when the right to die with dignity is frequently debated. I think I should say that although it sounds like we may have sat in the cinema keeping Kleenex in business, we also laughed out loud – & many times. The story is set in England; therefore the very British way of dealing with emotion is to crack jokes, & this is very apparent from beginning to end.

Did they stick to the story? Very much so, however there were some interesting & more realistic events in the book that they chose not to elaborate on, but I think that was just two nurses opinions because we know how important some minor details can be when diagnosing. They did change one thing, that I thought in the book was not right or fair anyway. The movie didn’t very obviously change it, more insinuated & left you to think for yourself – a perfect way of not quite sticking to the story but not changing it outright either.

There were very few dry eyes left by the time Ed Sheeran sung Photograph, a song that would bring anyone to tears if you put into that context, especially if you’ve read the book. By that point the director had moved you so much that you couldn’t help be touched by the heartbreaking reality of the inevitable. Yes it’s sad. Yes it’s heart-rendering. Yes it will upset you. However, it will also liberate any pity you feel for either characters situations, putting many of your own thoughts, feelings, experiences & life into perspective.

It’s well worth seeing, especially for any fan of JoJo Moyles work, but if you haven’t read the book, promise me you’ll do that first?

‘Me before you’!

Yes we are going to see it tonight. My BFF & I have a deal, I bought the tickets & she’s bringing the Kleenex. I LOVE this book so I’m really hoping it lives up to the expectations I have after watching the trailers. I’m not usually a fan of watching a movie after I enjoyed a book so much, so fingers crossed I don’t come out cross. I just know already that my makeup will be ruined…

The parking lot…

You may remember I became the owner of a disabled parking permit a little while ago, something I have been using more than I would have liked due to the ongoing knee saga. The place it is used most is at school. My boys school has no on-site parent parking, only street parking & if you’re feeling cheeky enough, underneath London drugs/IGA is a great spot. Needless to say wherever you park, unless it’s your lucky day for a spot right next to school, you have to walk a couple of blocks.

When I talked to the head of the junior school way back at the end of last year when I had the fixed brace on, about my obvious difficulty in with walking, she arranged for me to use the disabled parking spot in the staff underground parking lot. Now, to give you some idea of what a big deal this is to a random parent at the school, every year they give away one of these spots away in the live auction at the winter gala. The first year we attended the gala that spot – which you can only use for one school year – went for nearly 20 grand! Yes 20 thousands dollars for the privilege of parking your nice shiny Ferrari (because lets face it only someone who could afford fancy wheels would be stupid enough to drop that kind of money on parking it for 10 minutes to pick their kid up!). So as you can imagine when I was given this privilege for free I didn’t advertise the fact.

Now, most mornings I just do drop off outside the front of school, which in itself can be as traumatic as trying to find parking. A local security company controls the ‘flow of traffic’ & takes it a little to literally for my liking because they don’t actually let you stop your vehicle to let your kids get out. They should be thankful I’m not one of those Grade 12 helicopter parents who stop the car right outside the door, physically get out to retrieve their young adult’s’ bag out of the trunk & then watch them go inside! Nope! I’m a terrible mum, I open the automatic door with the flick of a button, bid them a good day, tell them to hurry up, & then quickly move along with the door half open (usually because the security guard is shouting at me for safely allowing my children to leave a STATIONARY vehicle!)

Then there are choir days like today. Younger child & I drop off elder child outside the door at 7.30, but younger child can’t go into his classroom until 8am. So we trundle around to the parking lot & hang out in the car while he does the reading he didn’t have time to do the night before because of field hockey. This is the most interesting time to be in the staff parking lot…

The same people arrive at the same times, park in the same spots, & proceed to follow the same routines. It’s hilarious to watch if someone has taken their spot, which is usually a chain reaction that started with one person parking in a different spot causing everyone else to.

Usually just after we arrive, teacher mum arrives with her 2 kids. Then, one of the kindergarten teachers, who has a great sticker on her rear window ‘Caution! Driver singing!’ She parks up & drops her sun visor down so she can put her face on, she starts with concealer…

Then the office receptionist arrives, she’s the school equivalent of a doctors receptionist but much much nicer & very approachable. She parks, get’s out with 2 bags – her purse & her lunch – then clicks her heels so they echo across the concrete, waves & smiles at us, then disappears up the stairwell. Meanwhile Ms. Kindergarten is applying blusher…

A senior school teacher arrives on his bike & enters the changing room looking like Lance Armstrong & reappears 5 minutes later looking like a Calvin Klein model. Ms. Kindergarten is applying lip gloss…

Various office staff arrive & a grade 5 teacher who also remains in her car enjoys a quiet breakfast while supping a coffee. Then she too applies lip gloss, picks up 3 bags & makes for the stairwell. Ms. Kindergarten has now got out of her car & is changing her comfy Toms for a pair of pumps – todays were sparkly. Then she too picks up 3 bags & heads for the stairwell.

It’s a good job my 7 year old reads very well & is advanced for his age. We have tried to read in the library but he finds it distracting, I actually find it more distracting people watching in the parking lot. I sit there listening to him of course, but I play games with myself, predicting what each person is going to do next – there hours of fun to be had, & it’s important that one finds some entertainment in being at school at 7.30 in the morning!

 

Today I chose to…

• be sensible & rest my poor knee
• do some stretching to help my aching SI joint
• do all the laundry so that tomorrow is free
• practice my bar chords over & over again because I’m going to bloody well nail then if it’s the last thing I do!
• make some cards
• Eat salad for dinner so I can then eat a Hagen Daz ice cream bar & not feel guilty (I am a size 0-2, this is not something I have any business feeling guilty about)
• relax in a hot bath & finish by book!
• Build my Lego

Today was a good day!!