To those of you who are wishing that friends you've lost could be with you or who fear this may bving thoughts your way. Hug your loved ones and family so they know you love them and have warm memories to take with them into 2020. To quote HM the Queen, 2019 seems to have been 'a bumpy year' for many so I hope Christmas is a time to relax, revive, and revitalise so that 2020 will be a happy and loving year for you.
e the last one they will share with dear ones - I know how you feel so I'm sending loving thoughts your way. Hug your loved ones and family so they know you love them and have warm memories to take with them into 2020. To quote HM the Queen, 2019 seems to have been 'a bumpy year' for many so I hope Christmas is a time to relax, revive, and revitalise so that 2020 will be a happy and loving year for you.

sort of lost track of things and Christmas planning / organising seems difficult rather than joyful - but at least today has a happy memory attached to it. Five years ago, I visited the local Cats' Protection rescue centre and was adopted by a tiny bundle of black and white fur. 

Ruby knows that I am heading for London for the Association of Mills and Boon Authors lunch and editorial meetings - she has seen the case being packed and she does not approve. This is her silent 'I will not be moved' protest on my lap!

to give away. It's a 3 in 1 with titles by Kate Hewitt and Nina Milne. Just tell me what book you'll be reading over the weekend - put your answers in the comments below - and I'll get the stars of International Cat Day ie Charlie and Ruby to pick a winner each on Sunday evening - and I'll send the books out to the winners on Monday. Have good weekend. (And check in on The Pink Heart Society Aspiring Authors forum for more of the 12 Points.)

  Happy International Cat Day from Charlie and Ruby - who say Isn't it #International Cat Dat every day?

  Join the Pink  Heart Society Aspiring Authors forum for information and discussion on writing

That's where I'm running the 12 Point Guide Workshop  to mark the publication of the revised and updated edition of the 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance    (An Emerald Guide)  - now available on Amazon   as  both a print book and ebook form.

Also on  Amazon.com


Remember to look for those words: An Emerald Guide to guarantee you have the most recent and up to date edition - other have not been brought up to date,  even if they have the same cover.

Today's topic is FOCUS - tomorrow we'll be looking at SENSUALITY

and towards the pens where she was staying she threw herself at the netting and demanded - loudly to be taken home As we had recently lost out beautiful Maine Coon Flora, we had a large cat shaped hole in our lives and Ruby has helped to fill that - in spite of being about one third the size of Flora.

 She was barely a quarter of the size of Charlie when she arrived, but she made sure he understood that she was the Queen around here.

beautiful! And she has now chosen two winners of the Crime Writer's Casebook so I'll post the winners in a moment - but first some photos to mark Ruby's Coming Home Day.

Ruby is busy celebrating today - it's the anniversary of her arrival here to live with us.

 But she also has a special job to do - to pick the winners of the special Writers Casebook giveaway. She's taking her time picking the treats on each piece of paper with an entry's name on it - but I'll be back when she's made up her mind!

Today is Ruby's 4th birthday.

Well, that's as close as we can get to the likely date, seeing as she was found wandering as a lost stray at about 8 weeks old when we adopted
her from the Cats' Protection League.

 She happily posed for her birthday portrait, but Charlie wasn't interested - wake me when you bring out the birthday treats, he said.

 So Ruby got first go at the special tea - and now is happily snoozing in her favourite spot with her head on the Babe Magnet's feet (rather her than me! But she loves the scent of socks and slippers!)

I'm sure that 2017  has entered a timeslip.  I do not know what has happened to the days or where they've gone. But they seem to be rushing by at a ridiculous rate.  Perhaps it's because of concentration  -  focusing on work in all sorts of ways.  

I'd just got back from the fabulous Writers' Weekend at Fishguard  and I had to start concentrating on the new book. This is the second book in the duo that I've  called   as my working title - The Scandalous O'Sullivan Sisters.  Incidentally I had such a fabulous time at Fishguard that I really didn't want to come home. I just can't wait till the next weekend course I'm running so that I can have all the fun, the laughter - and the fantastic discussions all over again. (More of that in a moment)

More fun - and more great discussions of writing/plots/heroes/heroines  etc  came   when we were  able to enjoy the great company of the fabulous Anne McAllister when  she came to visit us for a weekend while she was in the UK researching her latest book.   Anne was made extra welcome by the cats - Ruby who is always friendly, and, unexpectedly, by Charlie the Maine Coon. Charlie
 is usually a bit  stand-offish when new visitors arrive, but he  took to Anne straight away.   He even decided that he wanted to become a lap cat now that she was here.  Perhaps Anne might have wished that he hadn't felt that way as Charlie is of course a Cat of Large Proportions so he is something of a weight when he is on one's knee!

Now I'm busy again - with that second part of the O'Sullivan Sisters'  story - and planning the next course I'm teaching. This is coming up just before  Easter  and it's  a  weekend with Relax and Write to be held at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester.   It's a new course, aimed at anyone writing fiction - and hopefully dealing with the  problems that so many people meet when trying to write a novel.
Things like:
 Show don’t tell

- but I managed to persuade him -
special person who needs an extra treat this Christmas - and she has picked  a lady nominated by your friend Gillian on Facebook.  I think she's made a good choice as this lady has  had a some sad times this year.  A gift package has gone out to her.

nd c. As a treat!)

Today is ‪#‎blackcatappreciationday‬ but Ruby says you can appreciate the white bits of her as well as the black And yes, she knows she's beautiful

She's also very good at providing post  pics to keep the blog going while I focus hard on Imogen  and Raoul. She doesn't mind that they have so much of my attention right now, so long as her dinner bowl is regularly filled and she can snuggle up at night.

For now, the sun is shining and she wants to be outside all day long anyway.

Oh Ruby - what are you looking at  so intently?



- I'm looking at Charlie in the tree and wondering just how he got up there.

I was far more worried that he wouldn't get down and we'd have to call the fire brigade - but luckily he managed it fine.

Trouble is - Ruby is now trying to reach his perch in the crab apple tree!

Lovely Lola

This  Sunday being Father's Day, we  enjoyed the company of The Offspring and his Lovely Fiancée.

And the beautiful  grand-dog, Lola  the golden retriever.   Lola was a very cute puppy,  and she has grown into a very beautiful  nine month old dog.   She is one of those very pale golden dogs - more a blonde, and at times almost white.  (Though not when she has been to the beach or the woods because then she is really mainly mud!)

Thanks to the Lovely Fiancée, she is also a very well-behaved creature, so she's a delight to have around.

And what about our cats? How did they cope? Well, Lola lives with six cats so she is used to felines, and she is very sensible and well-behaved around them. She's also (even more sensibly) very respectful to Charlie, recognising that he is the Alpha Cat in the household. This was her third visit to stay overnight and it seems that Charlie has just about come to accept her. No great friendship there, but he'll tolerate her.

Almost there!

So long as everyone accepts that he is the most beautiful creature in the house.  Which of course he is.

And Ruby? She's taking a bit longer to come round - but then she's only half the size of Charlie, so Lola must seem very imposing to her.  It'll take another couple of visits I think - but she'll get there.

Lola likes cats so much, she'll wait.

I have been sent books to read and judge for the Romance Writers of America   Awards.  I have a selection of different romance genres  and authors. some I know of already, some that are new to me.

I finished one of the books last night. I'm not allowed to say which book or which author  or what I thought of it - but I can tell you that Ruby the cat thought it was a book she really   could get her teeth into.

And this is only the outside back cover.

She really enjoyed the rest of the novel!

I can tell that it's definitely  becoming more autumnal these days. Not just because  the weather is getting
 colder and the evenings darker. Or because the clocks  have to go back very soon, but because of the extra number of jobs I need to do in the garden to take care of the wildlife and birds who live there.

I've just come in from  sorting things out and making sure that everyone is fed and looked after.  The jobs I had to do included:

1.  Putting down clean straw for the hedgehogs to drag into their  hog boxes to make cosy safe nests for the winter.
(We make sure the hedgehogs have these safe dens so that they don't burrow into any prepared bonfire planned for Bonfire Night)
2.  Clean the water bowl and refill it with fresh water. (The Hecks seem to have been washing their paws in it or something to make it so muddy!)
3.  Clean the plate and replenish it with special hedgehog crunchies for nourishment for the hogs so that they don;t have to go too far in the cold nights to forage for food.  We know there is one very small hedgehog there who will need to be well nourished so that he can be  string enough for a winter's hibernation.
4. Clean the bird bath, disinfect it and fill it with clean water
5. Clean the bird table and disinfect it - apparently too many birds are being killed by germs in the actual bird tables etc.
6. Put out suet cakes and fat balls for the birds who prefer to feed higher up
7. Soak the mealworms in  warm water to make them more enticing to birds (and the hedgehogs if they want some!)
8.  Put seeds and nuts in the ground feeder for birds like robins etc who prefer to feed on the ground.
9. Drain the soaked mealworms  and put them into a ground placed feeder.
10. Put some peanuts out for the mother and baby squirrel who would otherwise steal seeds
etc from the birds.

Phew!

Then I came indoors to feed the cats to make sure they didn't  ruin my good work by taking over the bird table as Charlie used to do! (He's a bit too big to do this now  - but  Ruby can still fit on to the bird table with ease>)