Harry Potter Blogfest and some Benson stuff.

Greetings everyone!




Today is the day for the Harry Potter Blogfest hosted by the fabulous Michael at In Time The rules are:

"It's quite simple. All you have to do is choose which two characters would be YOUR best mates at Hogwarts. You can use any student characters from any book."

I had to think hard about this - the rules say 'student characters' which I have done - however I also think that as I am over 40 (!) I may also be chums with professors, such as Aurora Sinistra (Astronomy) and the awesome Professor Sprout (Herbology) and I also have a soft spot for Filius Fltwick, Charms Professor, as my Mum taught Warwick Davies (the actor who plays him in the films) when he was but an Ewok in Star Wars. I digress...here's my entry:

I come from a family of chaotic nutters, so I would feel right at home with the Weasleys and the Lovegoods. I'm a girly girl so, even though I'd get on with some of the boys, my two best chums would be Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood. Ginny would keep any unwanted attention at bay with her famous bat-bogey hexes. Luna scares folk with tales of Nargles and my own magic would be food related – I'd pass on my Singing Cheese Puffs: delicious and light Cheddar squeezes, which imbue the muncher with the voice of either a soprano or barritone for at least twenty minutes. We'd be a trio to be reckoned with; homework would be in on time with pretty good marks and we'd all adore Neville Longbottom. I'd fly my broomstick for fun as opposed to competitive Ginny, and Luna and I would support her with all our might. Ginny and I would perform a forked approach with spells with more flair than harm on those who steal Luna's shoes each term. I'd enjoy sleepovers especially at the Weasleys as I have a little crush on older brother Charlie.

So there it is - I think I'd live somewhere just off Diagon Alley, who wouldn't? (I was born in a London Borough) and would grow up to be something in the Ministry of Magic Food. Do check out the other entries by clicking on Michael's link above.

Other...

Blogging and commenting is a little erratic for the time being as we have family needs and concerns right now. I do read as many posts as possible - please bear with me, I'll be back to a 'normal' blogging regime asap. Thank you for your patience and indulgence.

Have a wonderful Wednesday x

Friday Book Blurb....

Greetings everyone!

Apologies for going AWOL this week, especially after all your generous comments for my 200 followers (lost one, gained one...but hey!) and Crusade challenge, wasn't that a hoot? The B houesehold is in upheaval (in a good but madly upheavable way) and I am flummoxed as to how it's Friday AGAIN!!

Anyhoooo....for this week's book blurb, curtesy of Lisa Ricard Claro of Writing In The Buff Every Thursday evening she posts a picture representing the cover of a book. In 150 words or less (the length of the average book blurb) you write the blurb that you think belongs on the back of the book. You create the story, decide the genre, fiction or non, etc.

Here's mine, I've attempted my own genre this week - do pop in to the other entries, it's amazing to read everyone's take on just one piccie (clicky Lisa's link above)



Suite Surrender

Hotelier Carrie Fitzpaine is in trouble. Her dreams of owning the luxury hotel with husband Hugh are in ruins after he ruthlessly betrays her. The costly refurbishment has taken every last penny and if the Summer visitors don't arrive soon, Carrie will have to close the doors of Bertram Beeches.

Her new cocktail bar manager, Jack 'Gin' Staple, has a plan that he believes will save the both the hotel and Carrie's fortunes. Can the pair of them pull it off? Or is Jack's outrageous idea purely mixing her business with his pleasure?

Word count 98 including title

So, would you buy the book, send chocolates....or simply vomit? I may have to write this one! Did you notice my homage to Agatha Christie?

I PROMISE to catch up somewhat over the weekend :-) Lovely Yous x

Edited to add..Hmmm...not sure how this posted when it was still Thurs but I'll blame sunspots...full moon...David Cameron....

The 200 followers WINNER! Plus Crusade Challenge #2

Greetings everyone!

Thank you all so much for dropping by, commenting and following...we've done it and hit 200....yippeee!!

I loved reading everyone's first lines, some I knew, some I have popped on my TBR list and some were also my favourites. We had everything covered from Dickens to Qwilleran and I thank you all so much for participating. I put all your names into random.org and out came....Michael Di Gesu at In Time as the winner! Congratulations Michael, the books will be winging their way to you pronto!

MrB is also hosting a 200 follower giveaway of a couple of excellent reads, so do drop in to Fireside Park and say hello over there.

Now for the 2nd Crusade challenge....

Write a flash fiction story (in any format) in 100 words or less, excluding the title. Begin the story with the words, “The goldfish bowl teetered” These four words will be included in the word count.

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional, and not part of the judging criteria), see if you can write the story in your own genre (eg if you’re a horror writer, write a horror story; a romance writer, a romance story, etc).

I've attempted to stay in my Romance genre for this one - do check out the other entries at Rach Writes

The goldfish bowl teetered for a moment as Adrian's overcoat brushed the delicate hall table. His hands shot out to steady both the mock Chippendale and ornament, he laughed when they were stable once more. He looked down at the crudely painted green glass with the copper foil depiction of Pisces; two anatomically impossible marine creatures coupled, if one chose to look closely, in an act Adrian didn't believe fish capable of. He loathed the ghastly gift but Miranda loved it – and he loved her.

Crumbs! Is it only Monday?....We're decorating and we've already had pussycat paws in the white gloss windowsill :-)

Friday Book Blurb, awards and happy things!

Greetings everyone!

Yay for Friday!

So to this week's Book Blurb courtesy of Lisa Ricard Claro of Writing In The Buff. Every Thursday evening she posts a picture representing the cover of a book. In 150 words or less (the length of the average book blurb) you write the blurb that you think belongs on the back of the book. You create the story, decide the genre, fiction or non, etc.
I am SO enjoying this meme.



Bar Bar Bijou

Twelve tales revolving around the exclusive nightclub in the heart of London's Mayfair; where no newspaper reporter has ever been granted entry. Celebrities, models, politicians and royals enjoy VIP treatment, secret assignations and the club's famous Bijou Blaster cocktails.

We meet Viscount Bosworth, middle-aged playboy, attempting to make money from his royal name. Dame Violetta Bungalow, the club's outrageous MC and choreographer of the all male Delicious Ducks dance troupe. The mysterious Leela Blue, a shy waitress who isn't all she seems and many more colourful and complex characters, whose lives are entwined with those of the notorious club. Overseeing his phenominal enterprise is the elusive Mr Zedepe, the black-gloved, rarely seen owner of Bar Bar Bijou.

Word count 110




The lovely Lynn at Present Letters has awarded me this fabulous award - isn't it gorgeous? I shall 'do' the tasks and the passing on next week but I wanted to say a huge Thank You!

200 Followers Giveaway

Don't forget my great giveaway of two fun novels when I reach the magic number, which is creeping ever closer. I'd be chuffed to pieces if any of you wish to give it a shout out on your own blogs :-) Please pop HERE for the full post and info. There are some wonderful entries so far...

Enjoy the weekend, lovelies x

Integrity Haiku and the 200 followers giveaway!

Greetings everyone!



The theme this week is Integrity

Open honesty
Within the planes of pure thought
Forever truthful

Japan is in my mind with this one:

Unbreachable fort
Shattered by nature's fury
The planet in fear

Do clicky the banner to read the other entries over at Jenn's blog.

I'm almost at 200 followers! Thank you all so much for the support, encouragement and comments. I had a giveaway planned for 100 but with the Crusade and a couple of blogfests, the numbers shot up so quickly that I missed the landmark in a flurry of new friends - I'm thrilled to pieces!

To say thank you, I'd like to giveaway a couple of brand new copies of books that I adore.



Chloë by Freya North is my 'go to' read when I'm feeling down or ill. The blurb says:

When Chloë Cadwallader's beloved godmother Jocelyn dies, she leaves Chloë a letter instructing her to give up her job (lousy) and her boyfriend (awful) to travel the four countries of the United Kingdom during the four seasons of the year. As the seasons unfold, so too does Chloë's journey. From Abergavenny to St Ives, from the Giant's Causeway to the shores of Loch Lomond, join her as she discovers love, lust, life - and a man for each season.



Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen is delightful and enchanting. The blurb:

Welcome to Bascom, North Carolina, where it seems that everyone has a story to tell about the Waverley women. The house that’s been in the family for generations, the walled garden that mysteriously blooms year round, the rumours of dangerous loves and tragic passions. Every Waverley woman is somehow touched by magic.

Claire has always clung to the Waverleys’ roots, tending the enchanted soil in the family garden from which she makes her sought-after delicacies – famed and feared for their curious effects. She has everything she thinks she needs – until one day she waked to find a stranger has moved in next door and a vine of ivy has crept into her garden . . .

Claire’s carefully tended life is about to run gloriously out of control.

I love both of these stories and hope you will too! All you have to do to win them is:

1 Follow this blog
2 Post in the comments box your favourite opening line of any book.

That's all! I'm excited to read all your favourite first lines and to share them here. I shall draw a name with random.org when I reach the magic 200 and will ship anywhere.

Feel free to spread the word on your own blogs :-)

Finally...



I am very happy to have received this award from none other than my beloved MrB, Tony Benson at Fireside Park. We rarely visit each other's blogs as that would be twee in the extreme! We are, though, best friends and love sharing our writing hours together with our two cats.

Have a wonderful Wednesday you gorgeous bunch x

Broken Hearts Blogfest

Greetings everyone!

I know you will all be with me in continuing to send all hope to Japan and those caught up in the terrible events of the weekend.



Dawn Embers at It's in the Book is hosting this blogfest from today until the 15th March. She says, "Show us the wretched emotions, the anger, depression, fear, whatever happens after the happy honeymooon lovey-dove V-day stuff is over and all that is left is a broken heart."

Here's mine:

Athena held her breath; the paper thin, romantic shape before her, so fragile, so brittle, slipped next to the forty-seven identical royal icing forms layered millimetre to millimetre, like a military manouvre. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Only three more to place. This masterpiece was her most ambitious yet. Deep red, slashed with gold leaf – is it a monogram? Or something, as Athena hoped, more subtle, classy - after all, less is more.

Fifty sugared perfections were waiting with expectation on glossy protective paper, befitting their status as the stars of the exhibit. Athena spoke gently as number forty-eight tilted exactly where she had dreamed. Her silver tongs reached for forty-nine.

Her mind drifted to the celebrity couple who would be photographed smiling, decorative blade in place, making their wishes in return for a million pounds. A spokeswoman had chosen the design. Would they even know, or care, that inside was a real cake? South American cocoa, brandy soaked fruit, organic, of course. Athena tried to envisage the skeletal diva licking flakes of golden chocolate from those enhanced lips.

Snap!

Athena swallowed. She felt a prickling in her armpits and a gauze over her vision. No! She swayed. No! The tongs held the evidence, two parts held only by the squeezing of her hand on the metal. No time – number forty-nine, both halves dropped into postion. Athena slotted the jagged edges together. Almost invisible...what else? She reached for number fifty, perfect. Or could she just make out the hairline fissure beneath? A wave of couverture sprinkles made the design more haphazard than she had wanted, but Athena was saved.

The media exploded with the demise of the glittering marriage six months later. Her heart was broken, she said.


I almost wrote of my teenage heartbreak when Trevor Burden didn't want to dance with me, but you guys know that any food related writing wins the day! Do pop over and check out the other entries.

Onward to the week ahead.....

Friday Book Blurb

Greeting everyone!

How did it get to be Friday already? I had so much planned for my blog this week....ah, well!

So to this week's Book Blurb courtesy of Lisa Ricard Claro of Writing In The Buff. Every Thursday evening she posts a picture representing the cover of a book. In 150 words or less (the length of the average book blurb) you write the blurb that you think belongs on the back of the book. You create the story, decide the genre, fiction or non, etc.



The Field of the Four Winds

When Lady Elizabeth Fotheringay – Fairfax is thrown from her horse, her family's tenant farmer, the mysterious Martin Bellbrook comes to her rescue. His refined manners and gentle voice inspire Lady Elizabeth's curiousity and she intends to find out more about the handsome neighbour.

Her suspicions grow after she visits his farm with a token of thanks and sees him striding toward the spinney on his land. Thinking she will catch up with him in the sunny meadow beyond, she is alarmed to hear him shouting in a strange tongue, seemingly to no-one.

The discovery plunges Lady Elizabeth into a world far removed from her own 18th Century upringing and she has only the resources of her sheltered life to help her.

Word count 122

Do join me in reading the other entries and seeing all the different takes on the picture, which, by the way, is taken by Lisa's talented daughter, Christina.



I am so thrilled to receive this gorgeous award from Michael Di Gesu at In Time. Michael, you a wonderful blogger chum and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.


Have a fabulous friday x

Haiku Hopes

Greetings everyone!



The theme this week is Hope. Just click the banner to pop over to Jenn's blog and read the other entries.

A new parent's wish
In a world full of turmoil
Long, peaceful living.

First romantic dates
Hope over expectation
Will he be the one?

Waving a big Hello to you all. Welcome to my new followers - I promise to nip over to your blogs asap. It's a busy time right now with non-writing life.....and it's only Wednesday!

Have a lovely day x

Friday Book Blurb

Greetings everyone!

First of all, thank you so much for all the kind comments on my first guest posting over with Charity Bradford at My Inner Journey and Rosie Connolly at East For Green Eyes. There was a little time blip but I hope you managed to find me! You are all gloriously kind.

Now....Book Blurb Friday

This is a new meme from Lisa Ricard Claro at Writing In The Buff. She says:

Every Thursday evening I'll post a photo that we'll pretend is the cover of a book. In 150 words or less (length of the average book blurb) write the blurb that you think belongs on the back of the book. You create the story, decide the genre, fiction or non, etc.

So, for today...



Seven Days

Mimi is the beloved feline companion of Fenhanna of Chilraith. When Fenhanna accidently uncovers the secrets of the library of Raith-Tor the sinister Bitulet holds her in a suspension enchantment.

Before Fenhanna's mind is locked away she casts a powerful spell changing Mimi into a woman in the hope that she can find Linguaro the legendary master of words, the only one who can save her and the future of language.

Mimi has to adjust to living as a human and is thrust into a dangerous world of distrust, magic and terror. She has to rely on all her cunning and charm to save her lifelong friend. There is no time to lose, the spell only lasts for seven days.....

Word count 122

Do go and check out the other entries by clicking Lisa's link above. That was fun!

Enjoy your Friday x

Guest Posting, Fantasy Haiku and Book Blurb

Greetings everyone!

Today I am guest posting about short stories over with Charity Bradford at My Inner Journey which will be linked to Rosie Connolly at East For Green Eyes so do pop over if you can, it'll be lovely to see you there. Charity is on EST for all of you visiting from the UK.

Now the Haiku:



The theme this week is Fantasy
Do click the banner to read the other entries over at Jenn's blog.

In my childhood dreams
Loving David Cassidy
Winning an Oscar

Mythical pathways
Leading towards fairyland
Home of my Mother

Elves in my garden
Brave dragons in the woodland
Jewelled raven wings

Lisa Ricard Claro at Writing In The Buff has a great new meme starting this Friday, 4th March. She says:

Every Thursday evening I'll post a photo that we'll pretend is the cover of a book. In 150 words or less (length of the average book blurb) write the blurb that you think belongs on the back of the book. You create the story, decide the genre, fiction or non, etc.

Sounds fun! Here's a taster for this coming Friday.



I'm feeling super stylish as I and other crusaders sharing groups with Deniz Bevan have been awarded The Stylish Blogger Award....yay! Thank you, thank you!

Finally (phew!) I'm both thrilled and flummoxed to be a finalist in the #1 Crusader challenge!

Have a wonderful Wednesday x