Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

Yes, yes, it's Christmas - Tree. Part Two

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So, anyway, I got him home (Mr Tree, that is), suggested he slip into something more comfortable, we had a discussion about how much he'd like off the top (I swear EVERY YEAR they grow a foot taller between the Christmas Tree Farm and my lounge), and then I judiciously wielded the lopper.

I gave him a drink. He began to relax. Started to look, oh, you know, a bit Bob Geldorf.



So that's when daughter and I really went to work on him.

And see? They can be taught!
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Yes, yes, it's Christmas - Tree. Part One.

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Yes, well, it apparently wasn't enough to admit that Christmas might just be approaching. I have to actually do something about it.

So the car and I went out - in the rain - to interview applicants for this year's post.

This chap seemed to have the right qualifications. Tall, strong, the right shade of green. Not so opulent around the mid-section that we'd have to be edging past him for the next couple of weeks.

No conversation, though. I mean, he just sat there in the passenger seat all the way home without saying a word. Possibly he didn't want to distract me from calculating safe braking distances on a wet surface.
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2009 Romantic Novel of the Year Longlist

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As an early Christmas present to all those authors on it - the longlist for the 2009 Romantic Novel of the Year has just been announced

Congratulations to the 22 who have got this far - only a month until we know who's made it to the shortlist

And a month after that it will be the Awards Lunch - the posh frocks, the sparkle, the food, the wine, the ambience...
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Oh, all right, it's Christmas

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All right, I give in. It's Christmas.

I got an inkling of this when the Romantic Novelists' Association Cambridge Chapter (small but perfectly formed) met for our bi-monthly lunch and discovered Roast Turkey With All The Trimmings chalked up on the blackboard menu.
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We celebrated Judith Lennox's news that one of her German editions had sold 25,000 copies in the first ten days after publication and Louise Allen having pressed the send button just that morning to dispatch her 30th title to HM&B. In addition, Judith was within two pages of finishing her next book (each one takes her 18 months!!!) and Mary Nichols had also delivered a manuscript within the last week.

It was a lovely, chatty meeting (so much so that Judith and Mary left with about 90 seconds to catch their train) and we drank to those of us who unfortunately couldn't be there due to illness / dead cars / deadlines / work.

So, from the RNA Cambridge Chapter to you:

CHEERS and HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!
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What blog am I?

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I found this link on Liz Fielding's blog, and couldn't resist giving it a try.

Apparently, this blog persona is....

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

They enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

So, now I know!