I have good news, too!

It's amazing how missing one week can make you feel so out of the loop. I didn't post last Monday. Have been trying hard to finish up a book I'm working on titled, "The Promise." I thought I had one chapter left but that was two chapters ago! Guess my hero and heroine aren't ready to say goodbye yet.

After reading some of your posts I see we all have some good things happening right now. I'd like to share that my latest, "The Cowboy Way", has received 4 great book reviews so far. Whipped Cream gave gave it their Best Book rating, The Romance Studio gave it 5 hearts, Romance Junkies gave it a Blue Ribbon rating of 5 and a 4.5! For some reason they reviewed it twice. Anyway, that's some of my good news.

Did I tell y'all that I'm on nutrisystem? I just started month number two and so far I've been doing pretty good on it. I go to my doctors tomorrow for my yearly body prod and I'm anxious to see how much I've lost. I'm guessing about 10 pounds, hey, I'll take it.

What I like about this program is that I didn't have to give up my chocolate:)

Oh my!

Recently I saw this "reducing" contraption and, let me tell you, I can't get the thing out of my mind. When I do my daily miles on my recumbent cycle I'm very glad we don't live in the "good old days" when ring rollers were in vogue. I thought I'd share this unusual sight with you. Hopefully you'll be as amused as I was!

Happy Friday!

Shadows of the Past

Last week I posted about my latest romantic suspense Shadows of the Past and this week it is sort of connected.

On Tuesday I am having a book launch - now where did that come from? I heard of launching ships but books? How do you launch a book, do I push it off a shelf? I will have to ask JOhn to make me a kind of ramp so it would work really well and slide down smootly. I could then say the first person to catch it keeps it! That would be cool, I mean you can't smash it with a bottle of champagne, think of the ruined pages, and I couldn't do that to champagne either, I mean come on, I rarely get to drink the stuff but I do so love it. I guess the easiest thing would be to hold the book up and then say, "I launch thee onto a reading public," I'll think some more on it and let you know how it goes next week!

The launch is not a some snazzy hotel either. I chose the local, little library near my home. It serves a varied community, much of it social housing (I think you American's call the kind of housing I am thinking about projects). There are lots of older people living there (like me I guess) and the ladies do tend to read and awful lot. Let's face it we were the generation without t.v. and computers, we appreciate the printed page! Then there are young Mums and it would be good if they started to read too, perhaps they already do. But it is a wonderful place that library, serving a hard up community, having computer lessons for the older generation and book readings for toddlers. It is a treasure and that's why I am launching my book there. I love the facility and the people that run it, so there you go - it would be wonderful if you could be there. You might like to think about it, after all what would it cost you - just about a thousand dollars for a flight. Worth it you might think!

Cheers!

Margaret

PS I guess I could give you a blurb too!

"Alva has lost her memory, she can't even remember Conte Luca Mazareeze her husband. The grand palazzo is strange to her, yet she has an uncomfortable feeling about the place. When someone tries to kill her she realises she knows something that the killer is afraid she will remember"

Celebrating in Florida

We've had fourteen consecutive days of rain here in Florida but I'm still happy. This morning I spotted my novel, Men of Paradise, on Fictionwise's home page. Am so thrilled to gain this visibility.

Friday Glitch

The blog ate my post. Really, it did. My dad is visiting for a few weeks so before he arrived I wrote and set the blog to post my Friday visit with you. Where it went, I'll never know. I'm just glad I peeked in this morning to see how everyone's doing. Otherwise, I wouldn't know until next Friday that the blogger ate my post.

So, how are you? Everything going all right? I love it that Debbie's sharing a smile, Kathy's shopping and Margaret has got another fabulous book releasing! All good news!

Here at my house we are doing well. As I said, my dad's up from Florida and we're enjoying every minute of having him here. We are busy, but it's all good. And you know what? We really, really needed this time with him. He is like a breath of fresh air after a long, hard winter.

Oh! The lilacs are blooming and everyone agrees this is the best lilac bloom anyone's seen in years. They are truly gorgeous!

I hope you're having a nice weekend. And sorry for the Friday glitch. :-)

New Novel

My new novel is published on the 29th May, I will tell you more about it next week.
I love the cover and hope you do too.


Shadows of the Past
published by Robert Hale Ltd.
Available from www.halebooks.com
www.thebookdepository (postage free)
www.amazon.com, any book store and
perhaps even libraries.

SHOPPING

My husband and I have one of those rare free days -- no commitments, no appointments --nada. Yahoo! So we are celebrating by going shopping. Both of us love to haunt used book stores and we plan to visit two today. Can't wait to see what treasures we will come home with.

How do you celebrate a day off?

A Genteel Giveaway

I've been interviewed over at Pure Southern Genteel. The interview is fun and fast, and I hope you'll take a peek.

Leave a comment at Miss Mae's blog to be entered in an impromptu giveaway. Leave a comment here, and get a second entry. Tell someone else about the interview, and have them leave a comment mentioning your name at either spot and I'll enter you yet again! How's that for fun?

The prize is a secret, but I assure you it'll be something interesting. Oh! The contest runs until the end of the month.

Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!

God's Smile

I thought ya'll would enjoy this cool picture.

Picking All Week Long!

I began a new adventure this week. When confronted by acres of dandelions, I decided to do what I'd do if the ground was littered with lemons: I figured out how to turn all that yellow into something fun and--hopefully!--tasty.

I'm making dandelion wine.

Have I ever made dandelion wine before? Nope. Never even considered doing it. But, as I said, I suddenly had all those dandelions... I ask you--what else could I do with 'em? Hmm?

Anyhow, I've spent the week researching. Plucking and pondering. Wash before dismantling the flower? Or dismantle, then wash? (I learned the hard way. Dismantle. Then wash. Believe me, much better method.) I had an informative conversation with a man who owns a nearby winery. I measured. I boiled. I strained.

Now, I wait. For six to twelve months. Wanna wait with me?

I'm very excited by this new adventure. Don't you just love trying something new? Tell me, what kind of new experience have you had lately? And, how did it turn out?

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

Busy Time

After weeks of relative time, I am hitting the road running again. Not only do I have a new book out on the 29th May, but it is exam time. I am currently gazing at mark schemes and thinking of weeks ahead of marking papers. Hey ho, that is the way life is.

Tuesday we managed to get to Nickey Nook, just John and I, a really magical place. We had a super time but of course I had to spoil it and trip and fall. I did not break anythng but I do feel as if I have done two rounds with Rickie Hatton!

After it happened I was ok but it has slowly crept up on me, but I can't forget how lovely it was out there - as you can see. And this is only 30 minutes from where I live, lucky girl. So in spite of all the proverbial that hits the pan, there are too many bright things for me to gloomy all the time.

By way, you have to climb a very steep hill to get to where the photo was taken - the flat land goes all the way to the sea so you might realise how high up I actually am.

Just Browsing

When I firsted started working, my sister and I went on a trip to London. It was a charter that fit our needs to a T -- mainly it was inexpensive. We had a great time -- saw the Tower, Buckingham Palace, went to Mass at the Brompton Oratory and walked over to the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Our hotel was well situated for walking trips but was otherwise pretty charmless. It was one of those high-rises with cell-like rooms built for budget-minded travelers. I've stayed at similar lodgings in New York. But this hotel had a unique feature -- a refrigerator bar in our room. They are common now but this was thirty years ago And I'd never seen one before. We loved it. In the middle of the night you could have Coke and chips and being quite topsy turvy with time zones we frequently did.

Well, the Amazon Kindle reminds me of that refrigerator bar. You can get up in the middle of the night and order up whatever you fancy. Feel like a Nora Roberts or Michael Connelly well they have it. It's terrific technology. But here is my worry -- will the less-famous authors get selected during those nocturnal reads. The refrigerator bar only had the big-name brands and so I wonder how it will be with the Kindle. I guess I still want people to browse in bookshops and take a chance on a new author.

You can browse on Amazon. It's not tactile though it can be done. What you have to do is follow how a novel is tagged. I didn't know this until yesterday when a reader kindly tagged my novel, Men of Paradise, as 'gentle humor' I looked up all the books tagged as 'gentle humor' and knew they were just my cup of tea. So I'm heartened and venturing off into this new world where sometimes the unknown author gives you the biggest bang for your buck or pound in Margaret's case.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

I hope my fellow Larkers had a great Mother's Day! I had to work but I didn't mind. I was all alone at the office so had a nice quiet day and got a lot accomplished.

My daughter called me and we chatted for a while. We actually celebrated together last weekend by going to our favorite place, St. Augustine. We went for the day and had a nice time walking the shops. She bought me lunch and the card she gave me almost made me cry. She wrote the sweetest thing in it. She said she hoped her daughter grew up to like her as much as she liked me.

Wasn't that sweet?

Count Me In

News from the Leone household!

Last night Hubby asked if I wanted to take a vacation this summer. Anywhere. Anytime. For as long as I wanted, he said.

Can you guess how fast I ran to be first in line for this wonderful, exciting, rejuvenating, unexpected offer? Yeah, you guess right. There was a whoosh of wind as I ran for my luggage!

We had no plans for vacationing, so this is a real surprise. A very welcome surprise, at that. I still have no idea where we'll be going, or when, but that hardly seems to matter. We're going, and, for now, that's all that's important.

What about you? Any exciting summer plans you'd care to share?

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Bad Experiences

This morning I have to go to the Dentist. I hate going to the Dentist. I live in terror of these visits. It doesn't matter that "nothing more than cleaning this time," is the usual treatment, I would prefer, "nothing" and to make my escape within minutes.

Did I ever like to go to the Dentist? Well yes, but more later. My fear stems from when I was growing up and we had school dentists. These people were real mean, they did not seem to like children, especially not the poor kids of Hulme, in Manchester where I grew up. The most terrifying thing was if you had to have a tooth removed, they used to give you gas. Imagine the terror of a seven year old having a mask pushed over your face while you were held down. The huge clanking instruments that were thrust into your mouth. I know you lucky Americans will be reeling in terror, for let's face it, you have the best Dentists in the world.

Which nicely brings me to the time I did not mind going to the Dentist. Well where else but when I lived in America. My friend and I had this dentist who was, I am sure, George Clooney in disguise. He looked like he should be featuring in a movie. He was gorgeous. But not only that, he was really nice too. Kind and gentle, with a good sense of humour. I thought him the bees knees. I never minded going to see him.

Imagine my surprise when I had come back to England and my friend wrote in one of her letters that every time she went to the Dentist, he asked how I was doing.He told her that he really liked me...oh gosh, why didn't he say? I suppose he couldn't, patient and dentist and all that, ah well...Now if only my dentist was half as a nice and not a woman I would not mind going this morning. I am thinking positive, bad start to the day, good end...Cheers!

Lark Sighting

I was just over at The Romance Studio checking out my new cover ad for Men of Paradise when I spotted a really nice photo of our own Debbie Wallace. There is also a feature article on her novel, Cupid's Arrow. Congratulations, Debbie!

Big Changes Through the Years

Book covers from the 1950's to the present. Harlequin hosted a luncheon one day at the RT Convention and they blew up some of the book covers you could find on their books throughout their 60 years of publishing books. Gee, I didn't realize they'd been around since before I was born!

Anyway, thought you would get a kick out of seeing them. Sorry I didn't post last week, just been way too busy lately.

Loving Friday!

Another week has passed and I've done precious little writing. I had so many good intentions, and high hopes, for this week but as I sit here on Friday morning I realize those hopes and intentions, had I jotted them down, would be the most I'd have to add to my almost non-existent new word count.

*Sigh*

I could be annoyed with myself, but I'm not going to be. I mean, it's spring -- finally! And the birdsong, tulips and greenhouse call me loudly. Who am I not to answer? Next week, maybe, I will manage a bit of writing.

Or...maybe not.

I hope you're enjoying the spring weather as much as I am. Happy Friday!

Oh! Just wanted to let you know that I'm holding a Friday giveaway over at my blog, From the Heart. All you need to do to enter is leave a comment, so please, stop on by. :-)