It's not wot it's like on the telly!

Had to take my poor mum to A&E on Friday evening. (Too much warfrin in her blood caused her eyes to hemorrhage - looked like she'd gone 10 rounds with Frank Tyson!) Anyway as I intimated in the title the A&E department of the hospital wasn't much like Casualty, ER or Holby City. Yes there were air ambulance's coming in at a rate of knots, and the doctor's and nurses were rushing around like headless chickens - but as far as I could see - and we were in there for 8 hours |(!!!) - there was none of the intrigue that seems to be part of the weekly soap opera's we see on the telly. No nurses lusting after handsome doctors etc. No obvious signs of doctors being ruthless so they can limb the ladder to success. No nothing like that.

Was I disappointed? After all like all good authors - I did have the notebook ready to job down some kernel of wisdom for a potential book or two. No I wasn't. In truth I was impressed by how busy and dedicated they all were. Even though it was a long night - there were two RTA's so everything goes into "emergency plan" mode and we had to wait (quite rightly) until they had been sorted out there was nothing really I could have used in a book - and I'm sure the likes of Kate Hardy have done emergency A&E's in many a book.

The only thing that did annoy me was the attitude of some of those waiting to be seen. As I said the RTA's got seen first - but some of those waiting around didn't quite see it like that. They were under the impression that their cut hand (sustained by falling down drunk) was more important than some poor man who'd had a crushed chest! I ask you the nurses had more tact than I would in dealing with this person (+ others as well!)

So a big cheer to all NHS staff who's job I don't envy at all. Thanks for all the hard work you do. Take care. Caroline x

Life according to...

To make sense of this Blog go over to Kate Hardy's Blogspot. Trust me all will become clear!

"My life according to Caroline Storer
Pick your Artist: AC/DC
Are you a male or female?: Whole Lot of Rosie
Describe yourself: All Screwed Up (!)
How do you feel: Kicked In The Teeth (I'm tired today)
Describe where you currently live: Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be (I'm at work!)
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Bedlam In Belgium
Your favourite form of transportation: Walk All Over You
Your best friend is: (a) Girls Got Rhythm
You and your best friends are: Back In Business (I'm off for a girlie weekend next week!)
What's the weather like: Up To My Neck In You (it's raining!)
Favourite time of day: You Shook Me All Night Long
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: Riff Raff
What is life to you: Ain't No Fun (waitin' round to be a millionaire)
Your last relationship: Highway To Hell
Your current relationship: Whole Lotta Love
Your fear: T.N.T
What is the best advice you have to give: (don't get) Caught With Your Pants Down
Thought for the Day: Beating Around The Bush
How I would like to die: Shot Down In Flames
Looking for: Sin City
Wouldn’t mind: High Voltage (to get me back on track with the wip!)
My soul's present condition: If You Want Blood - You Got It (ode to my current wip)
Most Faithful Companion: Givin' The Dog A Bone
My motto: For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)

Phew! That was harder than I thought! But fun! Take Care. Caroline x

"How Beautiful Thou Art"

We often take things for granted. I know I do. This, believe it or not, is the view from the front of my house. I live on the brow of a hill that sweeps down over the Malltraeth Marshes then over to the wonderful, beautiful vista of the Snowdonia mountain range. Like a lot of the country we haven't had a good summer weather wise, and normally it's been a dash to the car to avoid the rain (like today - we've got the remnants of Hurricane Bill). But yesterday was an exception. After the rain had cleared viola! the splendour and beauty of Snowdonia is there for all to see. It's just that I sometimes forget about it. Take care. Caroline

Fishguard Here I Come!

The fabo dh took the massive hints I've been dropping about what I'd like for Christmas this year. (Unusually for me I never know what to ask for!) But this year is different... This year I know what I want - and woohoo today I got it. Booked onto the Writing Weekend course that is going to be held in Fishguard in Feb next year - and the workshop I going on - Contemporary Romance hosted by Kate Walker - double whoooo! Excited? Moi? YOU BET!!

Mind you all the above depends on whether I actually filled out the on-line application form and PayPal thingybob correctly - but I think I did it ok! Take care. Caroline x

That's My Boy!

I was going through my photo's of my grandson Corey! Came across this one - that I hadn't spotted at the time. It made me LOL - knowing how much he loves his food it kinda sums him up. Take care. Caroline x

Layering the Emotion

I re-read the first chapter of my HM&B Competition entry last night (well OK the only chapter so far) and.......ewwww what a load of cr*p! And I mean that most sincerely folks!

What had started out as promising first chapter (hah! who am I kidding!) is now being pecked to pieces by the "crows of doubt" who seem to be swarming in ever decreasing circles as I type. (It didn't help when I read Lynn Rae Harris's opening chapter last night of her debut HM&B book - you know the one - the one that won her the competition last year!)

I now need to "re-visit" my wip and think serious, serious editing (read "total re-write") and layer in the emotion - I've decided my wip is lacking the emotion quotent that is a pre-requisite of any HM&B. Kate Walker (in her 12 point Guide to Writing Romance ) devotes a whole chapter of her (excellent) book to the subject of emotion. Michelle Styles, Donna Alward and Kate Hardy all go into great length about layering in the emotion on their blogsites. And now so must I. So I'm going to get out the metaphorical "cake filling" and I'm going to start layering it in right now. Before it's too late. And if I can quote one of the quotes in Kate's book "The 3 most important things in making a book a best seller are emotion, emotion, emotion." (HM&B editor) Right got it? Yes absolutely got it. 100% got it - I think!

Take care. Caroline x

Day of Rest?

Today I am mostly....chilling out. It's Sunday. No take that back I can chill out when..
1. I've made the Sunday dinner
2. I've done the washing and ironing
3. I've cleaned and hoovered (although dh may do this!)
4. Made supper and finally,
5. Done some of my wip..

Take care. Caroline x

Sunday funny...

Saturday morning musings...

Morning all. I've been looking at a lot of blog sites recently - purely research of course - as I plot and plan how to set up my own site. (If you believe that you'll believe anything...I like blogging.) Anyway a lot of the sites I've been reading - both pub's and unpub's alike talk about a recurring theme. Sending. Out. The. Manuscript! Or more to the point - not.

There seems to be huge barrier to sending out our ms's into the big, bad world of publishing. I think of it something along the lines of that first day of school moment. You know the one. Your child is 4 years old and it's the first day of full time school. You drop him/her off at the gates, s/he turns to you with big tears in their eyes and a quivering bottom lip. You then have to fight the massive urge to run over to them, sweep them up in your arms, and run away screaming at the top of your voice "my baby, my baby. Nobody is having my baby."

And make no mistake - our ms's have become our babies (well for me at least) - we've nurtured them, shouted at them, cried and laughed over them, made them have detention (for not behaving themselves) until finally they are ready for the big bad world, just like the first day of school. They have been polished and tidied up to within an inch of their life, no spelling mistakes, grammar as best as we can make it - then we pad them up and with a deep breath post them off, all the while wanting to take them back and never let them out of your sight.

Sooo. Massive hugs to all those writers out there who are stressing over the NWS August deadline and those waiting for their readers reports - and hopefully a second read. I know how you feel - trust me!

Take care. Caroline x

HELP!

Can anyone help? I've tried to find my blogsite on Google and it does not come up. Any reason for this? Do I need to enable/disable something so I can be seen on the WWW? Any help graefully recieved! Thanks Caroline

The end of the week - at last!

Phew! It's been a long week - no make that month! I normally work 3 days a week at the day job - giving me time to spare for writing. But because we've been so busy at work I agreed to work O/T for the whole of the 6 week summer holidays. Week 5 and I'm cream crackered!

It's also meant that I've not been able to devote as much time to writing as much as I wished or hoped for. But saying that I've created my very own blogsite this week.

The blogsite has been fun to create. I've "learnt" how to do those sidebar thingies that I like to see on other author's blogpages. I've also mastered piccis as well. As I said in my earlier blogs I'm not that ofey with the old PC. Providing it works when I switch it on and I can create a document in WORD then I'm happy!

The blogsite has also concentrated my mind somewhat, and I actually got down to writing last night - and not just editing book 2 which I seem to have been doing for ages now! When I fired up "The Roman's Revenge" and read through what I've written so far I was slightly taken aback when I realised I'd forgotten the name of my heroine! Yikes. I need to seriously get back into this book, and hopefully Livia will forgive me for forgetting about her for so long! (For some reason I did remember the hero's name - Metellus! Maybe it's because I've got Hugh Jackman as my "model" for Metellus - can't think why!) Take care. Caroline x

What do you mean I spoil my dog?

DH wanted Angel Delight. Molly got the lickings!

On a sad note - I'm loving this blogging lark! (Managed the photo bit this time). But mustn't get carried away too much - I have a book to write!

My first cyber visitor!

Yay! I've had my first visitor! And it was the lovely Kate Walker! Thanks Kate.

Well I seem to have got hold of this "create a blogsite in 10 easy steps" - but I don't want to be too complacent yet - I've yet to master the video clips and photo's bit...and the website links! I would also like to customize the front page - but again I'm going to have to go away and think about that a bit more! I have to say the blogger site is very user friendly and I can see why a lot of authors use it! No point in re-inventing the wheel and all that.

As I've intimated in my first forays on this blogsite I'm new to all this - and to the writing lark - which having read a lot of blogsites is not an easy thing to do - published or not. But saying that I have written 2 books now and part way through my third. I love the Roman period - so that's what I've written so far. Books aimed at the HM&B Historical line. I subbed my 1st last year after getting a good review from the NWS. HM&B turned it down. Although I'm not surprised (- it would have been to good to be true to get a 1st novel published me thinks - ) it's always a depressing moment when the rejection letter plops on the doormat. Last week I subbed my first 3 chapters and the dreaded synopsis into HM&B. Again I got excellent feedback from the NWS and following the readers excellent advice I re-jigged and rewrote parts of the book. I had to firm up heroine in the first part of the book and tone down the hero. Make him a bit more Alpha and not so uncouth! Hopefully I've done this and fingers crossed that HM&B will (at the very least) ask for the full. I live in hope.

I'm also going to enter the HM&B Presents competition and have roughly drafted out a first chapter and a sort of synopsis! It needs polishing up before sending it off. But I think the deadline is November so I should get this done by then. The I heart presents blogsite has all the details of the competition and it's even on their web bar at the top of the page. Anyway enough for now! Take care. Caroline x

Update! I've managed to post a picci of me. Not a vey good picci but there you go! My hair has grown substantially since it was taken.

Day 2

Well I managed to log into my account after wondering where on earth everything had gone. Duh! Needed a password didn't I! Well you learn something new everyday.

Well that seemed to work ok! Now all I need to do is find out to fill in all the other stuff!

A New Day Dawns! Or at least I think it does!

Gosh! I'm not sure if I've done this right. But I think I've just created a BLOG SITE all by myself - which isn't meant to be sarcastic or anything - it's just that I'm not very good on the old PC that's all. Take care. Caroline