NaNoWriMo Winner!!

Today was the last day of NaNoWriMo and I had just under 300 words left to write. I got a little carried away and wrote over 2000... My official end count was 50,072 words, not a bad turn out!! That makes me a...

I had a bigger goal in mind when I set out at the start of November, however, I also normally try and to make sure that writing is my main priority! That didn't happen for me this year as I had my change in job happening, and I was working a hell of a lot of overtime due to staffing changes and events... So, I am incredibly proud to have reached the official 50k end count and got my certificate.

The book I was writing, The Original Sin, will be book five in the Hidden World Novels and if all goes to plan, which it rarely does, just to point that out, I will have it with you by early Spring!!

For now though, I have some reading and editing to do, and then the first draft to finish! See you on the other side...

Oh..... We're half way there....

As the end of the day draws near, that's halfway through the month - halfway through the 30 days of writing... 15 days in and I am hovering at just above an average word count to achieve the 50,000 words that NaNoWriMo sets us as a goal. Disappointingly, I am nowhere near my personal goal of 75,000 words, unless something serious happens between now and the end of the month. I am happy that my document has reached 50,000 words though, even if I haven't written them all this month. My actual word count for this year's NaNoWriMo is 25,598 words... That's 598 more than I needed to hit the halfway mark today!!

I'll take that for now...

The story is going well, there have been a couple of new developments, and a strand of the planned story that hasn't seemed to develop yet, but it's going steadily, and it is a lot better than the last attempt I made at it!!

Keep your eyes peeled on Instagram as I have been posting some of my writing pictures. Today's post featured Loki bunny being very cute and distracting me from my writing while he was playing with his stacking cups...

Well, back to it I suppose - I'll let you know how I get on at the end of the month - and I might look into blogging my various writing positions... I seem to have many of them!

Wish me luck!

October Wrap Up

Another month gone by filled with books! What other way is there to spend the days than by reading them away?!


I started out this month with the Waterstones Thriller of the Month, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton.

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Somebody's going to be murdered at the ball tonight. It won't appear to be a murder and so the murderer won't be caught. Rectify that injustice and I'll show you the way out.'

It is meant to be a celebration but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks explode overhead, Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is killed. But Evelyn will not die just once.

Until Aiden - one of the guests summoned to Blackheath for the party - can solve her murder, the day will repeat itself, over and over again. Every time ending with the fateful pistol shot.

The only way to break this cycle is to identify the killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is determined to prevent him ever escaping Blackheath...

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An intriguing read and one that I wish I could see the planning for - don't get me wrong, I spent half the book as confused as they come - but I could not put it down!!! I have honestly never read anything like this before and it should be on everyone's to-read pile!

Check out my review here.


Next up I started Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig, a book I've had since meeting him at the Doncaster event of the launch of the book back at the start of July. I'm not a huge non-fiction fan so I have been putting off reading it, but have many people who have read it say that I was missing out. So I finally decided to give it a shot with my newly acquired reading on the tram time.

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The world is messing with our minds. Rates of stress and anxiety are rising.

A fast, nervous planet is creating fast and nervous lives. We are more connected, yet feel more alone. And we are encouraged to worry about everything from world politics to our body mass index.

How can we stay sane on a planet that makes us mad? How do we stay human in a technological world? How do we feel happy when we are encouraged to be anxious?

After experiencing years of anxiety and panic attacks, these questions became urgent matters of life and death for Matt Haig. And he began to look for the link between what he felt and the world around him.

Notes on a Nervous Planet is a personal and vital look at how to feel happy, human and whole in the 21st century.

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Because I was struggling with the non-fiction angle, I was looking at my shelves for something light and quick to keep me going and picked up Cherish Hard by Nalini Singh.

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Sailor Bishop has only one goal for his future – to create a successful landscaping business. No distractions allowed. Then he comes face-to-face and lips-to-lips with a woman who blushes like an innocent… and kisses like pure sin.

Ísa Rain craves a man who will cherish her, aches to create a loving family of her own. Trading steamy kisses with a hot gardener in a parking lot? Not the way to true love. Then a deal with the devil (aka her CEO-mother) makes Ísa a corporate VP for the summer. Her main task? Working closely with a certain hot gardener.

And Sailor Bishop has wickedness on his mind.

As Ísa starts to fall for a man who makes her want to throttle and pounce on him at the same time, she knows she has to choose – play it safe and steady, or risk all her dreams and hope Sailor doesn’t destroy her heart.

~~~

I picked this up after work on the Tuesday night and read it until it was time for tea. After food and catching up with American Horror Story with Simon, I picked it back up while he finished off some work stuff. I had to tear myself away from it at bedtime and picked it straight back up again the next morning, staying in bed until it was finished. Three sittings. Approximately eight hours work!! 

It was amazing!! Check out my review here, then go buy yourself a copy and get reading - I have the second one already!!


I was still reading Notes on a Nervous Planet...

I had to follow Cherish Hard with the second book, Rebel Hard by Nalini Singh. After the quick read of the first book, I had high expectations of this one...

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Nayna Sharma agreed to an arranged marriage in the hope it would heal the fractures in her beloved family… only to realize too late that a traditional marriage is her personal nightmare. Panicked, she throws caution to the winds, puts on the tiniest dress she can find, and ends up in the arms of a tall, rough-edged hunk of a man who has abs of steel—and who she manages to mortally insult between one kiss and the next.

Abandoned as a child, then adopted into a loving family, Raj Sen believes in tradition, in continuity. Some might call him stiff and old-fashioned, but he knows what he wants—and it’s a life defined by rules… yet he can’t stop thinking about the infuriating and sexy woman who kissed him in the moonlight then disappeared. When his parents spring an introduction on him, the last woman he expects is her. Beautiful. Maddening. A rule breaker in the making.

He’s all wrong for her. She’s all wrong for him. And love is about to make rebels of them both

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It did not disappoint! Check out my review here.

Still working my way through Notes on a Nervous Planet...

Having bought a bunny this month, I obviously went out and bought a book to help me understand him and learn how to look after him and train him up. 

Training your Pet Rabbit by Patricia Bartlett was the one that came up tops for me when looking for one that would teach me how to train him as a free-roaming indoor bunny.

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Books in Barron s Training Your Pet series give inexperienced pet owners detailed advice on how to care for and train different kinds of caged pets Rabbits selecting good candidates for training Bonding with a rabbit Rabbits natural behaviour traits, and how to modify them Training a rabbit to come on command, sit, walk on a leash, and more How to design caging that incorporates fun activities for the rabbit Selecting healthy treats as rewards for good behaviour Setting up a training area . . . and more.

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A good read, very informative and some good lessons to help with training! Check out my review here.


Still slogging through Notes on a Nervous Planet...


Cuddled up on the sofa on Sunday evening, I picked up The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle.

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The Last Unicorn is a tale for any age about the wonders of magic, the power of
love, and the tragedy of loss. A unicorn, alone in her enchanted wood, discovers that she may be the last of her kind. Reluctant at first, she sets out on a journey to find her fellow unicorns, even if it means facing the terrifying anger of the Red Bull and malignant evil of the king who wields the Bull's power.

~~~

I have always loved this story. As a child, it was one of my favourite films, and it was only recently that I learned that it was a book. Of course I was going to buy it and read it...

Check out my review here, which to be fair doesn't say much other than how it is one of my new favourites!! 

I finally finished Notes on a Nervous Planet... Not going to lie, very disappointed, not a fan I'm afraid - in my opinion, it was hard work and a rather depressing read... Check out my review here.

After a post on Instagram by Tiffany Reisz advertising her Halloween reads, I realised that I still hadn't read The Headmaster, one of her earlier works that just seemed to have escaped me when I binge read near enough everything she had out at the time. Her books are my favourites and I own all of them possible in print, and got to meet her this summer! Awesome...

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A fever dream of desires fulfilled…

Nestled in the shadow of the Appalachians is where Gwen Ashby stumbles upon the William Marshall Academy, and she's given a trial position as a literature teacher. The gothic boarding school seems trapped in time yet it feels like home the moment Gwen arrives.

She's charmed by the lovely buildings, bewitched by the eager students…and utterly seduced by the headmaster. Edwin Yorke is noble, handsome and infuriatingly proper. But his tweedy exterior and courtly manners conceal a raw sensual power that Gwen longs to unleash.

It's strangely thrilling to be the only woman on campus—save one other. An eerie white-clad figure roams the grounds by night. She never speaks. She leaves no trace. But this ghostly blight on Gwen's new dream life is the key to the Marshall Academy's mysterious allure.

~~~

I downloaded this on Saturday night while waiting for Simon to set up for the gig he was playing. I read some of it then and finished it off on Sunday whilst helping my sister out. Amazing book - I sort of had the ending pegged, but not quite, but it didn't alter just how much I enjoyed each twist and turn!!

Check out my review here.


I have another one already on the go but will save that one for November's wrap up as I am only a few pages in at the minute. This month could be a little slower as it is NaNoWriMo and my main concentration this month is writing me new Hidden World Novel... books will of course be read, but maybe not at the normal pace!!

Till next time readers!!

NaNoWriMo 2018

National Novel Writing Month is upon us - for those of you who have never heard me speak of this before... where have you been?? But for real - NaNoWriMo; the national month of writing is in November every year, where the wildly creative and slightly batty team encourage writers everywhere, both indie and traditionally published, to write 50,000 words in 30 days! Sounds mad, I hear you cry - well, you're right! But we put ourselves through it every year none the less!

This year is no different - This will be my third year writing for NaNoWriMo and I will once again be writing my next Hidden World Novel... I use this challenge to get down part of the first draft of a new story, as I find it keeps me moving in a way that I wouldn't normally. Far too often I find myself editing as I write, whereas this doesn't give me time to do that - it's all about getting the words on a page!

This year I will be attempting a little over the average of 50,000 words, as I do actually already have part of the story written, however it needs an overhaul and a character perspective change, as well as finishing... so I plan to reach 75,000 words, including the ones I will be cutting and pasting before rearranging and creating the new story. Make sense?? No, it doesn't to me either, but I'm still going to try!

The Original Sin will be the fifth story in The Hidden World Novels and is about a sassy vampire named Nel. That's all the information you are getting I'm afraid - though if you are subscribed to my author newsletter and have access to The Zone, then you will be able to find some original material, and a photo of Nel to have a nosey at! Not signed up? Well, follow this link and subscribe now for instant access!!

I have set myself up with a bookish reward system for the milestones throughout the month - I thought it was the perfect way of justifying some book buys, as well as keeping me motivated all month! Check it out...

5k - Lost Boy by Christina Henry
10k - Bad Mermaids (book 1 and 2) by Sibeal Pounder
25k - Winternight series book 1 and 2 by Katherine Arden
40k - Poems to live your life by, by Chris Riddell
50k - To make monsters out of girls by Amanda Lovelace
60k - Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner
75k - Kelley Armstrong Amazon buy (Otherworld graphic novels)

Sounds like a perfect plan to me - although I've set my goals high and I really want those Kelley Armstrong Otherworld stories!! Plus I will be buying my NaNoWriMo T-shirt when I hit 50k :)

Wish me luck - I'll check in later in the month and let you know how I'm getting on!