Kitty companions

In my study, I have two identical chairs covered in a dusky pink fabric. They’ve come with us through various moves and don’t fit in any other room in this house. Two of my cats, Ancient Albert (twenty and a half years of age) have taken to choosing a chair each to keep me company as I write. Maybe they think that acting as feline muses I might include more cat characters in my dog-character predominant books. Who knows?

Whatever, I love having them there!

Albert chooses the chair next to me

Tabitha likes to be nearby

Not a creature was stirring….

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the farmyard, not a creature was stirring, not even a… dog, cat, horse, chicken or cow.

Recently, people have asked me why I talk about my cats and dog but not about my other pets. These are all my animals and I’m sure if they could talk they would join me in wishing all the visitors to my blog the very best for the festive season.

Miss Molly

Yes, there’s a dog under all that unclipped fur!

Cindy-Lou

Cindy is the farm cat who appeared on our veranda one dark and stormy night seven years ago and is still with us, happily helping to keep down the mouse population.

Albert, my Burmilla prince

My ancient Albert just celebrated his 20 and a half birthday (half birthdays really count at his age!), that’s well over an hundred in cat years. He was born in London, England and given a right royal name after Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s consort.

Banjo (front) and Star

Banjo, the pony in front, is my daughter’s beloved Australian stock horse who has won her quite a collection of trophies. Behind him is Star, our rescue horse who only likes to be petted or ridden by women.

Toby and Spud

Toby is gentle and amiable, and helped me get over my fear of horses. Handsome Spud is a gentle giant who just didn’t have the nature to be a race horse.

Thimble and Squirt

Squirt and Thimble, miniature Dexters, are meant to be on our little farm to help keep weeds down, but when they demand equal hay rights to horses, who can resist them?

Tabitha

My daughter called her tortoiseshell Tabitha after a kitty character in a book. Yes, I know she’s a tortoiseshell and not a tabby cat, but who argues that with a seven-year-old?

The hens have names in alphabetical order

Our Isa Browns have the only 5-star hen house in the valley—built by a previous owner to make sure foxes would never get our girls. Thank you, chickens, for the wonderful eggs for my holiday baking.

Galah and parrot visitors

King parrot on the verandah

These beautiful parrots aren’t pets but beautiful wild Australian birds who grace us with their presence. (They also love eating our fruit on our fruit trees which can be annoying–but there is enough for us all.)

Kangaroo visitors

Our little farm adjoins a lot of bushland and we often see kangaroos and wallabies bounding across our property. At moments like this, they seem as curious about us as we are about them.

Christmas, New Year and Hanukkah fall in the summer vacation “Down Under” and I’m hoping to kick back, rest, relax, read and write! Hope you have fun, wherever you are!

Fantasy islands

Tropical island. White sands. Palm trees. Warm, aquamarine waters. Just the stuff of romantic fantasy—and the fictional setting for my new romance THE CASTAWAY BRIDE.

If only it were real…

Samsao Island in the Angthong National Marine Park

I had to keep pinching myself when, just days after THE CASTAWAY BRIDE was published on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords, I found myself on a beautiful tropical island—just like my fictional characters Matt Slade and Cristy Walters. And so much of what I experienced echoed scenes in my book.

Na Muang I Waterfall, what an idyllic place to swim

Beautiful beaches? Tick.

Swimming under a waterfall? Tick.

Exotic fruits to feast on? Tick.

Dragonfruit (right) is almost too pretty to eat

Thanks to Procter & Gamble and Ambi Pur air care, I was on the island of Koh Samui in Thailand on a media familiarization tour in the form of a “sensory journey”. (Gotta love my “day job” as a magazine editor!)

Early morning at beautiful The Scent Hotel, Bangrak Beach, Koh Samui.

There were, however, some major differences between fictional fantasy and media trip reality. No gorgeous, bare-chested hero like my fictional Matt Slade for one thing! (Though I was in great company with the most delightful group of journalists and media people.) And I got to stay in a beautiful hotel—unlike my heroine Cristy Walters, who has to bunk down in a ramshackle survival hut with scratchy sheets and no bathroom. (Sharing it with hot hunk Matt does somewhat take the edge off her discomfort!) Oh, and I didn’t have to get shipwrecked like Cristy and Matt to appreciate my scent-alicious sojourn. It was work, but work of the most enjoyable kind!

Bliss!

The trip was amazing—and over only too soon. But isn’t that the great thing about fiction? If I want to escape again to a romantic destination, I only have to flick through the pages of a book to transport myself anywhere in the world. And, as a writer, I get to create my own fantasy destinations with everything that appeals to me  all in one place!

My trip to Koh Samui, while bringing to life some of locations in THE CASTAWAY BRIDE, also fueled my imagination with scenarios for future stories. My lucky characters have lots of treats in store for them!

(If you get the chance to go to Koh Samui, I highly recommend The Scent Hotel. It was one of the loveliest small hotels I have ever stayed. I would SO love to go back one day with my husband!)

Portrait of a farm cat

Miss Cindy surveys her territory

Recently, a friend who is a professional photographer visited my farm and took these photos of our cat Cindy. Wow! I think I’m fairly handy with a camera, but no snap I’ve every taken of my cats has come out looking like this! Thank you so much to my wonderful friend.

Photograph me if you must!

Cindy is a big, strong tabby girl of about seven or eight years old. We don’t know exactly how old, as she was fully grown when she appeared on our veranda one dark and stormy night more than six years ago. She was wet, bedraggled and starving. We thought at first she might be feral, but her polite purring and nudging and respectful requests for food quickly put paid to that thought. The poor baby ate and ate and ate, and then drank and drank and drank. Finally replete, she moved on under a chair for the requisite feline bathing rituals.

In the morning she was still there. We put up posters, followed up “lost cat” notices, asked around. No-one in the valley knew her. General opinion was that someone had dumped her in the bush surrounding our farm. How anyone could do that to such a sweet-natured animal is beyond me. But some chipped teeth and a piece out of her ear told the vet that she’d had to fight a few battles before she found us.

An older photo of mine, Cindy resting by the creek which is quite a way from home!

At the time, we already had three cats but how could we turn Cindy away? She was respectful to the older cats, kept a distance from the dog, and wasn’t worried by the horses. She soon earned her keep keeping down the mice in the feed shed (and hence visits from snakes). My husband calls her the “dog cat” as she always wants to come for walks with us, even miles away from home onto neighboring properties. (Yes, that can become a nuisance when she eventually tires and has to be carried home!) She’d rather be outside than in, though can be enticed by a blazing log fire in winter.

I love the light around her whiskers.

Oh, and of course it didn’t take her long to lose her gratitude for any kind of cat food on offer and become as fussy about her food as our other pampered kitties! Cindy, we love you!

Thai cooking (and eating!) class

Kim, our delightful instructor

Last week, I went on a “scent journey” on the beautiful island of Koh Samui in Thailand. I was wearing my magazine editor’s hat as a guest of Procter & Gamble and Ambi Pur air care. Part of that journey was a four-hour cooking class at the Samui Institute of Thai Culinary Arts.

Ingredients for red curry paste

And what a “scent journey” that was! Fresh lemongrass, coriander, turmeric, basil, fresh peppercorns and other fresh, authentic Thai ingredients made for an exhilarating olfactory experience! Then when our carefully blended ingredients hit a hot wok—wow!

Ingredients for the sublime soup

As both a keen cook and an author who writes characters who cook, this lesson was illuminating in many ways. Not to mention a whole lot of fun!

Woks lined up and waiting for us

We learned to make Homemade Red Hot Curry Paste (Kruanh Gaeng Phad Phet); Stir-Fried Red Curry with Pork (Phad Phet Moo); Stir-Fried Mixed Seafood with Holy Basil & Garlic (Phad Khi Maou Talee); and Coconut Milk Soup with Fish & Turmeric (Tom Kati Kamin Pla). As I am not a fan of seafood, I replaced it with chicken in the recipes; tofu would have worked well too.

Forget clogs or covered boots, we cooked in bare feet!

A group of ten of us lined up around a long table with our recipes, chopping block, knife and array of ingredients in front of us. We were guided step-by-step by our delightful instructor, Kim. First we made the red curry paste, then prepared ingredients for the three recipes. Kim told us all about the use and health benefits of each of the key items. Then we trooped into the kitchen with a row of gas burners and woks to cook each dish. As Kim pointed out, the preparation is where we spent the time, the actual cooking took mere minutes. (Oh, and did I mention we did all this in our bare feet?)

The feast we cooked ourselves

And then there was the eating…

The best soup I've ever tasted!

Our three dishes were the best Thai food I’ve ever eaten! It was impossible to vote for a favorite dish—for me it was a tie between the red curry and the soup.

Fresh produce for Thai cooking

Fortunately for me, Thai food is incredibly popular where I live and the fresh ingredients to make these superb meals are readily available in both supermarkets and Asian markets.

Guess what my guests will be served at my next dinner party?

If you ever visit Koh Samui, I highly recommend a visit to this cooking school.

http://www.sitca.net/

The Castaway Bride

I love the cover!

Deep breath. Toe in the water. Dive in!

I’ve joined the indie e-book publisher community. THE CASTAWAY BRIDE went live on Amazon and Smashwords on the weekend, and will soon be up at Barnes & Noble and other e-book retailers.

It’s kinda scary to put a story out there by yourself, when you’ve only worked with a publisher before. But I have faith in my story; got it professionally edited; a beautiful cover designed by the amazing Hot Damn Designs; learned how to format; and uploaded.

I was inspired by all the buzz surrounding indie publishing at the Romance Writers of America national convention in New York City. And, as I have worked as a magazine editor for most of my working life, I wasn’t daunted by the process.

Within hours of the book being on Amazon, I got my first review—five-star and very positive: “A fun story with spicy scenes make this a great beach read.”

What more could I ask? Thank you, lovely reviewer!

One of the first question people ask me is: “Is there a dog in THE CASTAWAY BRIDE?” (My books LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD and HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS, published by Berkley Sensation, have lots of dogs in them.)

Yes and no. Burnt out and betrayed by people he trusted, my hero Matt Slade is taking time out on his yacht. He’d love to have his beloved black Labrador Jake sailing with him, but Jake gets seasick and so can’t be on board. Matt has to Skype his dog to keep in touch. So Jake is part of the story but never actually appears on the pages.

Needless to say my heroine Cristy Walters finds this endearing in such a hot, handsome hunk. I couldn’t love a man who didn’t love animals, and I don’t expect my heroines to either!

But the focus of THE CASTAWAY BRIDE is purely on two people, both emotionally wounded in their own way, finding passion and true love on a beautiful tropical island. With white sands and turquoise waters; waterfalls and palm trees. Sigh! No wonder I liked writing this romance so much—it’s a happy, sensual fantasy. A love story. I so enjoyed giving Matt and Cristy their happy-ever-after!

 THE CASTAWAY BRIDE

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005J01FKU

 

 

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/83486

 

My 20-year-old kitty

The day after I got back from the Romance Writers of America Conference in New York City, my precious Albert turned twenty–that’s well over a hundred in cat years. My heart lifted when I saw him tottering down the hall to greet me on his increasingly shaky legs.

Is she awake yet? It's breakfast time!

People ask me how we got him to this venerable age. The vet says a strong constitution and lots of loving care. I add another reason: he has always been very vocal in letting us know his needs (see pic of him in alarm clock mode). In short: non-stop meowing until he demands are met! We sometimes say that if he could talk and people asked him his name he would reply: “My name is Shut-up Albert.”

I am  grateful to have had this special animal with me for this long and continue to cherish every moment–yes, even when he’s yowling!

Snug on his 20th birthday

The smoke clears

Wattle lights up the garden, and our spirits!

The disaster of the kitchen

Three weeks ago we had a house fire at the farm. We heard via one of those phone-calls you hope you’ll never get. Black smoke seen billowing from under the eaves by a vigilant neighbour. A neighbour whose actions saved our lovely old heritage-listed cottage from being razed to the ground. Instead of a lost house, we have a burnt-out kitchen and severe smoke damage to every other room. Severe smoke damage to every other thing, in fact.

But, as the fire authorities said, it could have been much, much worse. No one–and no animal–was hurt. There is nothing that isn’t replaceable or repairable. And we were insured. The insurance company has been wonderfully  efficient–the house has already been cleared out and cleaned ready for repainting, and measured for a new kitchen. Cause of the fire? Most likely an electrical fault in the dishwasher.

Just yards away from the fire, the garden is untouched

Surrounded by bushland, we always thought the threat was from outside, not inside. But in spite of the devastation inside the house, the garden goes on untouched and with the first signs of spring unstoppable. Fortunately for us, we have an apartment elsewhere so are not homeless. We have much to be thankful for!

A lap or a laptop?

Not a lot of writing gets done when my feline companions realize a comfy lap is available...

Sometimes I tire of writing at the desktop computer. I thought a laptop might be the answer so I could write in different locations for both a change of scenery and different seating position. Two of my cats, Albert and Tabitha, thought otherwise. Why on earth would I want to have access to that keyboard when I could be stroking and petting them? “Lap” is a way more appealing concept to them than “laptop…”

Oh well, thinking time is important too!

Happy half birthday to Ancient Albert

Albert by sunlight

Just before Christmas my beautiful old boy cat turned 19 and a half. At this age—over a hundred in human years—it’s worth celebrating a half birthday. He’s frail, he’s doddering and the vet thinks he’s nearly blind but he is as loving as ever, purrs a lot and wants to snuggle with his humans as often as he can. Oh, and he certainly lives up to the saying: “A cat who wants its breakfast is like an alarm clock without a snooze button.”

Albert was born in London, England when we were living there. I was desperate for a cat, though it wasn’t practical for us at the time. My husband had serious concerns I might snatch someone’s moggy, like some desperate women do with babies! I saw an ad in the newspaper for Burmillas, then a new breed—a cross between Burmese and Chinchilla Persian. Coincidentally, in a city the size of London, the owners lived in the same suburb as we did and I couldn’t resist visiting “just for a look”. Albert immediately detached himself from the heap of silvery gray kittens and jumped on my lap. “He’s chosen you,” said the lady who owned the kittens (just about to give birth to her first baby and with her husband desperate for her to find homes for seven kittens).

But I was only having a look, wasn’t I?  The persistent little kitten with the big personality followed me to the door and tried to go home with me. I was done… Not only did I convince my husband to let me have him but we also got his beautiful sister Kira (who we lost last year aged 18.)  Albert was named after Queen Victoria’s consort Prince Albert. His sister was named by my Swiss friend who placated my husband by telling him if we ever went back to live in Australia she would take Albert and Kira to live with her. As if that was going to happen! At hideous expense, my silver kitties flew to Australia in style when the time came. Wherever we’ve lived he’s made friends with the neighbors and has quite the fan club. He survived a serious car accident thanks to a cat-loving good samaritan who gave him mouth to mouth resuscitation (she covered mouth and nose as with an infant) and took him to the vet. In some quarters, I’m known more as Albert’s owner than any other accomplishment!

Albert--never happier than when he's being cuddled

On New Year’s Eve my teenage daughter had a group of friends around and when we got home from dinner there was lots of loud music and laughter. Four tall, broad-shouldered, long-haired surfers were taking time taking time out on the sofa. I stopped to say hello, and found them clustered around Ancient Albert, gently stroking him. “This old cat is such a cool dude,” said one of them. I could only agree.

I’ve had my Prince Albert for such a big chunk of my life and I’m cherishing every minute I have with him…

Snuggling with Tabitha