Sunshine Award

I received the Sunshine Award this week. Thank you Krista. It put a smile on my face :)

When given this award, one is supposed to respond in the following way:

• Thank the person who gave you the award and provide a link.
• Write a post about it
• Answer the questions below.
• Pass it on to 10 bloggers who you think really deserve it and let them know
• Answer 10 Questions:

Favourite colour:  Blue, loving today's beautiful blue sky!

Favourite animal: Hmm tough one as I'm allergic to animal hair. I love cats although being too close to them makes my throat close up :)

Favourite number:  5, I don't know why. Apparently my lucky number is 8

Favorite non-alcoholic drink: Coffee. I love you caffeine!!

Facebook or Twitter: Facebook. I can't get into Twitter at all. I love to keep up with friends and family on Facebook.

My passion:  I have lots. Most importantly, my daughter. She is the reason I started writing again and the reason I started looking after my weight and health. I suppose I like writing too!

Getting or giving presents: I love giving presents. Don't like getting them. It makes me feel awkward. I would prefer not even to get birthday or Christmas presents.

Favourite pattern: Strange question but since asked I suppose I like red tarten.

Favourite day of the week: Saturday. Not sure why. Just like it :)

Favourite flower: Sunflower. Everytime I see one it makes me smile

I don't know 10 bloggers yet but here are some lovely people I would like to give the award to:

Debs
Julia
Nicola
Hart Johnson

Hope you all are having a sunshine filled day. I know I am :)

ABNA Results: Not This Time

The results are out for the Quarter Finalists in the ABNA and my name is not on the list. Sure I am a little bummed. Wouldn't be normal if I wasn't but on the whole I feel ok. In fact I feel pretty good considering. I know BLEEKER AVENUE wasn't ready (especially the first few chapters). I had only finished the book two weeks before the deadline for the competition. There had been no extensive editing done. This was pointed out in the Vine Reviews.

Every contestant who made it through the first cut got two reviews of their 5,000 word excerpt. These reviews were a little hard to swallow. It is difficult to read criticisms of your work. Any writer will back me up on that. The reviews I got were harsh but I can't fault them. My reviewers took the time to really look at what I had written and didn't completely slate me. Although, one of them did think this particular excerpt was intended for Woman's Weekly! I need to do a lot of revision.

It may seem odd but rejection spurs me on. My novel has only been rejected twice (both of those times were competitions) but I'm sure once I start shopping agents and publishers I'll be getting a lot more. My mantra is "What doesn't kill my writing can only make it stronger." BLEEKER AVENUE took a beating but it will come back stronger thanks to my reviewers.

My favourite part of the reviews:

What is the strongest aspect of this excerpt?

The pitch for this story promises an interesting time-travel story; that's a common theme but there seem to be new aspects that will provide freshness and novelty.

The excerpt itself contains a most interesting lead character, and the first-person narration is a good choice on the part of the author, making the story more immediate and building our interest in the protagonist. I also liked the general pacing.


Good luck to everyone who made it through to the Quarter Finals.

Carlingford

Last Monday Beth and I headed to the beautiful village of Carlingford, just north of Dundalk. We stayed in The Four Seasons for 3 nights and had a great time. Unfortunately, the weather was not the best and we only got out to the beach for about 20 minutes before the wind and rain sent us running for the hotel.

The hotel was fantastic. The staff were brilliant and always had a few words for Beth. The children’s menus were diverse enough. Beth loves broccoli and was given a mountain of it at dinner times. All the seating areas are perfect for young kids. Nearly every chair had arms on it so they could be pushed right up to the table and limit the chances of little people falling off. Beth refuses to go into high chairs and I personally think 2.5 years is too old for a high chair.

There is also a Leisure Centre and Beth and I spent a lot of time in the pool. She is quite confident in the water and can even do a doggy paddle with arm bands on. I am thinking of starting her in Swim Academy at the local pool when she turns 3 this September.

I enjoyed spending time just the two of us. I had quite a few people comment on how well behaved she was, staff and fellow residents. She really is a joy to be with!