Hi everyone,
I love this time of year as it is my birthday this week. I always feel like a little kid, I get all excited about being given presents and cards. I have set myself an impossible goal of finishing a novel before I go to Sydney for a few days the following week. I know it will be hard work but I really like the challenge. I want to concentrate on Christmas once it is done as I have done nothing as yet.
We spent the weekend at our beach house enjoying the sun and sea. I spent most of the time in front of my computer although I still managed to get a touch of sunburn on my back from walking on the beach. We found a baby gummy shark on the sand and several dead shearwaters( they are a migratory bird).Apparently their journey is so arduous many of them die just as they arrive. That sounds like a waste of time to me!
Hope everyone is well and happy,
Special thanks to Anu who never forgets my birthday. You are a marvel!
Cheers,
Melanie x

Hi folks,
Well we're certainly getting the warmer weather now after a very slow start. It's roasting right now and it's only 10-30 am. I've had a little sick girl in the house. Polly had a nibble on a dead bird last week and as a result ended up with a tummy bug. She was so poorly all the bubbles went out of her personality. She lay on the floor with her chin on her ball, too tired to get up and play.It was so sad to watch. She is much better now and back into mischief.
I haven't done a thing towards Christmas. I have been working on some revisions for a novella for 2008 for the HMB centenary. Now that's done it's back to the work in progress. I so want to get this one done before early December but I'm not sure I will, everything seems to be conspiring against me!
I hope you all have a great week.
Cheers
Melanie

Hi everyone,
We had a gloomy week last week of cloudy day after cloudy day but it lifted on Friday and now we have the bright spring sunshine we've been waiting for. November is my favourite month, it could have something to do with the fact my birthday is at the end of it! I love the longer evenings and the warmer weather, however when we lived in Scotland quite a few years ago I hated November as it was such a bleak time of year.
I have been asked to speak to a large group in Hobart this Friday about my life as a romance writer. It is always a privelege to talk to others, especially as it reminds me of what a wonderful job being a writer is. Sometimes when deadlines loom and things aren't going as well as I would like with a novel I lose sight of how much fun it is to create characters and scenarios that bring joy to others.
My son and his fiancee and their two friends have gone back to Sydney so there's no excuse for not working, although this gorgeous weather makes we want to pull out a sun lounge and reach for the sunscreen. Alas, my hero and heroine are just getting interesting so I must attend to them.
Have a great week,
Melanie

Hi folks,
Well Tuesday is the day when the whole of Australia stops to watch the running of the Melbourne Cup. It is one of the richest horse races in the world. I went a couple of years ago, unfortunately it was shocking weather but it didn't really spoil it. It was a lot of fun the when those horses thunder down the home straight I can't help but shiver all over with excitement. I am going to have to watch it on TV this year as I am too busy to do anything else but even then you can still feel the electric atmosphere.
I am working hard on my new novel, I love the premise and the characters are coming alive which is a great feeling. It takes me a day or so to find out who they are and what they want.
We have a house full at the moment, my son and his fiancee are down from Sydney with two of their friends. They are going to do a three or four day tour of Tasmania and come back on Friday, or at least that is the plan. The weather is a bit cooler than we'd like but hopefully it will improve soon.
I'm off for a swim having had only two last week which is very slack of me. I have been nursing a shoulder problem so that's my excuse. I really missed the thinking time-it's amazing how many plot ideas I get when I am following the black line!
Have a great week,
Melanie x