Keziah Hill

There’s been a small but significant increase in academic interest in the romance genre and thankfully not from the perspective of contempt. Teach Me Tonight is always interesting, and has a link to Bronwyn Clarke’s Phd research into the romance community. I’ve just been over to do her survey so I think you should too.

…I think. It’s a slow process restoring your old links. And of course it’s a great procrastination tool.

Boy! Did I stuff that up! My blog design gone! Back to the drawing board!

For most of my adult life I’ve been a gardener. I think it was my creative outlet in the years when I kept telling myself I wasn’t a writer. The last year or two I’ve been concentrating on my writing so much, I’ve neglected my garden. It’s as if I couldn’t do both at the same time. Now that’s changing. I can feel the pull of digging in the earth surge through my blood.

Autumn is a good time for gardening. Even though it’s still February which is traditionally the hottest month in Australia, where I live an autumn coolness starts to flow through the morning air. It makes my hands itchy. I want to get out there and pull weeds and plant bulbs. It’s still too early for that - I generally don’t get my bulbs in until early April. Anzac Day on the 25 April is the very last day I plant bulbs.

Even though I’ve neglected my garden and we’re in the worst drought in recorded history, it still produces wonders.

Like these crab apples that are so big and luscious. I missed getting a lot of them off the tree in time so the birds have had a feast, but the sight of a crimson Rosella, all blue and scarlet perched on a branch feeding is a joy to behold.

I wish I had a picture of that. But I don’t so this one will suffice.

Did I mention Tailspin is out? I didn’t? Slaps forehead! Get over there and buy it!

Tailspin

Denise Rossetti

Tailspin By Denise Rossetti
Book 2 in the Phoenix Rising series.

From his magnificent tawny wings to his wicked feathery tail, Miriliel the Burnished is masculine perfection.

One glance and Fledge knows she’s outclassed. After all, she’s a small, ordinary circus girl with no education, no looks and no prospects. Mirry’s not only a warrior of the Aetherii but also a scholar of renown. Mesmerized by the power of his personality and her desire to be mastered, Fledge gives herself up for lost. But she can’t help thinking if only she had wings, she’d soar with Mirry in a Mating Flight for the ages. If only…

Mirry has lots of things on his oh-so-clever mind. An ageless demon captured his friend, Janarnavriel the Noir, and it’s using the dark warrior’s beautiful body for a perverted playground. All Mirry has to do is rescue his friend, finish his encyclopedia and educate Fledge. By the time he’s finished, she’ll know how to read, write and submit for her pleasure — and his. In between, he needs to kill a deathless demon, sort out his complicated feelings for Jan and show Fledge the secret of an Aetherii orgasm.

Not to worry. He’s made a list…

Could you tell in that last post I was a little overdone? It’s another day thankfully and I slept well. It’s a lesson to never write a blog post when I’m tired.

One of the thoughts swirling around in my head over the past few weeks is how lucky I am. I have good friends, a busy but stimulating life and apart from the normal stresses and strains of the cycle of life where parents are coming to the end of their time on the planet, mostly everything is going OK. I just want a full day locked in my house away from every one so I can get back into the rhythm of my story and characters. It is so true that if you don’t write every day, you lose track with the sense of where you’re going and it takes some time to get back into the flow. Maybe Saturday will be a good day for doing that.