Keziah Hill

I like to knit. I’m not very sophisticated, I can’t do fancy stitches, but I like to sit in front of the television and knit and think. So knitting squares for good causes is made for me. The ABC, which is the public broadcaster in Australia, has just had their annual Knit In for Wrap with Love. In America you can participate in Warm Up America.

I’ve adapted a pattern that Claire Delacroix designed for the knitters at RWAOnline. It gives you an inverted heart shape. It makes a square 25 cms or 10 inches. You need 4 mm needles and 8ply wool.

Cast on 51 stitches
Knit 33 rows of garter stitch. Garter stitch is all knit. This makes the square sit flat.
Row 34: Knit 25, Purl 1, Knit 25
Row 35: Knit
Row 36: K24,P3,K24
Row 37: Knit
Row 38: K23,P5,K23
Row 39: Knit
Row 40: K22,P7,K22
Row 41: Knit
Row 42: K21,P9,K21
Row 43: Knit
Row 44: K20,P11,K20
Row 45: Knit
Row 46: K19,P13,K19
Row 47: Knit
Row 48: K18,p15,K18
Row 49: Knit
Row 50: K17,P17,K17
Row 51: Knit
Row 52: K16,P19,P16
Row 53: Knit
Row 54: K15,P21,K15
Row 55: Knit
Row 56: K15,P21,K15
Row 57: Knit
Row 58: K15,p21,K15
Row 59: Knit
Row 60: K15, P21,K15
Row 61: Knit
Row 62: K15,P10,K1,P10,K15
Row 63: Knit
Row 64: K16,P8,K3,P8,K16
Row 65: Knit
Row 66: K17,P6,K5,P6,K17
Row 67: Knit
Row 68: K18,P4,K7,P4,K18
Knit next 33 rows or until square is 25 cm (10 inches) long.
Cast off.

There you have it! A knitting pattern from an erotica writer. Only goes to show I have diverse interests.

I get some of my best ideas when I’m driving. And you know, I haven’t been driving much lately. I live an hour and a half west of Sydney where most of my family live, but I haven’t seen them much lately. I also have some friends in Mudgee about two hours from here.

Last weekend and this weekend I’ve spent doing a lot of driving. Saw my family and friends and completely rewrote the first scene of my current wip in my head on the way home from Sydney today. A bit scary really. I can’t say I remembered much of the drive.

But changing the scene will make the central mystery of the story much better. I knew it wasn’t right, so getting myself into the car and thinking was a good move. Showing my age, but I listened to the Talking Heads and Crosby, Stills and Nash along the way (okay, so I was very young when CSN were in the charts!).

I’m on hols soon and the National conference of the Romance Writers of Australia is on the week after next, so play time is coming!

I’ve just finished A Piece of Heaven by Barbara Samuel. It’s one of the best books I’ve read this year. Full of yearning and sensuality and reality. It’s great to read a romance about people who could be in my life with my problems. She’s a wonderful writer.

I’m working on a romantic suspense at the moment and the plotting process is very much like cooking a slow, tasty casserole. The ingredients have to be just right. But even then, if you don’t let them burble away and infuse each other slowly and with just the right amount of timing, moisture and touch of spice, you end up with either something bland or something that doesn’t fit together.

I’ve been thinking and waiting and letting the ideas and the characters speak to me about who they are and what they want, and thankfully today it all fell into place. There are some threads that need a bit more work and I haven’t worked out in a scene by scene way how I’ll get where I want to go, but the recipe is there. And one of the major characters is dead. She’s not a ghost but more a force of nature who effected everyone she came into contact with. Of course she’s the murder victim.

It’s such a relief to know where I’m going.

I came across Helen at the Erotica Readers and Writers Association. Her story A Man in a Kilt was one of the first I read and I loved it. I also love her website. Drop by and watch her Stick Figure Pornos.

Congratulations to Bronwyn Clarke for her win in the Golden Heart for the Best Unpublished Romantic Suspense category and Barbara Hannay for her RITA win in the Best Traditional Romance category. Lots to celebrate at the Romance Writers of Australia conference in August. Much champagne will be consumed!

It’s a cold and grey day here but when I looked out into my garden there were five crimson rosellas perched in a bush just sitting there thinking what do do next, I guess.

It was one of those moments that takes you out of your usual routine of rushing around with your head full of the day to come. Calmness. That’s what I’d like at the moment. More time to watch and notice.