Keziah Hill

Rest in Peace - sigh.

It’s been a long, hard nine months, but I’m beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel. There are periods in your life when all you can do is tread water and hope you don’t drown. The last nine months have been like that for me. A new job, a new city, trying to sell my house, buying a new apartment (and hence two mortgages - not fun!) then the low point of a very bad time, my mother’s death.

Not unexpected and now her suffering is over, but it’s still amazing to me that such a gigantic personality is no longer on the planet. We didn’t always have a smooth relationship as mothers and daughters often don’t, but she gave me a legacy of intellectual curiosity through her love of conversation, books and politics. I could often feel estranged from her but she’d always reel me in with some discussion of books or her latest fury about the Howard government.

I keep having ideas that I want to discuss with her but she’s not there. Ah me, oh my. Adulthood is really here.

Life is still all over the place. Living in two places is not conducive to writing. But I did get some done today, even if it was restructuring and editing my slave story. The princess in this particular fairy tale has a tendency to like rough play but feels guilty about it. The slave out for revenge will use her guilt to make her suffer and will suffer himself in the process. Like a lot of my stories the hero and heroine have assumptions and fears about each other which are unfounded. Much of the story is getting the both of them to be honest with each other. But they can have a lot of angst fill fun along the way. I’ve used this picture because chains are a theme that run through the story. Not just physical chains but chains of need, desire and in the end, love.

Edited on 13 January - But Photobucket didn’t like the image! Too racy for them.

I’m just about to set up a What I’ve Read in 2008 page and looking over my 2007 page I’m finding it hard to say which books were my favorites. Certainly Barbara Samuel, Shana Abe, J D Robb, Judith Ivory and Harlan Coben remain my favorites, but I also like Nalini Singh, Phillip Roth and the first of Sara Douglass’s new fantasy series. But there were lots of others I liked including Anna Campbell and Paula Roe. Not to forget Ruth Wind. Or Donna Leon. Or Suzanne Brockmann. Or Elizabeth Hoyt.

How was your New Year? Mine was very quiet. I like it like that.

I’m very happy with this review of Familiar Strangers. Five stars from Euro-Reviews!

WOW! This story blew me away! It definitely isn’t a dull read. It’ll keep your heart racing and certain places will definitely feel a distinct pull. High marks all around. Keziah Hill is one to watch!

Thanks Melisa!

My astrologer friends would probably put it down to Uranus doing whatever it does, but the last six weeks have been a whirlwind of change for me. I left a job, started a new one, may have to move and generally feel like my life is out of control. Not all bad though. The new job is demanding but great and there is something about dramatic change all in one go that’s invigorating.

And Australia has a new government! That’s put me in a good mood especially since one of the first acts of the new Labor government was to sign the Kyoto Protocol.

But all this change has meant my writing has suffered badly. I’m living in two places and don’t have a desk at one so I can’t seem to find my footing and develop a routine. But it will come. In the mean time, I’ll concentrate on morning pages to kick start my creativity.

Blurb:
Alycia’s always possessed an affinity for cats, big and small. But
when she’s kidnapped by a being more feline than human it turns from
an asset to a issue. A six-foot five sexy one.

Barrick never dreamed when he paid the best matchmaker in the galaxy
to find his mate she would choose one so… different. Alycia is a
headstrong, opinionated, melt in your mouth delicious distraction.
She’s nothing he wanted and everything he needs.

Excerpt:

She hadn’t been paying a lot of attention. Not until she heard the
leaves crunching. The GPS hadn’t shown any cats nearby but the hair
on the nape of her neck was standing on end. She could swear that
there was one in the tall yellowed grass to her left. She didn’t
chance a look over to make sure. If it was a male, he might take the
direct eye contact as a form of aggression.

Her bike wasn’t that far away but, counting the time it was going to
take to start the thing, she wouldn’t make it. But what was the
other alternative? Stay here and be dinner? Not freaking likely.

Alycia took a breath, hoping to slow down her thundering heart. One.
She darted a quick look over into the grass. It shifted. There was
definitely something there. Two. She bent down towards the water
again. Three. She pivoted and took off in the direction of her ATV.

She was almost there but something was right on her heels. She
yanked the key from the lanyard around her neck. Jumping on the
bike, she jammed the key into the switch and turned it on. The motor
roaring to life didn’t drown out the sound of the tiger’s roar.

With a small squeeze of the handlebars, the bike jerked forward. She
raised her head in time to see the tiger launch at her. Her hands
instinctively flew up to protect her face. It hit her squarely in
the chest, knocking her onto the ground. The air whooshed from her
lungs and her head bounced on the ground.

Visit Cobblestone Press to get the whole story.

Leila Brown website
Leila Brown blog

Haven’t been here - sorry! Life has intervened. But today is Election Day in Australia so I offer you this video with the inimitable Steven Taberner and a mass choir in Melbourne singing an election message that I hope will come true.