I had a bit of a wait for a bus in town this week, so I went for a wander around the university and took some pics. This is the area where the old Classics and Ancient History department used to be, when I did some papers there back in the 1990s. The middle photo shows St Andrew's Church which was one of the first churches in the new town of Auckland, and the first Presbyterian congregation. The church opened for worship in 1850. Photos: Auckland city, April 2024.

 I am having a lot of fun working on the print versions but no new writing is getting done. I have re-read most of the stories and my editorial assistant is going through them as well, and making suggestions. There are quite a few niggly things to change, such as getting rid of references to Twitter and making it just social media. That kind of thing. Nothing that changes the story in any way but just makes it better. It's been fun getting the proofs in the mail although the covers I made for the e-books don't translate all that well into print so I may have to redesign the covers as well.  But I have to say, I really, really liked reading the stories. They really are good, I think, and I can't wait for that time in the future to have the paperbacks, sans the "Not For Resale" across the covers, on my bookshelf.

I legitimately forgot I had a blog.  Goodness. However, I can report that while I don't do New Year's Resolutions, I do think about things and the time between Christmas and New Year is one of my all time favourite times of the year. One of the things I like about it is planning pondering the year ahead. I got a new bullet journal, nice orange cover so I can't lose it too easily, and when I go over last year's book, boy, one place to write everything down is hugely convenient. I am not sure how much new writing there will be this year, but I am still getting my books into print format, and that is exciting. It has been good to read them again, and I am very happy with them.  So far one of the good things as we head out of January, is that I have been walking tons more, and the way I do that, is to get off the bus earlier (save a few dollars, too), and walk the remaining 40 minutes to work. I can not believe how easy it is, although a few times I arrived at work, when

Point Chevalier beach I'm still plodding away on getting all my backlist into print format. It's quite a mission, even more so now that I'm back working full time at the day job instead of my part-time hours of the past couple of years. It is quite the transition but the job is good, the colleagues are really good and the work is just up my alley so nowt to complain about.  Very lucky indeed. On a What Have I Been Doing note, I dug out the old sewing machine (it worked, praise be!) and set about making hair scrunchies. Apparently they're back in again. Scrunchies!! I only know this because I spotted a few people on the bus sporting them. I'm all for the scrunchie. Plus they're harder to lose than the usual hair tie and I am sure are kinder on one's tresses. Even more, I got carried away and shortened some shirts which are now far better to wear. I'll probably do a bit more of that in the weekend. And... GO THE ALL BLACKS!!

Update: I am taking a break from new writing to focus on getting my books into print. Then they can be available for libraries, which would be fabulous. There's quite a bit to do, and I also want to get them into Large Print as well. I have proofs to check over and once I make the final decision, which isn't actually final as it can be changed at any time, they'll be on the books pages across the different retailers where I sell my books. There are very important things to decide. Like, is the cover glossy or matte? Is the paper white or off-white? What do I put on the back cover so that anyone picking the book up reads a description that makes them want to take the book out? It is, however, also kind of fun to do. But it will also be just great to get it out of the way and what's more, to be able to buy my own copies so I can have them sitting on the bookshelf in the lounge. Or maybe I'll buy myself bulk copies so they're in every room of the house. I've al

  If you haven't read any of the City of Sails series, there are five books in the series and the first, Falling for Jack, is at the moment, and has been for some time, permanently free. They are all set in Auckland, New Zealand, and they're all sweet romances. Here is the link to the freebie of the series, Falling for Jack, here on Amazon. They are also on: Kobo, Nook, and Apple.

There hasn't been much fiction reading going on, except for my own story that I am deep in the middle of. As its winter here, and spring approacheth, I've been analysing the appalling state of the back yard. As the last of chickens passed away recently, it has freed up the yard to do some serious gardening. It also involves pruning some big overgrown trees which will be great for more light around the yard. This will be the first time in six years we have been without backyard chooks and while I hope to get some more rescue hens another time, for now we're going to make an attempt at having a decent vegetable garden, cross fingers. Don't forget that my newest release, Stealing Stacey's Heart is available across Amazon, Nook, Kobo and Apple. It's a sweet, contemporary romance with a plot involving:  A theatre that is falling apart. A man with a vision. A woman with a dream. And the most unlikely relationship ever.