The Medium Life

 What I'm working on? Two books at the moment. I have... "Captivating Kelly" being proofread and I hope to publish that at the end of this month, August. I am also editing a new Clearlake County book tentatively titled "A Sweet Tomorrow." As well, I have partially written a new Frazier Bay Book that I'll be plotting out next month. I am new to plotting but boy, it saves so much time. It is so much more effective, so I'm embracing plotting days in my planning. I also hope to have the new Maddie Summers, "A Bluebell Road Christmas" ready for this year's festive season. It's busy busy busy but very much fun. Stay tuned.

I was at a store a few weeks back and happened across a plug in to the wall, single element, induction cooktop thing. I made the purchase to see what it was like. I've been considering a new oven for some time and the inductions were recommended. My current one is not so good. Every time my sister comes over and attempts to cook on it, she's like 'Jo, when are you getting a new oven, how can you cook on this thing?' I can cook just fine, actually. It just takes ten times as long. To that end, I'd been contemplating the induction but they are more expensive, you need to make sure your cookware is induction friendly (I have one large pot that is just that thankfully)  and you also have to check the power supply supports it. It seems daunting. Then I found this plug in element and got home, got it going, cooked minced beef on it, and OH MY GOLLY GOSH. I couldn't believe it, just how quickly it cooked. I said to myself, now I don't need a whole new induction ove...

  Now free.. book one in my 'Maddie Summers' series, the Gabardis, it's The Gabardi Wife. Here's a quick intro: Holly's estranged husband Alexi turns up on her doorstep and she realizes she still loves him. But she needs a divorce, desperately. She's got a secret, one he can never know about, even though it concerns his family. Alexi has always adored Holly, but can he convince her so? Meet the Gabardi family in Book 1 of this sweet, emotion-packed series. You can get it HERE on Amazon.com until Wednesday July 15th. Go forth and enjoy!!

Frazier Bay: Everything you want in a small town romance: lovable characters, dashes of humour, a charming setting, and a heartwarming story...   I have been re-reading my first two Frazier Bay books to get back into the world as I plot out a third book in the series. I love these small town books, and I am especially keen to get back into writing this new one. I have a soft spot for fictional Frazier Bay because way back in the early days of my romance writing, I wrote a short story set in the small town and it won a competition which was just super exciting!! Pus it came with a very nice prize. The idea for the book grew out of that story. So far there are only two books but I have two more planned out for Frazier Bay.  So what are they about?   In The Heart of Matthew McLeod, Anna Cameron has weathered tragedy to find hope in Frazier Bay. With a new job, a new home, and her new friends, she's putting her life back together and even more, she's finding just how much sh...

 I've booked for the upcoming Romance Writers of New Zealand conference , to be held in early August in  Auckland so I'm pretty excited about that. I probably won't know most of the people, yikes, but that's a good thing, right? It means new people are writing and are interested in publishing and are supporting Romance Writers of New Zealand.  I also don't know who most of the speakers are but good to hear new people and learn new stuff and keep up to date with the business side of the writing.  Photo of myself with Glenda Leader, one of our RWNZ members from back-in-the-day. I think this picture must be a good 20 years old now! Good memories.

This time next week I'll be in Adelaide, South Australia! I've never been to Adelaide (or South Australia) so I'm super excited about that. There seems a bit to do in the city itself and the German village has been recomended; hopefully we can get there by bus. The Botannic Garden has also been recommended as a place to visit and besides that, there is the food. Spare the wine, but the food!!  Then I'll be flying up to Sydney for a bit of a family get together before I head home. I can tell you, there won't be much writing done but maybe I'll get some inspiration. Also, to Maddie readers, I'll be sending out a newsletter when I get back. xxx