Jo's blog

I have taken it upon myself to invent recipes, mainly because, let's face it, half the recipes you read are just dumb. As in, who has these ingredients in the house? Plus one gets a bit bored, no matter how much one just adores lasagne. So the other night I was thinking what to have, and I sat there with my cook books (note that most of them were thanks to the library book sale, ridiculously great books at absurdly low prices - bliss!) and nothing jumped out as such, but I did have a brainwave. Here is what I did; I marinated sliced schnitzel in garlic, soy and a bit of peanut oil. I chopped up pumpkin, carrots, an onion or two, discovered I had a lone choko, so added that in and roasted this with paprika, some sugar, (yes, a dash of sugar, oh the sin), some oil and I think that was it. Half way through I had another brain wave, and chucked in a can of brown lentils. To be fair, lentils could be one of those naff ingredients you don't have, but am a bit of a fan of them, s...

Last week I gave a library talk on the romance genre titled " You Read That Trash?"  as part of a heritage talk series. Romance novels of course are loaded with fabulous heritage aspects, from the amazing covers themselves, to the social history of women  through the century. One fascinating aspect was the popularity of medical romances and how, according to one commentator, it was because many of the writers were nurses, and as the National Health Service  came into being in the 1950s, these women were keen to promote it amidst the changing landscape of health. On the cover art front, several of the covers were designed by artist Jack B. Faulks who produced a lot of pop-culture covers. He often had the man standing just behind the heroine, as in the Nora Sanderson cover and the Essie Summers. It was also an opportunity to look into the Mills and Boon company and see how they came to be publishers of romance novels; originally they were general fiction and non fi...

This past month (that would be March) was pretty pathetic in the reading stakes I was pleased to see one of the books I judged for the Romance Writers of America RITA awards that I gave high scores to had finalled. Always nice to know that what I think is a really great romance novel is backed up by a finals placing. I did read Shopaholic to the Stars but have to say that I am kind of over the series. The first few Shopaholic books I just raved about but now, am not so sure.  I do, however, just love Sophie Kinsella's single title novels to bits (The Undomestic Goddess, Can You Keep A Secret? and Remember Me), so will stick with those in future. While Becky always manages to redeem herself, she is, let's face it, an unbelievably annoying character. I read an old David Baldacci, perfect for my recent flight down country - Stone Cold, part of the Camel Club series. A fast paced thriller sure has its place on the reading pile. I currently have a stack of good old fashion...

Three things I have learnt from the past week. All terribly important. 1) Always check your texts prior to heading out to the airport to catch a flight. Do not assume that the new 3am text is just confirming your on-line check in for your 11am flight. It may in fact be a text informing you that your flight has been cancelled. #Jetstar This is especially annoying when you eschew taxis and shuttles for a much cheaper bus trip, and have just got on the last half hour leg of the bus trip to the airport. Even worse, you have no data or free wifi to check the website suggested in the FLIGHT CANCELLED text to sort out a new flight,  and you can't even turn around and go back home, but have to just sit there, on the bus, and watch, on approach to the airport, all the planes taking off.** 2) When you are buying lunch for someone, and they tell you what they can't eat because they have legit food issues, and at the cafe, you read the title of something, like, say, the Spinach...

Some great books this month, including some re-reads. Not a massive list, as one spent a fair bit of one's time not feeling all that great, and so listening to middle of the night talkback radio with the insomniacs, shift workers and the crazies (of which clearly I was in the last group) was entertainment enough. Touching Midnight by Fiona Brand The Earl's Mistaken Bride by Abby Gaines Rake to Riches by Nicola Davidson No One Knows by JT Ellison Countdown to Zero Hour by Nico Rossi Searching for Mine by Jennifer Probst

I have known for some time that the Very Bad Habit of sitting in bed, with a laptop, writing stuff, would one day be the death of me. Well, the death of a pain-free existence. I have thought this every time I have slumped in bed against dodgy pillows, admired the cat sleeping, a cup of coffee to one side, breathed a sigh of pleasure at just how good it all is, the luxury of it, got down to the business of writing, and known that one day, I would bugger up some bit of me because of indulging in this joyfulness. And it has happened. Just last week I was in bed-laptop heaven. Why go and sit on a chair at a desk? How boring, thought I, as I typed and backspaced and deleted whole paragraphs, cos I was touch typing and my fingers had been on the wrong keys. This is the life, I mused, as I checked Twitter, email, then got back in to the writing. The Culprit(s) Not that I stayed on the bed the whole day. I did get up to make coffee (that would be instant) and get the mail (that would b...

  A few opportunities to grab tons of great reading over Valentines Day - in fact up until February 20th. Twenty five free books, naturally they're romances from sweet to paranormal to historical.... definitely worth checking out... a perfect gift to yourself!! Go to the pretty page below and have a look... http://traceyalvarez.com/valentines-promo/