Merry Christmas!

Things have been very busy around here-like they have been for everyone, but at last I am ready for Christmas. The cards have been sent, the presents are wrapped, the wine is ordered from Tesco.com. I even managed to snag a home delivery spot for the 23rd. Life is good.

I'm chipping away at the last four chapters in my wip, trying to mine my characters' emotions for all they are worth. I LOVE this story and I'm really hoping that the editors at M&B ask to see the full manuscript. I was hoping to get that as a Christmas present, but no luck yet. Still, 5 months is not the longest wait I have endured.


I have also found another part time job (waving to Karen) and will be starting that after Christmas. So, if you live near Shrewsbury and have a pet, be afraid, be very afraid. I am rather hoping my Veterinary Nursing skills are simply rusty and not missing.

So Happy Christmas to everyone and if I'm scare in the New Year, you know it's because I have my hand on some poor dog's unmentionables.

What a great Friday!

Many, many congratulations to Michelle Willingham and her family on the safe and speedy arrival of her son. I luuurve babies and the new guy is a little corker. Well done, Michelle! And welcome James Patrick!

Still here..

...still revising, but I can see the end of sight!

I'm on the home stretch with only 4-5 chapters to go. I openly admit that writing the last part of the book is emotionally draining for me, but I am loving it regardless! Tullia and Gellan have such a mountain to climb before they get their HEA. *evil grin*

I have learnt so much writing this ms. I was determined to take my writing to another level (thanks for the challenge, MichelleW!) and I do feel this ms is much stronger than the last one. The characters are definitely driving the their own emotional arc and I even have secondary characters shouting to have their story told. Of course, this could all change once my CP's read through it, lol. It could be the biggest POC of all time, but at the moment, I'm in love with Gellan and rooting for both of them!

It's all go!

Oh, and congratulations to CarolC who's just had a baby boy called Nathan, weighing 9lbs! Well done CarolC!!!

I'm not sure if it's the fact my dog got fed up with being the antelope in Scrappy the cat's Serengeti style attacks, or weather she finally got the idea that the cat wasn't trying to eat her, but today I caught the pair of them running around together playing hide and yip. Very strange.

I have a stinking cold, made worse by the fact it's damp and misty outside. Blech. So I'm posting a picture from our holiday this year to make myself feel warmer.

Sorry I’ve been a bad blogger, but I’m drowning in revisions. Oh, I know they’re the best bit of writing and I do enjoy them. They make your story stronger and turn a good book into a brilliant one. But, at the moment all the GMC’s of my characters seem to swilling around my head and I’ve no idea which way is up or down.

This is not a situation I’m happy with.

I’m up to chapter seven so I’m pleased with that, but ahead lies a glutinous mass of middle and ending that needs moulding and shaping into a compelling story that The Editor will want to buy.

So here’s my current recipe for good revisions:

1 large bar of chocolate.
12 cups of coffee.
1 understanding husband
2 well behaved children.
Unlimited supply of ready-made meals or pasta based products.

I pray to Gods it works.

Yay!

The first draft is done! It's a tad sticky at the end but it's DONE.

Hello, my name's Allison Littlehales and I'm a...

....list queen.

Yes, that's exactly what my husband accused me of this morning. Unfortunately, I have to agree with him. In fact, I am unaware how I survived my pre-children years (this is purely a post partum phenomenon) without lists. I even make lists of what I need to make lists of. The only downfall to this is that I am so scatty I often lose my list before I have chance to use it.
I also seem to be obsessed with cats. When I unpacked my shopping this morning and took out the birthday cards I’d brought, I found they were all different designs, but all of them featured cats.

So, here’s a list of cat related things:

1) Ailurophilia is the "love of cats."
2) The nose pad of a cat is ridged in a pattern that is unique, just like the fingerprint of a human.
3) There are more than 500 million domestic cats in the world, with 33 different breeds.
4) The American cat population reached nearly 68 million in 1996. American Demographics magazine estimates that's about 200 million kitty yawns per hour and a whopping 425 million catnaps each day!
5) A cat's heart beats twice as fast as a human heart, at 110 to 140 beats per minute.
6) 25% of cat owners blow dry their cats hair after a bath.
7) The largest cat breed is the Ragdoll. Males weigh twelve to twenty pounds, with females weighing ten to fifteen pounds. The smallest cat breed is the Singapura. Males weigh about six pounds while females weigh about four pounds.
8) Calico cats are almost always female.
9) If your cat is near you, and her tail is quivering, this is the greatest expression of love your cat can give you. If her tail starts thrashing, her mood has changed --- Time to distance yourself from her.
10) Cats wag their tails when it is in a stage of conflict. The cat wants to do two things at once, but each impulse blocks the other. For example: If your cat is in the doorway wanting to go outside, and you open the door to find it raining, the cat's tail will wag because of internal conflict. The cat wants to go outside, but doesn't want to go into the rain. Once the cat makes a decision and either returns to the house or leaves into the rain, the tail will immediately stop wagging.

-You'll be pleased to know that my normal lists are even more exciting than this one! Lol

In other news, the WIP continues steadily and I’m now on the last handful of chapters. For me, this is the hardest part of the book, but I am excited about revising this ms and I do think it is stronger than the last one-lets just hope The Editor thinks so too!
I’ve also firmed up the GMC for the characters on my next book so I'm ready to get going on that one.

Chuff! Chuff!

The wip is steaming along and I'm now up to chapter ten. I know I'm not delving anywhere near as deeply for those emotions as I should be--writing it is far too easy for that! But as this is a first draft and time is ticking on, I simply want to get it down. But things are getting more and more fraught for my characters. Yay!

In other news I'm meeting up with Nell Dixon, my writing friend who's recently sold to Little Black Dress. I always look forward to catching up with her. There's nothing quite like gossiping with someone who 'get's you.' Anyway, I see coffee and cake in my future....

No more sticky bits!

I believe I have finally trudged my way through the sticky patch in my WIP. I knew where I needed to be but wasn't sure how to get there. JulieC's comment on making sure you have rock solid characters flipped the switch. It was my goal with this ms to create characters with solid GMC and make them drive the story, so instead of flailing aimlessly around I sat down and thought what my characters would be thinking and what their goals would be at that point in the story. Chapter eight will need revisions of gigantic proportions but I feel I can at last move forward.



CarolC, whose a fellow M&P regular over at e-harl and who I had the pleasure of meeting (along with her bump) at the RNA conference this year posted a link of Eric Bana-fine hero material I think you'll agree, so I thought I'd post my version, which of course I have for purely research purposes. *Big Grin*

I love my cat. She EATS spiders. I hate spiders. I love my cat.

Sigh. Some days the writing is easy-ish. Some days it’s hard. Very hard. Today is one of those days when every word I write sucks. Utterly sucks. I keep telling myself that writing crap is better than writing nothing at all—you can fix crap. But honestly, I shouldn’t be letting myself get away with that anymore.

I’m at that in-between stage that http://www.melthegreatest.blogspot.com/ posted about on her blog a little while back. I’m not a newbie anymore, but I’m not published. I’ve been given feedback and encouragement by both published authors and editors, but all the pieces haven’t fitted into the puzzle yet.
I’ll get there-that’s something I’m determined to do, but sometimes the steps needed to take your writing up to the next level seem mighty steep.

So, to perk myself up I'm going to post some beefcake.

Any takers?

Toys for boys.

Usually as a family we do things together, but last weekend I had loads of errands to run so my hubby took Edward with him whilst I had Olivia. Edward helped daddy get a few jobs done before they headed off to an open day at a local quarry. Apparently, as my hubby uses lots of stone in his job he thought it a good idea to see where it came from. Personally, I think he went for the trucks.

Olivia and I had a great day too and I cherished the 'girly' time together. I never really went out shopping with my Mom, mainly because she simply didn't have time with running a business. So spending a leisurely morning with my girl was bliss. Although, I think she literally shopped until she dropped.

Cat nap shocker.....

Obviously my work still lacks that page turning quality....

Reasons for not writing part two...

And this is Olivia's room......yes, pink is her favorite colour, and yes, she loves Butterflies. This is of course the girl who loves digging in the dirt and making mud pies.

I am still trying to take a good picture of Scrappy the cat, but no one told me how difficult is was to get a picture of a black cat without it looking like a blob with eyes, which at its current ingestion rate is what it will end up looking like in real life.

Reasons for not writing....

This summer I should have been writing. Instead I threw myself into decorating our house which was in sore need of a little TLC. Initially I thought this would be a simple task, but three truck loads of dust bunnies and sixteen bin-bags of old toys later I have at least half the house under control. Anyway, this is Edward's room.

Summer reading

Whilst on holiday, I got to read a couple of fabulous books by newly published authors. Firstly, The Italian’s Defiant Mistress by India Grey, a witty and emotionally intense book that had me completely hooked from the first page, and Warrior or Wife by Lyn Randal. Now, as I am currently struggling with ensuring that my characters lead my story rather than my plot this book really had light bulbs going off in my head and I enjoyed every minute of reading Warrior of Wife. What great reads!

Also, and very belatedly, I want to say a huge, no HUGE, congratulations to my very dear friend Nell Dixon who sold not one, but two books to Little Black Dress. She's a very talented lady who has long deserved such success and in my book is sure to be a big star in the future.

Summer holidays..

So, the school holidays are almost over and I’m not ashamed to admit that I am looking forward to a rest…oh, and some much needed writing.

Cornwall was fantastic. Frankly anything other than torrential rain would have been a blessing and we had a few hot days where we lazed around on the beach. Olivia fell in love with body-boarding and a crab called squishy. Sadly the latter relationship was doomed to failure.
Anyways, here’s picture of both cherubs at Trelissick gardens near Feock in Cornwall and Olivia enjoying a chocolate Ice Cream at Mevagissey. She gets her lady-like manners from me.

Rome

My goodness I enjoyed Rome. This second HBO/BBC series was brilliant, much better than the first and I'm very sorry there won't be another one. Everything was brought to a satisfactory, if bittersweet, conclusion.

In other news, it continues to rain. To date we've experinced two days of sunshine since the beginning of May and there seems to be no sign that we'll see it again. It's incredible to think that this time last year we were baking in the hottest temperatures on record. *Sigh* Not fun as most of the schools in the U.K have now broken up for summer and my two were really looking forward to paddling pools and Ice cream. Hopefully, Cornwall will be drier when we go down on Friday.

I've finally sent my partial off to HM&B. It will be interesting to see if I've done enough to get another full request or If I've completely missed the mark this time. Fingers crossed!

The tale of Scrappy

I never seem to acquire any of my pets through normal means and the tale of Scrappy is no exception.
Three Sundays ago I spotted a little ball of fluff that looked remarkably like a kitten running past the patio window of our front room. Unfortunately, by the time I got outside the black fluff-ball had disappeared.
Fast track three days and my hubby came in to tell me that he’d found the kitten outside hiding under a pile of scrap. After much coaxing the kitten was eventually cornered and brought into the house.
The poor thing was only about five weeks old and I was 99.9% that there was no mommy cat about so it meant she’d either been dumped or her mommy had abandoned her. So we took her in. Over the next week she sat petrified in the corner of the cage just watching us.
Oh, how things change. She’s now a devil-worshipping-foot-ambushing-dog-mauling-monster.
But she’s gorgeous. And when she stays still long enough I'll post a photo.

Some things never change...

I had to laugh this morning when I found one of my old school reports hiding in the back of a cupboard. Here's what my fantastic English teacher had to say:

“Allison’s strength lies in her oral work where she excels. If she can now discipline her written work to the same extent, she could become a first-class student of English. There is still much to do in the area of sentence- construction to make the best of her fertile imagination. She enjoys all aspects of Literature and is a girl with considerable potential.”


I can just picture my poor CP's nodding their heads at this. I still suffer from the same problems.

My less than perfect sentence-construction has been a thorn in my side since before this report and if I'm honest it's what stopped me writing for many years. But it occurred to me how much my English has improved since I wrote my first manuscript four years ago.

Mr Wright would be proud.

Is there anything In your school reports that hasn't changed?

I haven't...

forgotten about you!

My computer is sick and won't let me stay on line for very long before it drops out.

Things will be back to normal soon-I hope!

Onwards and upwards!

The decision from Richmond was no. Kiss wasn’t quite what they were looking for.
But, the good news is that The Editor wants to see more from me and she gave me some fantastic constructive criticism.
Stuff like that is invaluable, just like the beautiful compliment slip she sent in her letter.

So, I know now what my strengths and weaknesses are. I have something to work for.

Onwards and upwards!

My week of ups and downs.

So this past week has been a bit of a whirlwind. Firstly, I had the virus from hell, which is typical as I was due to meet Pip and Nell for coffee and cake (fantastic morning by the way). By Tuesday I had been asked to play stand-in husband for Nell Dixon at the RNA awards lunch in London. By Thursday I felt awful with the previously mentioned virus and was stuffing vitamin C down my throat by the hour.

Thankfully by Friday morning I felt somewhere near human and determined to support a very nervous Nell, who went through a similar experience last year with the New Writers’ award. The RNA events can be a little overwhelming and leave you feeling like a rabbit trapped in the headlights of a large 4x4.

The journey went without a hitch and soon Nell and I walked into a beautiful reception room at the Savoy Hotel filled with tables designated to each of the publishing houses involved with the event. Oh, and champagne. Lots of it.
Nell started to grow red at this point, so I offered her some booze to calm her nerves. She refused. I kept her moving and took photographs. People started arriving, we smiled, said hello. Nell grew redder. She still refused booze.

Then finally we saw faces we knew. Fiona Harper and Liz Fenwick. Liz offered us a drink, I accepted (I owe you one, Liz). Nell refused.

Eventually some of the HM&B editor’s arrived and I managed to propel Nell towards Maddie Rowe who’s just asked Nell for revisions on her Medical romance (which you’re doing now aren’t you, Nell?).

The lunch was fantastic and the ballroom surroundings sumptuous. The ladies on our table were really sociable and all very glamorous. Then it was time for the awards. The main award was presented first and then the Romance Prize.

At this point Helen’s face went even redder.

As most of your know now, Nell wonthe 2007 RNA Romance Prize. But when her name was announced, she didn’t move. She just stared at the dinner table in disbelief and shock. Thankfully, after being urged from her chair by Michelle Styles (who was also nominated and had forced Nell to enter the competition in the first place)she moved.

All of the nominees are fabulously talented writers and I would have hated to chose any of them to win, but Nell was such a gracious winner I know she impressed many of those attending. I, along with many of her friends present was just darn proud of her.

I think it took about four hours for the enormity of what had happened to sink in to Nell. Her smile got wider and her hands finally stopped shaking. On the train home we were both exhausted, but it was lovely to see her husband and daughters arriving at the station to give their prize winning mommy a well deserved hug.

Congratulations, Nell!

From hill to flat

I love where I live, the countryside is breathtaking,unspoilt and diverse, but sometimes living on the side of a hill sucks. Ever tried teaching your children to cycle down a mountain? Well, let me tell you, it's not pretty. Plasters and Valium are a must. Even something simple like putting a table and chairs outside to sit and soak up the sun requires cramp-ons.
Well, not anymore.

For the past few weeks I have let my husband loose in the garden with a digger in an effort to create a level area where we can install some play equipment for the children and put in a BBQ. It's not finished, the grass seed needs to germinate and the flower beds require oodles of plants to make them look pretty, but when you live on the side of a hill, this picture is heaven.

In other news, the WIP is coming along well and with the kids going back to school tomorrow things should shift into a higher gear. I feel happier with this ms, I'm on chapter seven and I know exactly what's happening and where my characters need to be. Hallelujah!
I am hoping to finish this first draft by the middle of May.

Look what I got...

I consider myself a fairly level headed person, but sometimes I just liquefy into a big pile of mush. Today was one of those days.
Today I received a copy of Michelle Willingham's book and read the dedication.
There are times when you wish you lived closer to those you respect as friends and peers, to just give them a big hug and say thanks and well done.

Boing, boing, boing!

Spring has definitely sprung and last week we started lambing. Now, normally sheep don’t do it for me. On the plate with mint sauce, yes, but as animals, well, there’s no give in them. I’ve never found they have much character. Lambs on the other hand are very different.
Here’s a picture of this year’s contenders for cutest lamb.

Which one gets your vote?

Okay, so where did March go?

Sorry I’ve been AWOL, but things have been busy in Littlehales land.

Thanks to everyone who commented on the cuteness of my nephew. Alexander is doing very well and taking every opportunity to exercise his vocal cords.He’s just darling.

Every year the Upper Onny Wildlife Group survey the local area to get firm numbers on the Curlew and Lapwing population. Both of these species are disappearing from the Shropshire Hills because of predation and changes to agricultural practices. I won’t bore you with the exact details, but things will be getting even busier over the summer as I’ll be monitoring Barn Owl nest boxes too. I’m really exited about this as I love Owls and it means I'll be helping to increase the wild population by knowing where to put up more nestboxes in the future (Barn Owls are very site faithful and the young will nest nearby when their time comes). I lost my captive bred Barn Owl five years ago through old age and I’m very keen to get involved with falconry again, so this is a good compromise at the moment. I’ll keep you posted on how things go.

I still haven’t heard anything from M&B about Kiss, but at this stage no news is good news. I’ve got two other manuscripts finished, which admittedly need lots of revision, but I need fresh eyes to do that as there are problems that need fixing (i.e I need to delete vast swaths on both of them but it hurts too much at the moment to do it). So, I’m now starting on my third manuscript, which I am endeavoring to write without making the mistakes I made with the previous two which are:
Over complicating the plot.
Putting in too much historical jargon.
Not enough emotion.
Me leading the story and not the characters.
This of course sounds very easy, but as I have discovered, it's hard to get right. But I am determined to do it.
I also had an agent rejection for Kiss, which is sad, but not the end of the world. It’s still out with other agents. I just need one to say yes.

In May my crit partner Michelle Willingham’s book Her Irish Warrior goes on sale in the US. Here’s her book trailer http://www.michellewillingham.com/images/HIWMovie.swf. I can’t see it myself as I’m on dial-up (booooo). But I believe it’s faboo.

I have a nephew!

May I introduce Alex Frederick Morris Littlehales, born 22.02.07 weighing 7Lb 4OZ.
He's cute, he's gorgeous and I'm so darn proud of Paul and Julie for bringing him into the world. Well done guys!

Ten things....

1) I was captain of school.
2) I know how to drive a traction engine and a steam roller.
3) I met my husband whilst covered in coal dust and oil (at least I know he loved me for more than looks.)
4) I never went full term in either of my pregnancies.
5) I am the secretary of the Upper Onny Wildlife group and during the spring and summer I can often be seen out surveying Curlew and Lapwing, both of which will be extinct in my area within 5-10 years.
6) I love birds of prey and dream of the day I have enough time and money to take up falconry again.
7) I love travelling, but at heart I’m a home girl and like nothing better than the view from my front window.
8) Similarly, I adore socialising, but I’d also be more than content marooned in my own cottage in the middle of nowhere. ON MY OWN.
9) I am currently writing a historical romance set in Rome, but I’d love to write a romance during the Reformation.
10) I have so far set all my stories around an actual historical event.

Both the kidlets are off school at the moment with a stinking cold, poor things. Olivia hasn't eaten a thing today and this is the girl who eats three Weetabix for breakfast. I hate seeing them so ill.
At the weekend I went to London with my husband for my Birthday treat and visited the British Museum. Man I love that place. There are not enough hours in the day to see everything but I saw some great Roman jewellery, mosaics, silverware and Samian pottery. I drooled at the Sutton Hoo display and the Viking and Anglo-Saxon weaponry. *Sigh* I will post pictures but I fear the flash reflected off the glass rendering them useless.

No news from M&B, but I'm up to chp 8 on The Charioteer. Yay!I seem to work better if I write a rough draft then leave it and work on something else. That enables me to go back with fresh eyes and see my work as a whole not random scenes. I also realised I need to print my first draft out before I step into the abyss of revision. What about you? Can you write a ms straight through or do you need time apart?

Snow!

We don't normally get snow, and certainly not nine inches! This picture is from our bedroom window shortly after I returned home from driving the school bus. The road is the white bit between the wall and the gate posts. Thankfully everyone got home safely. The mini-bus stayed at the bottom of the drive.

January's over...let February commence!

Life has been hectic of late, but here’s an update:

Olivia has astounded me and started school without a backward glance. After months of fretting and worrying about setting foot in the big bad world of full time learning (not to mention giving her mommy plenty of sleepless nights) it’s now mommy who has to reel her in and remind her to give me a kiss and say bye-bye. Already there are tales of gangs, hairstyles and parties, not to mention the thousand and one after school clubs she just has to attend because so-and-so goes. God help me when she starts secondary school.

This past month my Nan died which has been an immense loss to the whole family. Even though at 93 she had been frail, she still had all her marbles and amazing mobility. I just thank God she died peacefully in her sleep and not hooked up to all the bleeps and whistles in a hospital. God bless and keep her.

On a happier note, the weight loss is going well. Five pounds down and another five to go. With Livy at school my evenings are free and so I have managed two classes of aqua aerobics and one class of yoga a week. Go me!

Three of my friends have been nominated for the prestigious Romance Prize 2007 run by the RNA (they’re the same people who read Kiss and then sent it to M&B with a letter of recommendation and are the U.K equivalent of RWA) so big, huge, enormous congratulations to Nicola Cornick, Nell Dixon and Michelle Styles! I would really hate having to pick any one of the short listed titles, they’re all fantastic reads. It’s interesting to note that three out of the six short listed nominees are historical romances and it’s great to see the genre doing so well. I know a few people in the industry have been murmuring that editors are now actively looking for them, so fingers crossed for anyone out there writing one. This is the time to get submitting!

Work for me has been hard, but you know, you’ve just got to keep chugging along. No news from M&B, but I have e-mailed them just to make sure it’s still under consideration and the ‘R’ hasn’t gotten lost in the post. I’ve finished the second draft of The Barbarian’s Desire and I’m going to let that rest for a little while. There’s a few things that need fixing, the least being a total lack of romantic focus, but at the moment I’m too close to revise it objectively. So, it’s back to The Charioteer and the sand and leather of the Circus Maximus, wish me luck!

Still here..

..and still blowing bubbles in the current ms. At the moment it feels I'm writing a big pile of steaming poo which no editor in their right mind would want to buy. So to cheer myself up I'm posting a picture of what my hero might look like.

Bad blogger

I am alive, just face down in my current ms. No news on the work front, but I keep telling myself that having five agents and one editor looking at it must mean something. *please God*

But It's all about the next manuscript and making it better. Must. Concentrate. On. Next. Book.

Oh, but before I go I must say congratulations to Michelle Willingham for selling two more books to Harlequin Historicals and Nell Dixon for getting her medical romance requested by an agent. Ah, to know such greatness.

Anyway, here's a picture of the Birthday boy on Coniston water. If you think he looks happy here, you should have seen him last night when he discovered he'd got a loose tooth.

First day at school

She went. She saw. She conquered.