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!