Summer time...

..and the living is just great. We've had fantastic warm, bright weather in the wilds of Shropshire. The kind that makes you stop what you're doing raise your face to the sun and smile at the warmth seeping into your bones. Walking around the garden is bliss, the air heady with the scent of wild rose and honeysuckle. Glorious.

The goslings are out grazing as are the hens with their chicks, everyone is happy, especially the pigs in their wallow. Although the girls (Pygmy goats) do feel they should be on our side of the hedge when it comes to bbq time in the garden.

We're all busy with work, Rob's out a lot at the moment getting all his schools ready for sports day and now I'm working full time, the weeks are flying by, but it's lovely to sit out in the gloaming scratching a pigs belly and listen to the Curlews bubbling in the fields across the valley. Makes it all worth while really.

The kidlets are well too, eldest seems to suffer from what a lot of parents Im, sure already experience and that's a very active social life. I have definitely become 'le chauffeur.'

Thanks to all my writing buddies who've kept in touch. I know I've fallen off the face of the earth but I'm still writing where I can!

Reasons for bad blogging part 2

Over the past few years our family has made steady progress towards being more aware of where our food comes from. It started when the kidlets came along and us wanting to put the best food possible in their tummies and I guess it has a lot to do with understanding the food on our plates and how it's reared and produced. Or how badly in many cases.

So, Grandma and Grandpa Littlehales grow the veggies and salad. This is difficult during winter but I try to make sure that I buy seasonal locally sourced stuff then.

We've got Chickens that lay eggs, we've got sheep that produce beautiful meat and any other meat that we buy is from the local butcher, who uses local farmers. Now, we are not a rich family by any stretch (at least not financially) and to be honest, I don't find the butcher any more expensive than a supermarket. For me, it's making the conscious decision not to buy meat that's been intensively farmed and pumped full of growth promoters etc. If the last chicken breasts on the shelf are not free range, I won't put them in the trolley. We'll eat something else instead.



This year we have added another 'home growner' to the list and that's goose. Or, (and I apologise if this offends anyone but we refuse to be fluffy with our children when it come to where their food comes from) as the children call them, Christmas lunch.



Now, this photo was taken four weeks ago and this weekend I will take another, so you can see how they have grown.



I'll be back next week with the photo and maybe I might just mention how my writing is going.

Reasons for bad blogging part 1

Those of you who know me well understand that I am a complete animal nut. I mean we're not talking cat lady here, but, well, I guess I became a Vet Nurse for a reason. Anyway, the things is, in our family it has always been a long standing joke that when Rob asked my Dad if it was okay for him to take me off the market (yes, we are that old fashioned) that my Dad said yes, but on one condition- that he took the darn goats away too. Since then, Littlehales family folklore tells of the Pygmy Goat dowry.

And I loved my goats. For sixteen years I had them, put up with them bleating every autumn when they were in season, coped with the tap dancing routine they performed on the roof of one of their Pygy huts and even bit my tongue when they never failed to turn a flock of carefully herded sheep into a seething mass of rioting idiots who refused point blank to go in the direction you were hearing them- because the Pygmy Goat decided at the last minute to run in the opposite direction. (Picture much running around and launching of husband at multiple badly behaved ewes) But alas, all things come to an end and I said goodbye to Briar, my last goat, two years ago.

This year, Rob and I have been married ten years and what did the old romantic ask me? Yep, did I want some Pygmy Goats for our anniversary. I may be sad, but that's one of the most romantic things he could have said.

So, here's introducing Rosehip and Lillie..

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It's been a little while since I blogged...okay, so it's almost half a year, but I promise I've been really busy.

So, where to start? Well I guess there's the new job, or is that jobs x 4? Did say things were hectic! Anyway, it's taken a bit to get my head around Veterinary Nursing again. Anaesthetics, radiography, fluid therapy. My brain was aching, that's for sure. Thankfully, some things haven't changed. Veterinary practices still survive on chocolate and caffeine, it's still really hard to say goodbye to an old friend when it's time, and oh, kitties are still really cute...

Well, it's the New Year and things are finally getting back to normal. The kidlets are back at school and I am now grumbling at what the vast quantities of food and wine I consumed over Christmas have done to my hips and waistline. Boo.
The family seem to have missed (grasping the nearest wooden object) the awful sickness bug that's been sweeping the country, but time will tell if we have gotten away with it completely. I remember catching it whilst at a Wedding the last time the pesky little virus did the rounds. It was horrible. Truly horrible.

Anyhow, I started the new job this week and so far I have managed to leave the practice on time to get home and drive the school mini-bus. Let's hope that continues as I keep having a recurring nightmare about leaving sixteen school children, my own included, stranded at our local school.
On the good side, I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Veterinary Nursing and the team at the practice are great. It's a lot more relaxed than I ever remember it. It also seems that my skills were simply rusty and not forgotten. Yay! Lots of things have changed since I left but with everyone being so supportive and some serious CPD, I shall be able to re-enter the Veterinary Nurses' list without feeling a fraud.

On the writing front, I have started a new WIP, but there is still no news from M&B about the partial I sent them in July. My sixth month of waiting is looming large and although I try and tell myself that a long wait could mean good things-I am also beginning to worry it's gotten lost. It can be so hard to think positively, so what do you do to keep the crows of doubt at bay?

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.