HOLD THE FRONT PAGE

hey everyone! Big news. I'm a Grandma!

Stephen and Belinda are now the proud parents of baby Riley (see Rock Kid above) who was born on June 26th. All is well, he is gorgeous and I'm in lurve! He weighed in at 7lb 2 oz and is a happy little man.

Can't remember anything else at present so will leave Riley as the star attraction.

Back later xxx

Hoping I'm back.

Thi is going to be short and sweet while I make sure I am definitely blogging!
I'm hoping that I've now conquered the gremlins that stopped me posting. Seems someone reported my blog as spam and I was threatened with ex-communication. Spam? Moi? I used to eat it once upon a time but that's the closest I am to it. Oh well... takes all sorts I guess. I've had several problems with a couple of nutcases trying to post daft comments on the blog (hence moderation of comments) so maybe its all connected? anyway Blogger now accepts I am who I am!

Work has been taking priority lately and I haven't done much else for a while now.so although I said we wanted to go to Jersey we haven't actually got there. Maybe soon....... I also want to go back to Singapore and also to Dubai... so many wishes!
Daughter Kate is currently in Mexico and texting about dolphins and hammocks and making me feel quite envious so maybe I'll have to go back there. It seems you're more likely to catch swine flu in London than Cancun right now!
We did go to Derby for two days where step-daughter is moving to shortly with her fiance. I've been near to derby before but never into the town. Managed a few hours shopping at the shopping mall..........

I have had one bit of socialising since the last blog at the RNA summer party last month. Great fun catching up with lots of old friends and also meeting new ones that I'd only previously 'met' on writers groups. Now looking forward to the winter party in November.

Baby grandchild is due so very shortly so thats an excitement, I'm having fun shopping at the moment but having to exercise restraint as we don't know if its a boy or girl. Due July 5th so not long to wait.
Will have to keep Ollie the cat away from it though, he's a naughty boy and I don't think he could be trusted with a baby. He is also now officially a serial killer of wildlife. Something different every day although he doesn't savage them, just brings them in and drops them if I shout. Very strange behaviour. But he's a character........

Off now as I'm pushed for time but will try and add some more later....

B xxx

PS don't forget you can also find me on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace!

PS

I don't understand the big gaps on my previous posting and can't seem to do anything about them for some weird reason. Hope to have the problem solved eventually, meanwhile just ignore!

GROWING OLD IS INEVITABLE..... GROWING UP IS AN OPTION.

Sheds again and Womans Hour.

hello again everyone. Just a quick news update but first, very briefly on sheds as I know this can be so boring to non-shed lovers..... Ian is not happy that my shed is now famous and is deemed better than his so now he wants another one that is bigger. And of course, if that happens then so will I. let battle commence!

Re: care of the Elderly.

Following on from my letter in the Mail there was this interview in the Sunday Telegraph:

http://tinyurl.com/ckd54y

Then following on from that was a visit to Womans Hour for me which sounds very grown up and as everyone who knows me knows, I don't usually do grown up!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/04/2009_19_tue.shtml

I know everyone views it differently (see comments on the previous post) but its good that the topic is high up in the media right now. Care of the Elderly is just as important as Care of Children but the elderly do get overlooked when it comes to government funding. IMO both groups are equally in need so its important for it to be discussed.

My mother wasn't a dear little old lady but I still admire the way that, well into her nineties, she still put on the lippie and posed for the camera holding her stomach in. The below pic (taken when she was 94) is in her memory. I hope I'm still kicking ass at that age!

Wednesday is the Romantic Novelists Summer Party in London so I'm off to party and eat and drink with lots of friends, many of whom I don't see often enough, time and distance being an issue. Can't wait. Shall I go shopping first? Is that Selfridges I hear calling me? Is the handbag department waiting to welcome me? Hmmmmmmmm.

Since writing the paragraph above I have made the decision NOT to go shopping and lunching beforehand. So much work to do and last time I was in Selfridges I so nearly bought a ridiculously expensive handbag; get thee behind me Satan, I'm stopping home and working until teatime.

Sheds and other bits and pieces

Bet you can't believe I'm here so soon after the last blog! I'm determined to catch up on myself with EVERYTHING. We'll see. This is just a short blog though!

Below is a link to the piece about my Shed/Office that is on the Shedworking Blog.
http://tinyurl.com/calse6 I think I mentioned this last time.
Ian is not over-impressed because he thinks his shed is better! Of course it isn't........ Ian's shed is below and mine is below that. Mine is obviously superior and I also have a Buddha to look after me. He only has a squirrel.




Now I have to get to grips with the Old School piece.

On friday we're all going to a 'Glitz and Glamour Ball' in aid of daughters friend Jessicas charity in Vietnam that supports orphans. Should be fun. I'm not doing a ballgown and tiara but hope to scrub up a bit! I'm excited to be going out after having to miss a few nights out recently.

For anyone who wants a laugh,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3rwVZIZA8k
I so remember the film and the song and even now people of a certain age break into song when I tell them my name!

Anyone been following the sad story of the elderly lady who was taken from her daughters home by what i can only describe as a snatch squad from Social Services. Well it reminded me of how badly my own mother was treated so I penned the following to the Mail and it was printed on Monday.

..............................'Why am I not surprised that Social Workers / police et al stormed in to remove an elderly woman from her daughters care?
when my mother, who still lived independently with our support, was taken into hospital it turned into a nightmare and not just because of the lousy state of the ward and the indifferent attitude of the Care staff.
The assorted services were determined she wasn't going back home, they held meetings without me and even went so far as to call in the owners of local nursing homes to find one to take her. When I said that there was no way she was just going anywhere without my approval they over-rode me and tried to arrange it anyway.
All they were concerned with was how much her property was worth and how much she had saved.
My mother was 95, lived just around the corner to me and had constant support from the family with all of us visiting, doing her shopping and caring for her. All was well until she was taken to hospital following an attack of diverticulitis.
Yes she was difficult and demanding, yes she would shout and be rude to the staff but hey! at 95 she deserved a bit of leeway!
Her health went downhill rapidly and she died on the ward before they could cart her off to a care home against her, and our, wishes.
I feel the way Mrs Figg and her daughter were treated is abominable but at the same time I'm not suprised. The system now comes before the individual and that is so wrong'................

Any comments? Experiences?

Must go and do some work after playing around on twitter etc for far too long.

Spring and Twitter

Spring has sprung. I know this because the sun is shining and also our 'fit' postman has got his shorts on. Brightens up the moring no end!

I don't know how many of you are on Twitter.... but I've got to grips with it now. You still won't find me listed for some weird reason or other but if you want to follow me / be followed then its: www.twitter.com/bernikennedy
It's yet another 'work displacement activity' for me along with Facebook, MySpace and assorted Yahoo groups. I'd do so much more of everything if I was surgically removed from the internet!

WRITING UPDATE......
Portugese edition of 'Shattered Lives' as well as the large print edition should be out later this year;
Currently writing a piece for my old convent school (St Bernards, Westcliff) on 'memories'. Good and bad I guess but on the whole I quite enjoyed it. Sadly I was easily distracted even then and read far too many novels and nowhere near enough school books. The Angelique books and also Harold Robbins books were my downfall!
Also doing something on 'working in my office shed halfway down the garden' for a blog on sheds. Will post the link as and when.
'Whatever the Cost' is coming along nicely and just maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel that is not an oncoming train!

Till next time. Enjoy the sun! xxx

Soon be Easter!

Hello again. brevity will be the buzz word today mainly because I've done nothing except work recently.

WHATEVER THE COST was thundering along quite nicely when I had one of my 'moments' and decided to change it all around. All very time-consuming but I think / hope I've changed it for the better.
Sometimes just the briefest mention of something means heaps of research to make sure I get it right so I've been reading up on OCD, a fascinating subject, and adoption in Ireland in the sixties.
It makes me realise what a truly wondrous invention the internet is, everything is there at the touch of a button. I LOVE Google so much, though I do often get side-tracked and go off at a tangent.

I've recently tried to sign up to TWITTER but I have a problem that my name is too long. I'm used to having it spelt wrong because of the dreaded second 'r' in Bernardine but the fact that Bernardine Kennedy is two letters too long is really weird. Guess I'll have to give it up, its no good if no-one can find me. Bernardinekenne isn't something that rolls off the tongue withe ease.

Holidays are at the forefront again, this time we're thinking of taking a brief break in Jersey. I haven't been there for yonks and Ian has never been. Its only a short hop from our local airport which is just around the corner so is convenient and I also really want to go to Jersey Zoo. I'm not a zoo supporter but many years ago my parents and I travelled on the same ship as Gerald Durrell and a film crew.

We were going to Nigeria and he was going to Sierra Leone to film a documentary on the Colobus monkey which he also used in his book 'Catch Me a Colobus'. He was a terrific man who loved animals, liked his triple gins and kept everyone amused for nearly two weeks.
I want to go to his zoo but I am also worried I may be disappointed! Maybe I shouldn't go? I'm not sure now.

I feel the same about Monkey World in Dorset (Jim Cronin). I've been watching the programme (Monkey Business / Monkey Life) for so many years now I feel part of it so will I be disappointed at the reality if I go?

And there's Australia Zoo (Steve Irwin) but doubt I'll be getting ther in the near future!

Yes I know, I must stop analysing everything and just do it!

I hope you all have a very Happy Easter regardless of the inevitable bank holiday weather.

Till next time xxxx

BACK FROM SAILING THE SEAS!

OCEAN VILLAGE TWO in Aruba

We arrived back on thursday but its taken until now for my brain to get back into the right gearand my body to get over jet-lag which I swear is getting worse as I get older. The first few days were spent trying to stay awake but I'm back to working today. So many mails to do deal with and Facebook stuff to catch up on as well as checking back to see what I'd written before we went away.

For everyone I owe mail to.... I'm getting there!

We had a great time on the cruise doing not a lot except lazing around. We went ashore at every port even though for some it was only for a walk around and a bit of shopping. Lots of sun, sea, relaxation and food 24/7. Oh my.......

We took coach trips on Barbados, (loved the wild north east Bathsheba coast there) and Tobago where we saw an old sugar plantation and hundreds of bats as well as the statutory Fort. Everywhere in the Caribbean has forts and cannons! Also went out on a small boat whale watching off the coast of Dominica and saw loads of them, also dolphins. Its a popular area for pilot whales and sperm whales. No photos of the whales though, every time I focused the camera they dived! We were excited out of all proportion to see the tails come out of the water. Impressive creatures!

We went to the beach on Isla Margarita, a very expensive shopping mall in Aruba and got lost walking in Bonaire! The trolley tour on Curacao was interesting but too short for such a pretty island. The Dutch influence is huge in Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao... the Dutch Antilles islands. (ABC)

Martinique was cancelled as there were civil riots (reminded me of the assorted coups when I was living in Nigeria) as was Mayreau as the sea was too rough too lower the tenders to take everyone ashore. (the ship was too big to dock there).

Oh, and on Bonaire we saw the most fantastic yacht docked in the harbour.... the toy of Paul Allen (Microsoft) with its own helicopter! I don't know, boys and their toys! Yes I was impressed, yes I am that shallow, yes I took photos! (see below) I want that yacht...

In St Lucia and St Vincent local bands came aboard; St Lucia was reggae but in St Vincent a steel band came on and they were fantastic. I love steel bands at the best of times but on the top deck of the ship under the stars overlooking a Caribbean vista? wow. A brilliant night, probably the best of the trip.

Thats enough of holidays, apart from the photos of course!

Paul Allen's 'Octopus'. Note the helicopter on the back! Classy eh?

Bathsheba Beach, Barbados.

Leaving Bonaire

I took the opportunity of limited internet access to read a lot. I took my baby Asus PC with me but access was soooo expensive. I did go beserk and take loads of trashy magazines with me but I also read 5 books.

Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell. I enjoy her books but this one didn't grip me quite as much. Enjoyed it though. Maybe just familiarity and I need a break from her books for a while?

Hold Tight by Harlan Coben. Now he is probably my favourite right now, this was great. I loved it.

Love of my Life by Louise Douglas. I knew nothing of this book or the author but the title grabbed me; romantic and sad as well as being unusual. Great first book by the author.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Adiche. I chose this because it is about Nigeria and the Biafran War and is also a huge selling award winner. It starts at a time when I was living in Nigeria and then carries on to cover all of the war. I left when the war started but my parents stayed there for longer. This is a novel but based on fact. An interesting read.

4th of July by James Patterson. Another of my favourites. This man is just so prolific he leaves me breathless. Loved it.

And that is it for the time being. apart from poor Ollie who had been battered the day before we got back by the local Thug-Cat and cost £65 in vets bills as a welcome home gift for us! grrrrrr. But he's worth it! Pic is of Ollie amid the valentine roses that he thought were his!

Till next time........ xxxxx

Holiday Time.

Just a quick catch up before going off on holiday tomorrow morning. We fly to the island of Aruba then board our ship for two weeks of sun, sea and excess. Once again our cabin is just one deck away from the restaurant that is open 24 hours although I have promised myself that I won't go in until I have walked once around the jogging trail on the top deck. Hmmmmm. I mean well.....


Our stop-offs are:

ARUBA, BONAIRE, TOBAGO, GRENADA, ST LUCIA, MARTINIQUE, BARBADOS,

ST VINCENT, DOMINICA, MAYREAU, ISLA MARGARITA, CURACAO.



Lots of interesting islands to visit there and it will be nice to go back to my favourite, Barbados, even if it just for the day.
I'm taking my gorgeous teeny laptop with me so I can keep in touch with the world (the internet is such an addiction) and maybe do some work?? again, hmmmm. I mean well......
I'm also taking several books along for the trip so will talk about them when I get back. One of the best bits of a holiday for me is reading purely for pleasure and leisure!


I belong to the Romantic Novelists Association and have had many great times at assorted events but I missed the big lunch and the following pub party this year because of a double booking I made after I got the days mixed up. Grrrr. However, congratulations to award winners Julia Gregson and India Grey.

The RNA did a poll of sexiest male celebs 2009 and the results were:

1 Richard Armitage 2 Johnny Depp 3 Hugh Jackman 4 George Clooney 5 Daniel Craig 6 Sean Bean 7 Alan Rickman 8 David Tennant 9 Pierce Brosnan 10 Gerard Butler




My voting was (roughly) :


1 Gorgeous George Clooney (who else?)

2 Alan Rickman (Truly Madly Deeply King John!)

3 Keith Richards (I know, I know, but I adore him!)


4 Gary Sinese (CSI New York. Right)

5 Johnny Depp (but only as Jack Sparrow)

6 Paul McCartney (old Beatle crush from way back! I'm loyal)

7 William Petersen (Gruesome Grissom ofCSI Vegas)



The rest of my list is along the lines of the RNA voting so there I'll finish there. Comments would be appreciated??


















Here's Keef..... This is my favourite Stones pic. Daughter Kate bought me a large linen print of this for Xmas.


Shattered Lives continues to do well and I've had some great emails. Do keep them coming, I become neurotic very quickly when there is silence. 'Whatever the Cost' is coming along nicely, I'm really enjoying writing it which is goo. I just need an extra pair of hands and a masseuse for my shoulders.

Now I'm off to do the packing and tie up the loose ends before going. I'm going to miss Ollie the cat but he's in safe hands here.

Till next time.... B xxx

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

Before anything else I'd like to wish A Happy New Year to everyone. I hope 2009 will be good and bring you everything you wish for. XX

Many thanks to everyone for all the emails and good wishes for both Christmas and for Shattered Lives, every word is always much appreciated, I am always so grateful to you all for taking the time to mail me.
I know I've missed a few mails that have gone into the dreaded spam folder so I may well have missed others. If I haven't replied that's why! The best way to avoid that is to always put a reading / writing related heading that can't be misinterpreted by the spammer as something dubious.

Well, another Christmas been and gone, a New Year started and resolutions broken already. No, I'm fibbing. I've learnt now that NY resolutions are a waste of time and far too stressful so I don't make any anymore. I did once make a resolution not to go to the gym and I've kept to that one okay. The 'lose three stone by the end of the month' one was always going to be tricky.

Shattered Lives is out there in the shops and the response has been good. There was a great review in Now Magazine (big selling weekly celeb-type mag) last week which gave it four stars. Yay! Every little helps. (isn't that an ad on TV?)
It's also been sold for Portugese translation and for large print which is excellent.
I recently received my PLR (Public Lending Rights) figures and the books are all doing well in the libraries so thats good also.

Also, just in case you think I've forgotten, I shall be getting my web-site updated very soon; the newsletter is already overdue.

Where does all the time go I wonder?
Whatever The Cost is going well now and I'm enjoying writing it though I definitely have to move a little faster to try and get it under my belt before our cruising holiday in mid-feb. I've gone back to my original writing style for this one... fingers crossed it works. I shall be taking my new baby laptop (Asus eee) which I am in love with and my internet dongle with me on the ship so I can easily stay in touch. If it all works properly I may even update the blog from the high seas just for the hell of doing it!

However, me and technology aren't always best friends so we'll see. I'm very good at buying all the latest gadgets... its understanding how they work that is the problem!

The big personal news is that I'm going to be Grandma! Son Steve and Belinda are expecting a baby in July and I am so excited. We have no babies in the family, just a cat! He's a gorgeous cat and I love him dearly but........ Right now I'm having to sit on my hands to avoid baby shopping..... what age do they have laptops now?!

Must off now... till later,

B xx

Back Again!

I've made it back! I left it for a while because I hadn't any news of any relevance and then couldn't get on to post. Instead of dealing with it, I ignored it thinking it would resolve itself but of course it didn't. But I've got it sorted now.......... I hope! All I have to do is remember the password.

Well here we are again with Christmas on the doorstep and not a lot done. Its scary to think that 2008 is almost over, my, how time flies when you're getting older! I haven't written my cards yet, let alone posted them but trust me, I do wish everyone a really Happy and Peaceful Christmas break with lots of gifts and wishes.
My thoughts are especially with those who've had a really bad year. Much love and good vibes to you. You know who you are!

SHATTERED LIVES the paperback is out at the end of December so do head off to the shops with your book token or to the library. The reviews of the hard-back have been good so fingers crossed.
I'm into the next book (number 8) which is going along nicely if not fast enough. I must re-learn how to multi-task. That skill seems to have disappeared lately.

Now, what's happened since I was last here? Not a lot really, no more holidays until February when we're off on another cruise. It's similar to the last one we enjoyed so much but this time we start in Aruba and do more of South America as well the usual ports of the Caribbean. I can't wait. Everytime I say Aruba I think of the Beach Boys song!

Oh yes, and we had to buy a new toaster. Now that might sound mundane but the reason for it isn't. Ollie the cat (who used to be a dear little kitten but isn't now) brought a mouse in and let it go! Next day I put some toast in the toast and wondered why the slider wouldn't go down so I pushed and pushed and....... horror of horrors.... I inadvertently battered to death the poor little mouse that had taken refuge inside. Oh god, I felt so bad, I felt sick, I had nightmares. So new toaster and a closer eye on the catflap......
Pets eh? can't live with em can't live without em!
Last night... sixty pounds vet bill because he was beaten up by a neighbours cat. Aaarrgghh.

Oh and I bought a new car! Like you do in times of recession but it is economical and the Road Fund Tax is only £35 a year. Its another Smart but this time it's red and silver. I love it. I was so fond of the other one I had that I'm delighted its still in the family, my daughter has it and they do look good on the drive together. Pics next time.

I'll leave it at this for now but will add things in when I think of them. I'm just so pleased to be back in the land of blogging again.

Till next time.......... don't forget, I'm also on Facebook and MySpace.

Books and Holidays

I seem to have settled into a 'once a month' routine for the blog.... maybe I'll get back to once a week soon. lol. Life has been hectic one way and another so many things have been left!

SHATTERED LIVES. Today is hardback publication day! Yay. A bouquet of flowers was delivered from my publishers which is always nice.
I think the book looks good and feedback so far has been positive which I hope bodes well for the all-important paperback which will be out in December. The new one is under construction with the working title of 'Whatever the Cost', but that may well change. The titles usually do.

This is short and sweet to mark Shattered Lives.

Back soon when I shall post the second half of the 'twenty thinks to do......'. xx

Summer Holidays and assorted stuff

Hello Everybody.
Well I do try to be more efficient but somehow it never quite works out the way I intend it to. Hence another big lull in my blog! hey ho.

I have been busy though. What with the proofs of SHATTERED LIVES to check and a new synopsis and story-line to plan. I have so many ideas spinning around all the time that I try and write them down when I think of them but then when I need them I have to unscramble the crazy notes and make sense of them again.

So far I'm working with the title WHATEVER THE COST.... I like that. I really need a working title before I can get on with the actual manuscript, even if it changes further along the line. (And most of them do.) Its another of my writing quirks, like completely editing a chapter before I can move on to the next one. I just can't move on if its not right.

I'm also working on some short stories and travel features that I should have done by now. Will let you know what happens to them in due course.
Memo to self.... take a course in time management! I have the time, I just don't manage it properly!
memo to Chris my accountant. I'm doing it, I'm doing it!


If you've mailed me in the past few weeks and not had a response it is probably because I managed to lose an email file with them in. I now have it back (thanks to someone more techy than me) and I will be working my way through them all shortly. Big apologies for the delay. Also... could I ask that you put a title heading in the post? if its blank it sometimes gets whisked away by my super- spammer.

We went to McArthur Glen Outlet Shopping Mall a couple of weeks ago; it's a whiz down the M20 from here, there are lots of shops, easy parking and open-air. We really like it there. Anyway..... on the way down we were overtaken by a convoy of Bentley Continental Convertibles. Eight of them. Now this car is my my 'lottery' car, my 'one day maybe' car. I love it and lust after it but eight together? who was in them? where were they going? Any suggestions anyone? A clutch of premier footballers off on a beano?

We ourselves passed a convoy of classic cars (which I guess were off to a show) that included my all-time favourite the MGA. Aaahh, such nostalgia and envy. Not many of them around now. I looked it up in a car mag and they cost a fortune. Not as much as Bentley Continental though. (Dream on Kennedy-Dream on and Move On!)

Tis the festival season and accompanying camping. Not for me though. Unless I can be allocated a five star Winnebago in the VIP section with a backstage pass and access to the air-con marquee at the back.
The braver members of the family are off the V and Reading having already visited a couple of smaller ones. Fingers crossed for them for a lack of mud.

next month I have the deep joy of seeing the 'skin doctor' to see if I need yet another dubious surface lesion removed. This time on the front of my leg.
This is a legacy of my time in Singapore and Nigeria when I would fry every weekend in the hope that one day I would develop a golden tan! Wrong! I think I am on my last layer of skin now so I'm careful. Barn doors and bolting horses spring to mind.
I do however get tired of medico's remonstrating with me as if it's something I can back and change! Yes, I know NOW it was daft, but I didn't then!

Will list the second half of my 'Top Twenty things to do before I'm Pat It' list next time and I'll also tell you about my latest toy. The ASUS EEE handbag sized PC. very gorgeous.


On that note I'm off again. xx

Quote of the day: AGE AND TREACHERY WILL ALWAYS TRIUMPH OVER YOUTH AND SKILL.

STOP PRESS

MY NEW WEBSITE IS UP AND RUNNING AT: www.bernardinekennedy.com

do take a look and let me know what you think.

News And Catch Up

Well, I'm back from the annual RNA conference at Chichester University and what fun that was! Old friends, new friends, good food and nightly kitchen parties! How retro is that? Did I think I was 20 again? Oh yes!
Of course there were also very good speakers and a cross section of interesting talks in between the socialising.

A good time was had by all. Sadly I had to leave on Sunday (I had booked until monday but sometimes things happen to get in the way of FUN) so missed sunday night's revelries.

The weather en route home was horrendous; not since I drove across Alligator Alley in Florida on the outer edge of a hurricane have I had to negotiate such a nightmare drive. But Hey! I made it back though I doubt some of the lunatics who overtook me at ridculous speed did!

Same again on Monday on the road out of London. Thrashing wind and rain and idiot drivers; Are we going tropical in the UK? I have managed to grow a rather large and very gorgeous Palm in the garden so maybe we are.

Sadly came back to find our family of robins who were nesting in the holly bush wiped out by Ollie the kitten-cat. Mum, dad and fledgelings. I guess the torrential rain had them foraging on the ground for insects and he somehow got the lot of them. He is a very hunting-orientated feline, maybe because his mummy was a Siamese?? Sometimes I hate cats but, as Ian said, it's nature.
Okay. sometimes I hate nature then!

Of course the birds also come in for my wrath sometimes.... one minute the cherry tree was heaving with fruit then whoooosh, in comes a swarm of starlings! No cherries for us this year. I tried to hose them away but they pulled in their wings, closed their eyes tight and sat it out. Second year running they've caught me out! Must learn to pick earlier.

Currently reading the latest book by Andrew Gross who used to be a co-writer with James Patterson. AG's first book was brilliant and this one, 'The Dark Tide' is shaping up the same. I've brought a stack of books back from the conference to add to my already heaving To-Be-Read pile but must, must, get my new storyline going before I read anymore.

I would like you all to join me in wishing a pox on the thieving git who stole my credit card details from the internet and spent a heap of money on tools /mobile phones / having his/her car unclamped in Liverpool. Top marks to NatWest fraud department who realised and phoned me to check! Phew......

Must make a quick mention of Aunty G who dies recently aged 98. Great old lady, great old age. RIP.

Now I'm away to work on my new outline..........
Till next time

Bernardine xx

Mid-summer

How time flies. One minute it's Christmas, then I blink and we're almost at mid-summer. I like to think time flies because I work so hard but apparently not so according to the magazines, it's just an ageing thing. Sort of all downhill from now on?? I hope not but just in case I'm currently working on my top twenty things to do before I'm incapable. (List at the end)

Next I suppose, come sentences that start with... 'I remember when........' 'kids today...........' 'when I was your age......'

I don't mind it really. I just avoid reflective surfaces and tell myself over and over that although I can't help getting older I don't have to mature.

New colour blog... pinky shade to blend with what will be the background colour of my new, soon to be unveiled, website. Let me know what you think of the colour and how easy it is to read.

SHATTERED LIVES is to be published in hardback on September 18th and in paperback on December 29th. It received a good mention in The Bookseller magazine so fingers crossed. I'm now in the process of plotting number 8 and also writing up some features and short stories.

I must admit, I enjoy the small lull between writing books because I can also read books. I like to read away from my own genre so I've just finished Kathy Reichs latest BONES TO ASHES. I enjoy her books; alway ripping good reads and she never disappoints; I guess it's because she writes about what she knows, Forensic Anthropology. I also read Karin Slaughter's SKIN PRIVILEGE. Sometimes Karin can be very graphic (!) but again a brilliant story-teller. Next on the list is Mark Billingham and then Martyn Waites. Then back to my own!


TOP TWENTY THINGS TO DO BEFORE I'M INCAPABLE. (First ten in no particular order)

Write a multi-million best-seller!!!
Snorkel off the Great Barrier Reef and take the train across Australia.
Go shopping in the Mall in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. (Largest in the world)
Take a helicopter along the Grand Canyon.
Take a few months to go travelling and catch up with all my friends spread all over the world.
Go to Madagascar and meet an Aye-Aye face to face.
Take route 66 across America.
Go to the Edinburgh Tattoo.
Stay at the Burg Al-Arab in Dubai.
Meet (?) Keef Richards.

Anyone else got a 'must-do' that i should know about??!!
Till next time.

Bernardine x

Cats

Again I've left this too long but there's a limit to how many times I can repeat 'not done much... working hard'! Sooo boring but sadly true.

I love animals but there are times when I hate having pets. Last week was one of those time when my Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know ChavCat (Skippy) was run over and killed. Everyone is devastated and even Kitten Ollie (not such a kitten now) wanders around looking for him.


ChavCat was an RSPCA rescue cat some years ago and he had been battered and damaged to the extent that he had wonky back legs and would fight and bite and spit but he was still such a character and is sadly missed, especially by his local vet to whom I have paid a small fortune in repair bills!

ChavCat on his fake Burberry blanket!


On thursday I went to the Romantic Novelists Association Summer Party. Brilliant to catch up with so many friends but again there's never enough time to speak to everyone I wanted to. Hope to catch up with them again at the conference which is less frantic as its spread over 2/4 days. Its at Chichester Uni in July.

I was very well behaved and didn't stay in London to carry on partying afterwards as I usually do...I went straight home on the late train. now there's a first! It was in the library at the boringly named but very interesting Institute of Mechanical Engineers in Birdcage Walk near the Houses of Parliament. Lovely old building.......

Apart from that I have been working and dealing with all the other stuff that life chucks up every now and then to throw me off course! Come the beginning of June I'm taking the first two weeks off to sit around and do nothing I've decided. maybe!

I'm in the process of having a new website built at last so hopefully I'll be able to link to it soon. Be good to have an up-to-date one at last.

Now I'm off to have an ice-cream on the seafront as its such a lovely day!

Till next time.

It's Spring! Maybe.

A quick update.

Well I thought spring had sprung, the daffodils have been and gone, the hyacinths are blooming and........... then suddenly we had hailstones the size of peas and it was back on with the winter woolies! Weird. But then I guess spring is the unpredictable season. I do like warmth so lets hope we're in for a good summer.

This week has been the London Book Fair at Earls Court. I didn't go but I know from my agent that my books were there. Fingers crossed for some more foreign sales.

I had my dreaded appointment at Moorfields last week and have a six month reprieve from further surgery. I was so concerned that I would fall further back on my deadlines but all is well.

Sadly though I have to cut back on my time in front of the computer screen as I was spending far too long both reading and writing on screen. I've stepped away from a couple of forums and am now going to be more aware of time management. (Well, I'm going to try!)

Moorfields is a hospital I can't praise enough. Well managed, well staffed and clean. I can see why its one of the best facilities in the world. I am full of admiration.

I'm currently trying to decide which conferences to go to this summer. RNA and Southern Writers are both in Chichester but at different venues, Swanwick is in Derbyshire as always and Caerleon is in Wales. Time restrcitions mean I can only go to two. Decisions, decisions.

Now I have to get back to edits. till next time.

Bernardine xx

MySpace + Facebook

Just a very quick note.... I've updated my MySpace and Facebook pages so if you're on either / both of those then do go and have a look.

Don't forget the second R in Bernardine. Bernard + ine.... named after my mother's cousin Bernard hence the spelling. I know its often spelt the other way but Hey! it's my name and that's the spelling...

Till next time. x

Website + Library Talk

Several readers have asked me recently about my very static website! Because I'm in the process of changing the 'manager' it's still up there, but has not been updated. I can't do it myself. I so wish I was techy minded!
As soon as the new website is operational I'll let you know, meanwhile, the background info remains the same and the latest news is on the blog.

On Sunday I gave a talk at Canvey Island Library in Essex as part of the Essex Literary Festival. It was a brilliant event that I enjoyed so much thanks to a big, interactive audience of avid readers. I just hope they all enjoy the books of mine they borrowed and bought.
Many thanks also to all the staff who worked so hard to set it up.
I love going to libraries!
The Essex Festival is a brilliant showcase for authors of all genres, fiction and non-fiction. I am a keen supporter and look forward to it every year. Well done Essex. Roll on 2009!

This is a gratuitously 'aaaaah' photo from Singapore Zoo, 2006. Don't we all know someone just like that?

Bernardine x

Shattered Lives

The new cover that I shall move to its rightful place with the others just as soon as I can figure it out!

More later, I'm currently trying to figure the blog out from the inside. I'm easily confused.

Cruising

The ship. Ocean Village.

Well, I'm back. We had a great time and I'm now quite taken with the idea of a world cruise. maybe one day! 6 months home and six months away. The joy of being an author is that H can work anywhere.

Cruising was just perfect for us. We enjoy relaxing and doing not a lot and that's what we did. The ship was large but accessible and how lucky for our cabin to be so close to all the restaurants eh? Food was good and the informality suited us.

We flew to Jamaica to board and then went to Mexico (Progreso and Cozumel), Belize, Honduras, Cayman Islands, back to Jamaica, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica then back to Jamaica. (Montego Bay and Ocho Rios)

Brilliant.

I read lots of books, did lots of people watching and generally went into sloth mode. (we saw several of them... I felt a connection!)

It was so good to wake up and go out onto the balcony and look at either the sea or another destination. There was good and bad in the various towns. Excellent was Costa Rica, the rain forest and banana plantation. Also Grand Cayman and swimming with the stingrays which are HUGE. Oh and shopping in Cozumel. I've been there before and love it so instead of going on a trip we took a cab into town and shopped.

Not so good was Columbia and Jamaica and the slightly edgy feeling that we both felt ashore.

Just a few pics (don't want to bore you all! Below is the Blue Train that is a hundred years old and trundles through the rain forest in Costa Rica. We went on it and also over the bridge below. It's called the 'Hail Mary Bridge' because as soon as passengers realise the train is going to go over it they start saying their prayers. (allegedly!) My, that was so scary. A rusty old train going over a rusty old bridge! But we survived it, as do all the tourists who trog along it. We also went up one of the canals and saw all manner of wildlife. Even a crocodile.... I've seen alligators in the Everglades but not a croc before.

Below is Ian and friend in Columbia.... I really really wanted to snatch that piece of melon off her head. It was so hot that day.

Have you noticed I don't usually post pics of me? My naturally frizzy hair and freckles do not take to the heat and sea so I just look frazzled! However, here is one with a stingray. Not that good but hey it gives an idea of the size of the stingray! From my right arm across to surfer boys left shoulder. BIG. Stingray City is actually on a sandbank around a mile off-shore and the rays are semi-tame. Unlike the one in Florida that got me on the foot several years ago.

The publication date for SHATTERED LIVES has been put back to September as I still have some edits to do but the info is up on Amazon. www.amazon.co.uk Which reminds me.... I must get the new cover up on here asap.

The problems with my eyes affected so many things but they are now a little better and I can see the PC. Hurrah! Onwards and Upwards from now on, fingers crossed that my appointment on the 11th at Moorfeilds Eye Hospital will be the last for a while. I no longer look as if I am doing an impersonation of Donald Pleasance in 'The Great Escape'.

Books read on hols.... Harlen Coben X2, James Patterson, Dean Koonz, Leslie Pearse. All very good but I love Harlen the best!

Back to work now,

Till next time,

Bernardine xx

HOLIDAYS!!

We're off on our holidays tomorrow... cruising the Caribbean.

I'll tell you all about it when I get back in a couple of weeks!

Catching up. 2008

Well here I am again. late again.. blah blah blah. Usual excuses so I won't make them. You all know my intentions are good, I am just so disorganised!

Christmas came and went as it always does as did New Year. Phew for another year. And I've dealt with the taxman so all is in order! Yay.


SHATTERED LIVES has got a great cover that I will post next time along with the blurb. Not sure of the hardback publication date right now........

I had eye surgery at Moorfields Eye Hospital at the beginning of the month and its not been entirely successful so far and may have to be repeated. Unfortunately it was on my good eye and I haven't been able to see properly since. This is an absolute nightmare for an author as you can imagine. I have to peer at the screen and then focus out of the corner of my eye. Not a good look! Still it makes everyone laugh.
And of course I can't drive. That is so limiting!

Fingers crossed also because we finally got round to booking our cruise... we are off on February 26th. We're sailing from Jamaica and then doing the rounds of Central America.... Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, Columbia, Caymans plus some more that I can't remember. We're going with Ocean Cruises because they are informal and we can just laze around and not dress up. Not sure about how safe I am going to be with a 24 hour buffet? Oh my.

Ian wants to go to see the ruins at Chichen Itza in Mexico and I want to swim with the sting rays
in the Cayman Islands....... must remember to act my age and not get burnt this time. Going to give the zipwire into the jungle in Costa Rica a miss though.

I'm really looking forward to it and hope eyes are sorted by then. Never mind, its just one those things that will be okay in the long run. (fingers double couble crossed!)

It means I'm going to miss the RNA awards lunch on monday, the first one I've missed in several years. Bummer! This year its not at the Savoy but at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington. Should be fun for all those lucky souls going!
Good Luck to all the short-listers, any one of whom will be a worthy winner.

Ollie the kitten is growing rapidly to cat-size though he is, as of yesterday, missing a couple of his vitals! Not that he noticed of course. Maybe he'll now stop running up the curtains and hiding on top of the wardrobe waiting to pounce... I doubt it though.

Enough for now, typing is hard work at the moment.

Back soon xxxx

Quote of the day... I don't do skinny dipping.. I do chunky dunking!

SEASON'S BEST WISHES

Yes I know I've been lurking, not posting, not being sociable! Sometimes life gets in the way and other things get left. I am not an organised person.

But next year will be different!

I will not be side-tracked by the minutae of the internet (eg shopping websites).

I willll update my blog / myspace / facebook with regimental regularity.

I will write an allocated number of words each and every day regardless of whether I want to or not. Self-Motivation will be my Mission Statement.

I will do my accounts monthly instead of dragging the shoe box out in January with mere days to spare before the taxman's penalty axe falls..

I will write all the letters / emails that I promised my friends and family and my oft used phrase 'Must catch up in the New Year' will mean just that.

In other words I will be organised and efficient and quite unlike the old me!

By way of explanation, this has been a strange year personally with far too many deaths of friends, family and acquaintances of assorted ages. Very sobering times.

On a more upbeat note, Past Chances did well this year and Shattered Lives is out next year.

Meanwhile, as I contemplate my last-minute Christmas shopping list which will naturally be completed well in advance next year..........


I cheerily wish everyone:

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A EXCEPTIONALLY HAPPY NEW YEAR



and RIP to my favourite Uncle Brian who died a few weeks ago. Christmas in heaven will be a lively old do this year!

PUBLISHED

Well, Past Chances is now out in paperback as of October 18th. Available at all good bookshops, on the internet via Amazon etc and in some supermarkets including ASDA/Walmart.
I love to say that as Walmart is an addiction of ours when we are in the US.
We often spend half a day (or more!) pottering in a super Walmart. We're very easily pleased really....

For anyone who lives down my way and who has time to spare, I'm doing a signing in GRINDLEY'S Bookshop, Leigh Broadway, Leigh on Sea, Essex, on Saturday 27th from 1-2. I'd love to meet anyone who can make it.
I'll put up more news as I get it. Right now its fingers crossed that firstly readers buy it and then of course that they enjoy it.

I escaped my writing prison on thursday and went to the launch of Faces, the latest by massive seller Martina Cole in a rather swish London nightclub last week.
It was a great night and it was nice to catch up with so many friends. I love writing but it can rather solitary and author friends live all over the country. All over the world even.
Long live the internet I say! Such a brilliant communiation medium.


None too pleased right now with Olly the kitten who did a little dance on my open/turned on laptop and managed to (very cleverly) delete the whole of SHATTERED LIVES.
Most of it was backed up (phew) but only most of it. 30,000 words approximately were lost. Mr Computer Man, who instantly understood my hysteria and came out very quickly, did his best and found some in the memory but am still over 20,000 down. aaaarrrrgggghhhhh.

Olly had: deleted.. overwritten with random letters... saved. Oh My. But gone is gone so I'm just trying to remember and catch up again. Computer Man said it was like winning the lottery in reverse... outstanding odds. I then checks the lottery number and lo and behold.... Nothing. Zilch. as usual.

Hard to stay cross... see below! And anyway it was really all my own fault leaving the laptop open, on, not backed up!

We are now cautiously approaching the garden with him courtesy of a harness and lead. We live on a busy road so can't let him out independently too soon. Neighbours think I'm nuts roaming around with a cat on a lead but then they probably though that anyway. All I'm doing is reinforcing!






Till next time..... xxx

Cats and mumblings

Its Friday and I'm here! Yay.
Again it will be short because I've got not a lot to say having not been anywhere!
I really can't wait to get SHATTERED LIVES out of the way so that I can rest poor aching wrists. I wish I'd learnt to type properly, I type quickly but I'm not a typist so my hands are all over the keyboard and I make loads of typos that I then have to correct. I wonder if its too late to move away from two finger typing? Maybe night-classes? I shall think about it.

Life with Chav-Cat the thug and Olly the cute kitten has been really strange. Instead of ripping his head off and tearing him apart (as I expected) Skippy has gone back to kittenhood and plays with the young usurper who is more than happy to get the occasional cuff around the ear when he goes too far. Most bizarre... I had expected warfare. Maybe the long-wanted Siamese is a possibility after all.
It is such a time-waster though, we all sit and watch!!

Tonight is the night we are DEFINITELY going to book that cruise...... DEFINITELY! I'll let you know.

Now back to the coal face.... xxxx

Don't forget... PAST CHANCES Octoner 18th.

Happy Friday!

So its friday again, I've got the jist of the day, just having some problems with which friday.

I really don't have much to blog about as I am still in self-imposed isolation while finishing SHATTERED LIVES. I maybe need a psychiatrist to explain why, when the end is in sight, I get the most fantastic idea and just have to change everything around?? Why don't I get these ideas at the beginning? Oh well. Too late for me to change now!

The Camping Boys arived back a day early after a couple of mishaps!

Lesson one. Do not cut open a glow-stick with a leatherman tool. If you do you'll have an explosion of bright yellow phosphorous all over your face and in your eyes and have to seek medical attention!

Lesson two. Beware the guy ropes that hold the shelter up. If you trip over them and the shelter disintegrates then there is no shelter under which to shelter!

But they enjoyed it and I spent the week doing nothing except write!

PAST CHANCES is out in paperback in three weeks... I'll update with any info nearer to the date. The finished copy looks really good and its in the slightly larger paperback format. Fingers crossed for me everyone.

Over the past few months, I've been hopping on an off an internet forum discussing the mystery surrounding the missing Madeleine McCann.

The original purpose of my visits was to harvest some research for my next novel but boy is it compulsive. When I 'retire' shortly I may need to head straight for my local addiction clinic! It's been an interesting insight into how the new accessibility of the internet has empowered so many people to discuss so many issues.

It throws up class, race, religion and politics in a way that no-one would dare do in a face-to-face group.

A very interesting insight into human nature across the board.

Now I have to figure how to incorporate my new knowledge!

Finally, we have a new kitten. I didn't intend to do it again, pets cause so much grief and we have the Chav-Cat but, by defualt because his new owner was allergic and I couldn't say no, we now have Olly. Tje prettiest, naughtiest, noisiest kitten ever.

Chav-Cat still doesn't know what's hit him but he's been far better behaved than I expected. The occasional clip round the ear to the young pretender seems to be about it. aaaaaahhhhhh.

Now I have to work!!

Till next time xxxxxxxx