Hi everyone,
Well I didn't quite reach my quota for the week but I had a fabulous weekend at the beach house where I wrote pages and pages. The weather was cold but calm and the long walks on the beach were so theraputic. My jumbled mind seemed to clear and as soon as I sat in front of the computer it all fell out of my fingertips. I just love that feeling!
The dogs were thrilled to be exercised off the lead, they ran and ran and Polly even dipped her toes in the water. It is about 11 degrees Celsius at this time of year so you can imagine how quickly she came out again!
I have less than a month until I go to Auckland in New Zealand for the Romance Writers of NZ conference and then the following weekend the Australian one in Melbourne. It will be a busy time so I hope to get on top of this novel so I can really get into conference mode. It is always such a thrill to mix with other writers, both published and unpublished.
I must apologise to anyone who has emailed me lately through my website. I have had to tighten up my security and some of my legitimate emails have inadvertently gone straight into the junk file. I have been a little lax in scrolling through them all as I get so many it can be quite tedious.
Hope you are all well and reading lots of romance, especially mine!
Love to all,
Melanie xx

Hi everyone,
It is very definitely winter here in Hobart. I often wonder how those of you who live in the US or Canada cope with below zero temperatures when I feel cold when it is 10 degrees celsius. We have had the occasional frost which I love but it certainly makes the roads and footways slippery.
I had a lovely time pottering in the garden yesterday, something I haven't done in ages. I love tucking the little plants into their beds and watching them grow. I used to do all of our gardening but had to give it up to make time for writing, as well as be kind to my back!
The sun is out today and the turtle doves are cooing. I have some little honeyeaters darting about in the weeping silver birch below my office window as well as sparrows and finches who love the seed bell I hang there. There is something very peaceful about a garden, even though the traffic can be heard in the distance, the garden seems like a world of its own.
This is going to be a fun week for me. I am having lunch today with the my swimming friends whom I dedicated The Marciano Love Child to. They have bought every single title of mine and support me both in and out of the swimming pool.Then I have a surgical unit dinner party to cook for on Wednesday and various other appointments on top of writing 10,000 words. That is my goal in any case as I want to reach the half-way mark by the weekend.
Wish me luck!
All the best,
Melanie x

Hi everyone,
I am back in the chair after a lovely week on Orpheus Island. I had a fabulous rest and read heaps of books. I was even forced to resort to digging into my husband's supply of books as I read all that I had taken with me. The weather was lovely, cooler at night but gorgeous during the day. We had a snorkel and a picnic on a quiet beach and enjoyed the sunsets over the sea. All in all it was a great interlude but now I am back with all guns firing, or at least that is the plan! My fingers have been fumbling over the keys this morning as if they don't know which ones to press. I will need an hour or two to warm up I guess.
The dogs were so cute when we got home. I love the way they yap and jump up and down with excitement, it makes me feel so loved.
Have a great week and I will try and have some photos for you next time.
Cheers,
Melanie x

Hello everyone,
I am so sorry but I completely forgot to post a new blog as I came down with the most wretched chest infection. Today is the first day in a week where I am felt almost normal. I had a flu shot as well so it just goes to show how virulent these bugs are right now.
I have just sold another novel so that's great. It's one of my favourites so as soon as I find out the title I will let you know so you can keep an eye out for it.
This weekend I am attending the Heart Foundation Ball in Hobart and I am part of the silent auction. Bidders can bid for a novel dedication or for their name to be used as a character. The last time I did this was for the book Her Man of Honour which got a 5 out of 5 review and a reviewer's choice award so I am really looking forward to doing a good job on this one. I just hope I like the winner's name!
We are in the middle of painting and redecorating( again!) and it's mayhem manor here right now. It will look fabulous when it's done and already the hallway looks fabulous-very regency!
I hope you have a great rest of the week and next time I post I hope it will be from far north Queensland. I will tell you all about it next blog.
All the best,
Melanie xx

Hi everyone,
It's a gorgeous day in Hobart today, cold and bright. I just took my dogs for a lovely walk and now they are sitting at my feet exhausted. That means they will leave me alone for an hour or two without dropping a ball at my feet and looking up at me plaintively! I can't resist brown-button eyes.
I am determined not to set a goal this week, I am taking all the pressure off and just doing what I can when I can. It's not my usual way of working but I have the painters in at the moment and it's so distracting. They are great fun and full of inspiration but it's hard for me to work when I am surrounded by people. Dogs and cats I can handle, even a friend or two dropping in for a quick cuppa but hours of people chatting in the background can do my head in! Mind you, these guys are great fun which makes it easier.
I am looking forward to a trip to tropical Queensland in a couple of weeks. A bit of warm sun will be most welcome.
Hope you have a great week.
Melanie x

Hello everyone,
Well I can barely believe it but it is June already. Where has the time gone? It seems to be speeding past faster and faster every year but this year so far has been the quickest. I think when you are super busy there is never enough time so that contributes to that sense of time flying by.
I have been working on a new novel, a two book series with yummy Italian heroes, two brothers who are quite different and so too are their circumstances. I have finished book one and now I am on book two. I can already tell this is going to be a great book to write, the characters have already told me so much about themselves just as I was thinking about them!
It's been cold in Hobart over this past weekend. We've had the gas cranked up day and night. It's great reading and writing weather however so I am not complaining. I like the variety of our climate, it is constantly changing. The only thing I do not care for is the wind. It's annoying more than anything, I would much prefer it to rain.
I have a big week this week with plans to write heaps and lots of distractions along the way. I have appointments scattered all over the place which makes finding block time hard but who knows, I just might manage it!
Have a nice week,
Love Melanie x

Hi all,
I am sorry I am late posting but we are up at our shack and as we are on dial up here it can be tricky getting things to work. I could send emails but not get on the web but just now it came on so here we go.
I can't say this has been my most pleasurable time at the shack. We have had visitors, of the small with four legs and a tail type that go squeak in the night(and day!) I have a clinical phobia so you can imagine how relaxed I have been. The first night I was awake all night, not a wink of sleep and a few days down the track I am still jumping at shadows. My husband( the hero) has trapped several and baited the rest. I am not going to be able to completely relax until we drive out I am afraid which makes me sound like such a wimp. Not my fault I am afraid, I was teased mercilessly as a small child about my aversion to them and of course all these years on I am stuck with it. I am considering hypnosis now, as I can't stand the torture of feeling under threat all the time.
Enough of that, I hope you are all well and happy. Apart from a full day of rain yesterday it has been calm and mild up here. I have 10,000 words to go so I hope I can tell you on Monday that I have done them!
I have a new review up on cataromance if you want to check it out.
Love and hugs to all,
Melanie xx