Hi everyone,
It was a wonderful conference in Melbourne at the Langham Hotel. What an amazing weekend of fabulous workshops and dinners and catch up drinks with friends and colleagues. The fancy dress coctail party was a real hoot and the awards dinner a really special occasion, especially for those who finalled in the various competitions. I managed to slip in some shopping as well as spend time with my lovely editor who was out from London. It truly was one of the best conferences I have attended, but then I say that every year as they seem to get better and better. It is great to see as yet unpublished writers working hard at their craft. It is a long journey for some and I admire their fortitude and dedication. But then that is what it takes to get any where in life-hard work and focus.
I will post some photos so you too can share in some of the fun.
Happy reading and writing,
Melanie xx

Hi everyone,
I am so overwhelmed with the friendliness and welcome I have recieved in Auckland the RWNZ conference. It has been such a thrill to be here and what a talented bunch of writers are here. The Clendon Award has the most amazing strike record for publishing success. 60% of winners have been subsquently picked up by a publisher. That is indeed a fabulous track record. It was wonderful to be at the awards dinner and to celebrate everyone's success in the various contests that were presented.
I will post some photos later as I have a flight to catch and within a couple of days will be flying to Melbourne for the Australian RWA. One of the best things about conferences is being with other writers both published and unpublished as we all speak the same language. It is also so comforting to know I am not the only crazy one out there who has characters talking to me inside my head at all times of the day and night!
I am missing my dogs and apparently they are missing me. Polly has been chewing her blanky and has dragged it to where the leads are kept and slept on it there in antipation of my return. Oh to be so loved!
Hope you have a wonderful week.
Cyber hugs,
Melanie xx

Hi everyone,
Only a few sleeps until I head to New Zealand for the Romance Writers Convention. It will be great catching up with colleagues and new writers. I am conducting a workshop which will be heaps of fun.
I have been balancing some writing with lots of reading this week as I have had a bit of back trouble. It is one of the down sides of a sedentary job I am afraid. I am a bit of a restless writer in any case, I rarely stay still longer than fifteen minutes or so. I think I must have had hyperactivity as a child...actually there are a lot of people in my life who think I still have it!
Speaking of hyperactivity, Polly is so full of energy even a weekend at the shack was not enough to wear her out. Every time we went for a long walk as soon as we got back she would run up with a ball and wag her tail and look at us with those dark eyes of her sparkling with excitement.
I hope you have a fabulous week. I will hopefully have some photos to show you when I get back. My uploading device has been playing up but I hope to have it under control by then. Fingers crossed!
All the best,
Melanie XX

Hi everyone,
I had a quick weekend away in Sydney for some family birthdays. I feel like I hit the ground running since I got back. What is it about Mondays that makes it so hard to get out of bed? I wanted to stay curled up with my book and forget about all the jobs I have to do this week.
I have a lot of trips this month with New Zealand and Melbourne as well as a couple more trips to Sydney for my husband's work. It's always a good excuse to tag along to do research or shop. Shopping is research, right?!
My dogs hate it when I am away. My son told me how morose they both get, moping around with their heads down the whole time. The welcome they give me is so wonderful however, it makes me feel so loved.
I am now about half way into my current work in progress and looking forward to getting on with it after a few interuptions. That is part of the writing life, distractions occur all the time and it takes a lot of discipline to get back on track.
A big wave to all the wonderful finalists in the Rita awards and of course hearty congratulations to the winners.
Love to all,
Melanie

Hi everyone,
Well here it is nearly August and soon we will be thinking about Christmas. I am going to both the New Zealand and Australian conference in a couple of weeks which will be fun. I am particularly delighted as my very own editor is coming.
It has been a big writing week for me as I had some revisions to do and they had a bit of a domino affect on my novel. Once I moved one thing a whole lot of other things had to go too. It was like starting from scratch but somehow I did it. Revising your work is an essential part of the writing process and I find it so helpful to have my editor cast a keen eye over my work to make sure I have not overlooked anything. It is always a stronger novel for the effort but I am not always an easy person to be around while I am going through the process! My poor brain feels a bit rung out by the end of it.
I had a fabulous bunch of attendees at my Adult Education course on the weekend. There was a nice dynamic and we all had a lof of fun.
Hope you have a great week. I am stil having trouble posting photos for some reason. I will have to do some trouble shooting when I find some time.
Cyber hugs,
Melanie x

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