Susan Stephens' Writing Diary

Just so I don't disappear into the ether while I wait for my new camera lead to arrive, I have arranged for my son to e-mail some photos to me... not sure what we'll be getting, ladies, but as soon as they come through I'll be posting a few... Okay, I did warn you they would be random the first pic' to arrive was of food- Oh, what a surprise- it is the thing closest to my son's heart- other than the LFF, of course! And secondly a pic of The Tribe plus friends at The Dogs!
More coming later... don't forget to stop by!

Am 'chained to my desk' at the moment playing 'catch up' after loving conference in Daytona so much I forgot to do any work!

You don't want to see the house right now- it looks like a building site and is about an inch deep in dust. Piles of stuff for sorting lie everywhere, because after arriving, settling in and putting things away, I now have to get everything out again so the floors can be tiled and the walls painted, cupboards fitted etc etc etc I know it will all be worth it in the end, but right now....? AAAARGH! Is all I'm going to say.

Had a lovely meal out last night to celebrate dh's b'day. Everyone was there apart from the LFF who is in France right now planning exciting wedding things for next summer. I'm so excited I can't wait... a wedding in the French countryside- how romantic is that? Already I picture wild flowers and walking barefoot to the wedding along dew strewn grass... Luckily the LFF has a more practical mind than me!

Solene was sorely missed last night as she was largely responsible for the gift that actually brought a tear to my old dinosaur's eye... Having discovered the cost of a studio photograph of our 3 children Sol stepped into the breach and took the shot herself. Now that is one photo I'm going to try and raise, because I think she has a real gift for photography and I'd like to share it with you.
She also took some amusing 'wise monkey' shots of the three miscreants, which I have put in a separate frame.
Vive la France! Vive Solene! Et merci beaucoup, cherie!!

Love to all- and look out for those random photographs, which I will try and post throughout the day!

Susanxx

These slipped through my net, but I hope they give you a flavour of a busy and extremely friendly conference.

You can see another pic' of Diane Castell amd Janice Maynard... another general shot, and one of me with another of my signing buddies... Mary Stella, who writes fantastic funny contemporary romances set in the Florida Keys for Medallion Press... BTW... check out the twinkles on my desk- I'm loving my confetti.

I still think RT Daytona was one of the best conventions I have visited for all sorts of reasons (not least the beach!!!), and I can't wait to visit the US again!

Love to all, and happy reading everyone!
Susan

Thank you to Rose for going to so much trouble for my chat at Chorlton library. It's always great to get out of the writing cave and meet lovely friendly people- and never more so than when my house resembles a building site!

The dust! Is all I'm going to say, the rest is boring.
Trying to find out how the house 'works' for me is the worst of it. I keep putting things in one cupboard and then thinking that doesn't work at all...

Thank you to my special chum, Margaret... (who just completed the Inca walk for charity, camping out and pooing in latrines to raise a stonking £12,000 for children with cerebral palsy. Absolute respect to you, M)... for pointing out that the bird pic from Daytona is of an Egret.

What a lovely lunch we had girls... Margaret and lovely Lizzie, always such a pleasure to see my chums. Plus there was the chance to see my gorgeous youngest- who, going through the fake tan phase, is tangoed at the mo'...

And helping me at the library...Wiggy. Take a bow, girl. Wiggy just won an important appeal for one of our nation's finest. What would we do without our wonderful police force? Don't even want to think about it.

That's it for today. It's a holiday weekend here in the UK so enjoy it everyone- and to those of you in far flung places- at least far flung from me... my love to you all, and happy reading everyone!

Susan

Talk about great company!

May I present Janice Maynard, Karen Kelley, Diane Castell, Rosemary Laurey, Lori Foster and LuAnn McLane...

I can't tell you what it means to me to be made so welcome by all my friends in America. I'm beginning to feel it's my second home... and in fact, I wouldn't mind a condo within walking distance of the beach!!

How about you?
Are you up for some mischief on the beach? (A bit hard in Houston, admittedly, or Dallas for RWA) But we could manage an adventure with a skull...

Why not join us next year? You never know what we might get up to!

Love to all, and happy reading everyone!

Susan

And unfortunately my camera lead isn't working- if I can raise some shots later today I will!

Everyone's here today... tiler, carpenter, bedroom fitters, electricians and Uncle Tom Cobbly and All... as the song goes.

I know some of you are waiting impatiently for house transformation shots and I'll get them to you as soon as I can... Meanwhile, Chris, who handles all my computer problems is going to bring a new lead for the camera just as soon as he can get hold of one.

Also as just about everything I have is 'wireless' now, all the usual routes to raise pics' etc have changed... And let's just say that these new routes don't click into place in my head right away and leave it at that, shall we?!!!

I have yet to tell you about the drama at the airport coming back...
Dh was so pleased to see me and hustling me into the back of the car said,

'Don't you worry about a thing, I'm just so pleased to have you back... I'll take care of the luggage...'

'Okay,' I said, luxuriating as well I might before I got home and tackled his ironing!

We drove 50 miles home and after shepherding me inside he went out to the car to bring in the luggage...

'Where's my laptop?'I said, smiling happily at him.

'Eer, what laptop...?'

'It was in the tray on top of the trolley...'(still smiling at this point- after all, no one would leave a laptop on a trolley in the airport car park, now would they?)

Er, yes they would.

But this is the unbelievable part... When DH rang the airport someone had handed it in. Now if that doesn't restore your faith in human nature, nothing will!
We drove 50 miles back again to claim it, and we even found the man who had handed it in and were able to thank him in person.

Did I shout?
No, of course not. The poor lamb drove 200 miles that day- punishment enough, don't you think?

Well, it's back to my desk now and the fabulous island of Niroli where my next story is set.
So, in the meantime love to all, and happy reading everyone!
Susan

Here's my PS for tomorrow... I have just received a fab photo from Daytona of incredible author chums including Rosemary Laurey, Janice Davidson, Lori Foster, Diane Castell, Karen Kelley etc etc
Now that one I can raise for you, since it's in my picture file on this computer...
Back tomorrow!
Sxxx

How better to celebrate returning home than to show you a photo of my darling pooch, resplendent in her new basket, which, as luck would have it, arrived today.

More on the fun and games of arriving home tomorrow!
Suffice it to say that this time the cabin staff had to summon a strong young cabin attendant to very kindly take my seat apart to find the top of my precious pen when it slipped down the side of the seat... (precious because the children clubbed together to buy the pen for my birthday)
This procedure provided a good half hour's entertainment for the rest of my compartment... and just in case he wasn't successful the captain faxed ahead to have an engineer standing by.
Virgin Airlines, I salute you.

And may I take this opportunity to wish all the wonderful people I met in Daytona a safe and uneventful journey home...

Love to all, and happy reading everyone!
Susan

And these are the memories I shall be taking home with me... the wonderful friends I have made, the warm blue ocean and the abundance of wildlife- always one of my greatest pleasures.

Looking forward to being back at my writing desk feeling refreshed and with a head full of new ideas...

Love to all, and happy reading everyone!
Susan

As promised, here I am at the signing with my lovely neighbour, Carol Stephenson. How nice that we get on so well as our names are so similar it looks like we may well be neighbours on many future events.

Carol is a fabulous, award-winning author for Silhouette Bombshell, and her latest novel is called, Courting Danger... No need to guess that it has a legal theme.

Tomorrow I'll try to raise a pic of me and my buds at the Dorchester Rock n' Roll party... and then it will be home and a frantic writing schedule as I work hard to catch up. I have one book to finish for the fabulous Niroli series and then two more before Christmas with two special projects to fit in along the way. The good news is I have plotted the next Presents after Niroli in my mind and the one after that is set in the desert- and it's always a pleasure to get stuck into a sheikh!

Love to all, and happy reading everyone!
Susan

Every fantasy is available at the Romantic Times conference, and here are two of the loveliest ladies at the Fairy Ball...
Emily is the delightful woodland fairy- doesn't Emily's auburn hair look gorgeous with the green costume? And Gail is exactly what I have always imagined Cinderella's fairy godmother would look like.

Enjoy ladies, while I start sorting out my things in preparation for a five hour book signing tomorrow. Yes, you heard me correctly... five hours without a break!

Love to all, and happy reading everyone!
Susan

It has to be said that when Rosemary picked up a skull at the Vampires of the Caribbean Ball tonight and carried it through the hotel under her arm not one person batted an eyelid... She was also wearing a black skirt with silver bats on it at the time.

From the above photo perhaps you can see why! Quite literally Anything Goes at a RT conference... let your wildest fantasies fly and you're still not getting close to what it's like here!

Oh, boy, is all I'm going to say!!!

Love to all, and happy reading everyone!
Susan

Where am I?

Where could I be, other than the fabulous Ellora's Cave party, where quite literally, anything goes!!

However, I decided that half an hour of madness was more than my poor old bones could take. And me with a black moustache and a beak- Actually, I fit in rather well.

If you look closely, you can just see the lovely Rosemary who rescued me after my fall in the shower... she's standing right behind these gallant ladies who kindly agreed to allow me to take their photograph. Was my hand shaking? Not a bit of it.




The gentleman in the shot above was very keen to have our picture taken together.
I was equally keen that we didn't

Ho hum. And so the conference madness continues...
Back with more for your delight and delectation tomorrow, ladies.

Love to all, and happy reading everyone!
Susan

Okay, today is the day I would rather forget. Pictures are playing up, and...
It started early, around 7am when I stepped into the shower half asleep and fell over, hitting my face in the side of the toilet.
I now have a rather fetching black moustache and a swollen lip, but thank goodness my teeth are intact.

Fortunately, a friend of mine and truly fabulous author of Vampire stories for Kensington, Rosemary Laurey was in the hotel and didn't faint when she saw the amount of blood my nose pumped out (Well, blood is her business, I suppose ;)
(Unfortunately for me, I do have a rather substantial nose, which made the punping all the more efficient!!!)
Rosemary was an absolute brick, staying with me while reports were filed and bathrooms were mopped. I can't thank her enough. I put a brave face on it, but truthfully I was a bit shaken up and it was nice to have someone with me.

We finished the day okay with some fabulous shrimp and a bottle of Merlot. Let's hope tomorrow is better, ladies, and I can get some pics up to show you.

Love to all, and happy reading everyone!
Susan

Jet lag hit me like a stone today. Brain wouldn't function, words came out garbled... spent most of the day with a crimson face after saying the wrong things to the right people and the right things to the wrong people.
Urgh
And there's more... might as well get it all off my chest at once.... I failed you.

Got a perfect shot of one of the cover models and then deleted him when I tried to edit the pic'
If you want a romance, come to me... If you want a photo of a hunk...

But I hear the cover models are playing volley ball tomorrow morning on the beach- so I will try again for you!

(Blimey, they must think I'm obsessed... "Duck, boys! There's that old bird again with her camera...") Talk about embarassing! The lengths I go to for you, dear reader!

Sorreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Love to all and happy reading everyone!
Susan

Dawn from my hotel room... a little overcast, but I'm sure you'll agree, not a bad view.

Woke bright and early at twenty to three am- one of the penalties of a five hour time difference!
No worries, it gives me chance to chat online and then do some work :)
Hello Jenny! (blatantly schmoozing my ed!!!)

The first thing I notice in the US is the courtesy. Everyone without exception has been so polite and helpful. It is always a pleasure to be here. From the moment I step onto American soil I feel that help is at hand should it be needed.

Now to the problems...
In Dallas, you may remember, I froze, because the conference hotel was like a fridge and I only had one jumper, which I wore the whole time I was there.
This time I have lots of jumpers, but the hotel is on a beach...
Suffice it to say the weather is steaming and I think I may have to go shopping...

Oh, dear.

You mean, I need more clothes?

I have nine pairs of shoes with me, ladies. Yes, nine pairs. Can this be right?!
And the mall is walking distance... And I'm going to a bookshop in an out of town shopping mall that's even bigger...
I may have to have a look in a few shop windows...
I may have to go inside...

Back with more RT Daytona conference news (and shopping news) tomorrow.

Meanwhile, love to all and happy reading everyone!
Susan

ps
Did I mention that the hotel uses one of my favourite brands for the freebies in the bathroom? Crabtree and Evelyn's La Source. Fabulous ladies. The quality of the products in the bathroom always affects my mood! And my mood is good right now. Well done Hilton hotels!

And another huge thank you to Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic. My first trip with the line was excellent; I truly can't fault it.
Thank you to everyone in the friendly and professional cabin crew who worked non-stop to make sure my trip was pleasurable and find all the things I lost...
(Friendly and professional meaning they didn't hit me over the head with a hot hand towel when the temptation must have been great)
Yes, ladies, I can lose things just sitting in an aircraft seat. I did have the good grace to apologise for being their most untidy and disorganised passenger btw!
(What was that? 3 huge pieces of cabin luggage?!)
Well, I had to work while I was on board. (second blatant schmooze to my ed!)
SXXX

Yep, this is a very good time to be going away...


Talk about, now you see it now you don't.

There was a kitchen; now there isn't... there was water too, and gas... now we have to go to the loo at the pub.
Hey, that's not so bad, is it?!

Love to all and wishing everyone a more peaceful and dust-free weekend than mine...
Susan

I think the photos says it all. Celebrating the LFF's B'day yesterday in a French restaurant in the city.

My son arranged for the most extraordinary arrangement of tropical flowers as a surprise... (just as well the LFF didn't wear her B'day present- as that was a rubber wet suit, mask and snorkel for their next diving expedition!)

Wishing all of you many happy celebrations...
Love to all, and happy reading everyone!
Susan

Now before you say anything about men on their knees, or start cheering, I should explain that this is 'Phil' my fabulous decorator. Phil used to be my mother's decorator and he truly has no equal.

His is also the calmest man I know. Like this morning when I greeted him with, 'Sorry, Phil, but I don't like the colour we've chosen for the bedroom (Phil is always part of the decision-making process as he has to 'like the colours he is using- and so do I!)

As you can see the bedroom was originally a rather strident shade of yellow, and I perhaps went a little bit too far in trying for 'mellow'. I don't want to live inside a stone- or sleep inside one, for that matter. Not just yet, at least... what type of fossil I make remains to be seen!!!

So, Phil is off to get some more paint... this time in a shade called Gardenia, which I'm told is restful.
Oh, yes. That sounds like just what I need!

More on the trials and tribulations of turning this new home to my way of thinking tomorrow, ladies.
Meanwhile, love to all and happy reading everyone!
Susan

Saturday was Wiggy's b'day and she celebated with a barbeque for all her friends and family at her new flat- where only one glass of red wine found its way onto the sofa- Fortunately, Wiggy has developed some unsuspected housewifely skills that she certainly didn't possess when she lived at home, and after packing the stain with salt she whisked it away with a proprietory brand cleaner. Blimey, I thought, how did she know how to do that...

However, I digress.

She then arranged for a fleet of taxis to take us all on to The Dogs.
I had never been before and was totally fascinated, both by the boisterous atmosphere inside the bar/observation area, and by the excitement trackside.
Of course, being me I had to 'know' the dogs, and started worrying about them almost immediately.

I guess the crowd yelling and screaming intimidated quite a few of them, but when they began to race you could only stand and watch in awe.
They reach speeds of up to 40 miles an hour and I took the picture above as they streaked past me.

At one time dog racing with greyhounds truly was the sport of kings with only certain people allowed to own them. Nowadays many are owned by groups of people and never see the outside of a professional kennel. The dogs race up to the age of five, after which time, if they're not lucky, they may be destroyed. Incredible and unbelievable to any animal lover. After all, some of these dogs earn their owners a lot of money over the course of their racing career.

I'm sure there are plenty of loving owners too and I did see some of the dogs receiving a lot of fuss both before and after the racing... and thankfully, there are rescue kennels just like this one for those that slip through the love/destruction net...
http://www.tiagreyhounds.org.uk/

Let's be kind to our animals, they depend on us for everything and give us so much in return.

Love to all, and happy reading everyone!
Susan

Allow me to introduce you to yet another of my guardians!
The Frog.
The frog came about when I was trying to entertain a group of kids one summer and took them to our local 'paint a pot' shop. They got bored; I got hooked. Actually, I found it extremely restful. I also paint occasionally... may even show you one of those- though I ain't no great artist, ladies! But doing things with my hands like knitting or painting really calms me down, and that can't be a bad thing when you have red hair and Scorpio as your sun sign!

And as far as guardians go- don't let me even get started on the garden... having moved from a huge garden to a small one all those stone animals that used to hide discreetly in the undergrowth are now prominently displayed. I shall be known as 'that funny lady with a stone menagerie'.

Back tomorrow with some more peculiarities from the House of Susan

Love to all, and happy reading everyone!
Susan

Following requests for introductions I have pleasure in presenting to you...
Drum roll please............................................................

Pinky and Perky, my guardian pigs.
I have various 'guardians' throughout the house... and I'll be introducing some of them to you over the coming Blogs.
BTW are Pinky and Perky in fact Gardiens?? (Honk Honk!)

Love to all, and happy reading everyone!
Susan

Well, I have vacuumed the carpet for the first time... which means I can see the carpet and therefore progress is being made. Well, a little tiny bit of progress, anyway!

Waking to rain made me think I should take a picture to show that the landscape isn't always picture perfect here... but looking at this again I'm thinking, blimey, it looks lovely, even in the rain. And as you can see I have been doing a teensy weensy bit of gardening- one pot, so far. And do you like my pigs? No, honestly... look closely, and you'll see my porkers at the top of the steps- some people have a thing for lions standing guard... I have pigs. I'll have to take a better photo so you can get to know them better (honk honk!!)

Thank you Sharon and Cindy for kind comments and for everyone else who has mailed me privately- as you know you can always get hold of me on susan@susanstephens.net And for those of you going to Daytona next week... Next Week?????????!!!!!!!!!!!!! You can get hold of me in person and give me a good shake (for leaving dh to cope with the kitchen being ripped out- good timing, or what, ladies?!)

Back soon.
Love to all, and happy reading everyone!
Susan

Nope, I'm not complaining.

This is the view from my new back garden... no heron, no stream, but a whole lot of countryside to make up for it.

That's my garden wall you can see... and as far as I'm concerned there's no more beautiful sight than a dry stone wall, erected by a local specialist in the field (ho ho!)

Yep, I'm back... feeling a bit like Tom in a Tom and Jerry cartoon when he has just been steamrollered!

The house is still a tip- and can someone explain how I move to a bigger house with 2 garages and a loft- the cottage had neither - and I have filled them to capacity and am still tripping over stuff in the house.

Squirrel, moi? You bet.
How many trips to the dump was that?
Believe me, you really don't want to know.

But the countryside is amazing... and so are my neighbours... flowers, cards, wine, telephone numbers for doctors etc etc
Fantastic. A massive thank you to you all.

Returning to the topic of the countryside...
Okay, so the last time dh and I went hiking we were in the flush of youth- not the first, but definitely a flush.
This time...
We got lost and landed in a field of feisty young bullocks (me, terrified- no red cape to hand) The footpath was clearly marked, but there was no way I was sticking to it with el toros charging me down.
Cue mad panic dash to the nearest dry stone wall... barbed wire to negotiate first.
Never mind dh said, I'll lift you over (Oh, yeah?! Does he remember how much I weigh these days?)
Anxious glance over his shoulder as the pounding of hooves draws ever closer.
He throws me over the barbed wire fence (My hero!!!)
I land on top of the dry stone wall. (Ouch!)
We both tumble off into a nice squelchy mix of mud and cow pat. (Yum!)
But, I can tell you, we returned home muddy and triumphant, feeling rather good about ourselves...
Has there been a next time?
Er, no.

Don't worry if my Blogs are a bit random to begin with - to say I'm behind with my work is something of an understatement... but I do have the title of my new book for you- the one we kept a vigil on, remember?
It's another stonking idea from my new young ed...
Drum Roll If You Please For...............................................................

One-Night Baby

Oh, yeah honey, let's rock and roll.
(But not in a cow pat, please!)

Love to all, and happy reading everyone!
Susan






Oof, can hardly believe it.

I have been starved of the internet for 8 days, after being promised 48 hour change over.