Time Away From The Desk Is Vital #writing #nature #mentalhealth #health #exercise

Picture shows bluebell woodland path with beautiful sunrise through the trees and shafts of light

Word of the Month: Exercise

Now I’m no athlete, that’s for sure, but maintaining a degree of physical fitness is important to me. I’m fortunate and grateful to be in good health and of course I’d like to keep it that way. So taking time out of my working day at the writing desk for some daily exercise seems to me to be a no-brainer.

And my go-to form of exercise is definitely walking. I get out for a walk most days and usually walk for an hour or so. I’m lucky enough to live in a lovely Scottish village with woodland, riverside, hill and country track walks on my doorstep. So it’s no hardship to get out walking and I really don’t have to force myself to do it. In fact I miss it if other stuff gets in the way and I can’t get those vital steps done.

However, the walking thing isn’t only about getting my heart pumping and keeping those muscles and bones strong. It’s about my mental health and my creativity levels too.

For me, nothing beats a brisk walk for working off all those pesky stress hormones. Walking in the outdoors, hearing the birds sing, seeing the sky, the trees, and feeling the sun, wind, or even the rain (I’m in Scotland remember), all help to clear the head and lift the spirits.

But as well as the physical and mental benefits, I’ve found there’s a third benefit to be had. I’ve discovered that the creative part of my brain likes a walk too. I’ve lost count of the number of times when, while out for a walk, I’ve solved that pesky problem I’ve been having with the plot of the novel I’m working on at the time. Or I might have a light bulb moment about a character or a tricky piece of dialogue. And, I have to say, I’m rarely actively thinking about my writing when these breakthroughs and ideas pop into my head. It just happens.

So, yes, here’s to exercise and its multiple benefits.

Writing

And speaking of writing, I’m busy doing the final quarter of the current work-in-progress – and I’m loving how the story is unfolding. The working title is Happiness Cottage. It’s a contemporary romance – of course – and it’s set in a fictional village the Scottish Borders. I’m intending for it to be the first in a series of books all set in the same place with a different main couple in each. So although the books to come will all be able to be read as standalones, there will be a chance for series followers to catch up with characters they’ve met in previous books.

I’m enjoying the sparks that go off whenever grumpy farmer Aidan is with Australian visitor Lori and can’t wait to right the romantic ending.

However, setting up a series and inventing a whole community including a village and its neighbouring town is quite a challenge. But more about both these aspects in future posts.

Reading

Another great form of exercise in terms of our brains is, of course, reading. Along with the walking, and the writing it’s another thing I couldn’t do without and I always like to share the best of the books I’ve been reading here on the blog. And this month it’s a shout out for An Italian Island Summer by Sue Moorcroft, a favourite author of mine. Safe to say I loved it. I loved the Sicilian island setting, the two troubled main characters and the oh so romantic story. I can highly recommend this book as the perfect summer read.

From the back cover:

Will one summer in Sicily change her life for ever?

After her marriage falls apart, Ursula Quinn is offered the chance to spend the summer working at a hotel on a beautiful island off the coast of Sicily, Italy. Excited by a new adventure, she sets off at once.

At Residenza dei Tringali, Ursula receives a warm welcome from everyone except Alfio, son of the Tringali family. He gave up his life in Barcelona to help his mother Agata with the ailing business, and is frustrated with Ursula’s interference – and she in turn is less than impressed with his attitude. As they spend more time together, though, they begin to see each other in a different light.

But what with Ursula’s ex-husband on her tail, family secrets surfacing and an unexpected offer that makes Alfio question his whole life, there’s plenty to distract them from one another. Can she face her past and he his future, and together make the most of their Sicilian summer?

It’s available in paperback and ebook in bookshops and online.

Reflecting

So, yes, for me as writer and as a human being exercise in all its forms – whether it be for the body, mind or the imagination are all vital.

As always feel free to comment below with your thoughts on exercise or anything else you’d like to respond to from this post. And thank you for reading!

MY NEWSLETTER

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MY LATEST BOOK

My latest novel is contemporary romance Baby Steps.

It’s available as an ebook and as a paperback and you can buy it HERE

If you’ve read it already please do consider leaving a review at the buy link above. Reviews no matter how brief are so helpful and I appreciate every one.

To find out more about all of my books just go to the BOOKS page HERE on the website.

Tea: A drink that soothes, inspires and sometimes get spilt  #writing #reading #spillthetea #booktwitter @AmattAuthor @SueMoorcroft @StephenKing @JessicaRedland

Tea – word of the month for March

I was introduced to tea by my grandma when I was around seven years old and I’ve been a tea Jenny ever since. It’s my go to drink at breakfast time and whenever some soothing timeout is required. I also like a mug of tea – and yes, I much prefer a mug to a cup – at my side when I’m writing and when I’m reading. And of course it has to made in a teapot – no teabag dunking.

Literally spilling the tea is, of course something I do my best to avoid. But I am going to be doing some literary spilling of the tea here – because the #spillingthetea challenge involves bloggers spilling, as in sharing, three books that for them best represent the letters T,E and A. So:

T has to be a book that TAUGHT you something

E is a book you didn’t want to END

A is an AUTHOR you can’t get enough of

And so, without further ado here are my TEA books

For the book that taught me something, and there are many, I’ve chosen On Writing by Stephen King. I read this more than ten years ago and it’s the book that made me believe I could be a writer. Although it’s a memoir – an excellent one – it’s also full of tips for aspiring writers. And I still dip into it to this day.

A book I didn’t want to end… That was a hard one to choose. There have been many over the years. So I decided to pick the most recent one and that is, An Autumn Hideaway by Margaret Amatt. It’s a contemporary romance set on the Scottish island of Mull and when it was one of those reads that where I was desperate to see how it all ended but also didn’t want to get to the end because I knew I was going to miss the main characters, Richard and Autumn so much.

And the author I can’t get enough of … as for the above categories it was a difficult choice. But from a list of six or so British, American and Australian authors, I chose Sue Moorcroft. She writes, entertaining, engaging and thought-provoking contemporary romances and the most recent one of her that I’ve read is A White Christmas on Winter Street.

Book of the Month

Still on the theme of books – regular readers of the blog will know that in each of my monthly posts, I like to share my most recent favourite read. And for March’s post that book is:

Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow by Jessica Redland. This is a contemporary romance (I know, who’d have guessed?) and I loved it.

From the back cover:

Can love really be found when you stop looking for it…?

As Samantha Wishaw watches the love of her life marry another woman, she’s ready to give up hope of finding her happy ever after.

But when a chance encounter leads Sam to find friendship in Thomas – a lonely, grumpy elderly widower living at derelict Hedgehog Hollow – her life is about to change forever.

Glad to have a distraction from family feuds and match-making, Sam vows to fulfil Thomas and his wife, Gwendoline’s, dreams of restoring Hedgehog Hollow to its former glory, and to open a hedgehog rescue centre.

Throwing herself into the task at hand, little does Sam realise that the keys to love and happiness may also be found at Hedgehog Hollow, when she least expects it…

And that’s it for this month. You can consider yourself officially challenged to #spillthetea and share below the three books you’d choose.

Thank you for reading!

PS MY NEWSLETTER

And don’t forget, if you want a more intimate round up of my current writing such as updates on the work-in-progress, sneak peeks, early notification of publication dates, giveaways and lots more do sign up for my author newsletter. And when you do you’ll receive A FREE BOOK of FOUR of my romantic short stories as a thank you. Just click HERE and fill in your email address. 

PPS MY LATEST BOOK

My latest novel is contemporary romance Baby Steps.

It’s available as an ebook and as a paperback and you can buy it HERE

To find out more about all of my books just go to the BOOKS page HERE on the website.

Best Books Read in 2022: #contemporaryromance #historical romance #crimefiction #reading @LeonieMAuthor @lwestwoodwriter @wurdsmyth @KathrynFreeman1 @SueMoorcroft @NinaKayeAuthor ‘AngelaBritnell @AmattAuthor @pernillehughes @MaggieChriste33 @MarieLaval1 @foreva48

My 2022 Books of the Year

I’ve read a lot of books this year. Mostly it’s been contemporary romances – I know! Who’d have guessed? But I’ve also read in my other go-to genres of crime and historical romance. And after much deliberation and agonising I’ve managed to pick a favourite contemporary romantic read for each month of 2022 – plus 2 from the other two aforementioned genres. All got 5 out of 5 stars from me. They are all wonderful reads.

So, without further ado, here they are.

(Just click on a title to be taken to that book’s Amazon page where you can find out more about the story)

My 5 Star Reads

January

A Match Made in Venice by Leonie Mack (contemporary romance)

February

Moonlight on the Thames by Lauren Westwood (contemporary romance)

March

The Start of Something by Miranda Dickinson (contemporary romance)

April

We’ll Always Have Venice by Leonie Mack (contemporary romance)

May

The Italian Job by Kathryn Freeman (contemporary romance)

June

Summer at the French Café by Sue Moorcroft (contemporary romance)

July

One Night in Edinburgh by Nina Kaye (contemporary romance)

August

Summer at Seaspray Cottage by Angela Britnell (contemporary romance)

September

Bootcamp for Broken Hearts by Joanna Bolouri (contemporary romance)

October

An Autumn Hideaway by Margaret Amatt (contemporary romance)

November

Ten Years by Pernille Hughes (contemporary romance)

December

Christmas in Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen (contemporary romance)

PLUS

And my other two books of the year in other genres

Queen of the Desert by Marie Laval (historical romance)

Deception by Helen Forbes (crime)

And that’s it from me for this year. Thank you to all of you who follow my blog and who read/comment on my posts. Happy New Year to you when it comes and feel free to share a favourite read or two of your own in the comments.

PS

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Go HERE to sign up for updates on my writing (as opposed to this blog). You will also get exclusive access to occasional bonus scenes from my books, previews of the work-in-progress, along with writing challenges for you to take part in, and a chance to take part in giveaway contests. The content of these emails is much more focussed on my writing than the blog.

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You can find out more about my books on the Books page here on the website.