Well, golly. I have been, as they say, in the deadline cave for the last few weeks battling with the Elf, who has now been despatched to the editorial desk to give someone else a bad time.
What is it with some books? You start out with this light, bright, bubbly idea that is -- obviously -- going to write itself. And five months later you crawl back into the light, blinking and brain dead and promising yourself you will never, ever, do that again.
But now I look up I discover that it's very nearly spring, at least on the calendar. I'm afraid, though, that the long, hard winter has taken it's toll. There is, as yet, not a single daffodil showing a yellow bud this high up. And worse. My Australian bottle brush plant -- one of the first things I planted in this garden and a joy for the last fifteen years, is dead. A myrtle, in a very sheltered spot, is also looking very shaky, although a scrap on the bark shows green so a hard cut back and it may recover. The primroses are a shadow of their former self and even the grass - the bane of my life - is still looking snow flattened and very sad.But the Christmas roses are finally lifting their lovely heads (in late March!) and I know that as soon as the temperature rises stuff will revive. I guess we've just all got so used to mild winters that this one has hit us with such a shock force.
So, anyway. My weekend is basically chasing the dust bunnies around, catching up with paperwork and reading. I treated myself to an eBook edition of Anne Gracie's THE STOLEN BRIDE a few weeks ago and I now have time to read it. What a joy. Delightful characters, wonderful writing and fabulous hero.On the publishing front, this month sees the re-release of The Brides of Bella Lucia "SECRETS REVEALED" with its blissfully pretty cover, so do look out for that - four books for £5.97 post free anywhere in the world from The Book Depository
The first four books in the series, "UNEXPECTED PROPOSALS" was published last month but is still available.
9 comments:
My Christmas Roses are also now lovely - and the snowdrops have finally opened. Daffodils? What they?
Hi Liz - glad you have emerged from the bat cave - or in your case the elf cave! We have some daffs out here on Anglesey - we didn't suffer as much as everyone else snow wise this winter. But it has been a long one hasn't it?Caroline x
Yay on crawling out of the deadline cave! I'm sorry to hear about your bottle brush, what colour was it?
It was a red one, Lacey. I'm hoping that maybe, if I cut back hard, it'll regenerate, but I don't want to do anything until all danger of frost is past.
Jan, I ventured down a couple of hundred feet (below the snow line!) and found daffs out in the village below us. And today we have sun. Excellent!
Caroline, it has seemed to be winter forever. Here's hoping for some good weather.
It may be in with a chance :) Ours have always been pretty invincible.
I've been away, and scrolled down to comment because of the dead/dying bottlebrush, and saw you'd read and said lovely things about my book -- thanks Liz. So pleased you enjoyed it.
Re the bottlebrush, what a shame -- I hope a good prune will bring it back. If not, it might be nematodes on the roots, in which case nothing can help. You can now buy nematode-resistant ones, I think, if you want to replant.
Do Welsh and English birds like bottlebrushes? Here we get lots of nectar-drinking birds who visit it, honey-eaters and the like..
Anne, I fear the bottlebrush problem is due entirely to an excess of hard frosts and snow this winter. We haven't had a winter like it for as long as I can remember. I've lost my lovely myrtle as well, and a couple of other shrubs. Awaiting the leaf unfurl moment next month with some trepidation to see what else has succumbed.
I'm not sure about UK birds and the bottle brush. I can't say I've noticed much action, but it's by the front gate, quite a way from any windows. It may be that the flower set up isn't quite right for British birds, but it did get hundreds of flowers.
Oh, and I'll be downloading the second book in the "Stolen" brides trilogy to take with me to Rome!
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