It's celebration time...Have you seen? Christmastime is Here is out now!

 YAY, dance, sing and jiggle about,

this year's Cassie and Raven's Christmas book is out

And look at the gorgeous cover

 (yes, I cheated and put the paperback cover up, so you can read the blurbs as well.)

Totally in love with these stories, we both had such fun writing them. The lovely Emmy Ellis edited them and designed the fabulous cover. Great isn't it?

This is our third Christmas collaboration, and thank you everyone who buys any of them and reviews the books. We really appreciate your support.

And hint hint if you've read these we both write together for Totally Bound.

And on that note back to getting some more words down,

Happy Reading,

love Raven xx

It's almost here

 I can't help but be very excited—and apprehensive when I have a book due out. 

And this one is even more exciting as it's another collaboration with Cassie O'Brien.

Our third Christmas book, Christmastime is Here will be out very soon, and as ever we have a fabulous Emmy Ellis cover

What do you think?

As ever you're getting four short stories, two historical and two contemporary, four hot heroes and four determined woman.

We had so much fun writing them and hope you enjoy them.

We'd love to know what you think if you read them.

Meanwhile, 

Here's the blurb

Happy reading,

love Raven xxx

Teasing...or should that be annoying?

 It's a grey old day here, and nothing makes me want to go for a walk. If we went to the coast you'd be hard pressed to see anything, not even the sea!

(source pinterest)

Instead of watching the waves, (or not as the case might be) I'm going to tease you all instead and tell you that in a day or two the lovely Cassie O'Brien and I are going to reveal a rather special cover.

That's it...

except to say, 'tis the season...

or will be.

I'm not saying what book for, when said book is out, or even give you a wee taster.

Just watch this space,

happy reading,

love, Raven xxx

Cataracts and Coffee—typos and toast

 It's me again. delighted to be told my cataract op was a success. Now to wait for the next one. 

I hadn't realised how bad my eyesight was until now, when the eye that was the better eye is now very much the worst one.

I'm still wearing one lens in my reading glasses when I type, and sometimes for reading, but not for anything else.

So imagine me, the other morning, laptop open (I was so far behind in this story it's not funny) and waiting for the kettle to boil. I'd my specs on.

Took them off, measured out the coffee. Turned to the post that had just arrived. Squinted.

Ah, glasses on.  Not for me.

Milk in coffee? Glasses off.

Bread for toaster? What's the one to use first? Specs on to read the dates. Chose loaf. Specs off, toast bread, butter bread.

Sit down.

Need to check for typos. Specs on. Drink coffee, eat toast.

Go to wash up.

Specs off.

Back to laptop.

Where's the specs?

Have to go and find the other pair with one long distance lens in to see reading glasses.

ARGH...

But I am happy to think I'm on the way to better vision.

Oh, and I can wear ordinary sunglasses!

🕶

Meanwhile, I need to type furiously in the WIP.

and read it over...

So happy to send my two Christmas shorts to Cassie O'Brien where along with her two stories the fabulous Emmy Ellis will edit them, give us a super cover and we'll get them out to you for Christmas. I'm chuffed with mine so fingers crossed you are too.

(If you read them of course)

*Hangdog expression*

Meanwhile I'm cracking on with The Meet Up, book two in Happy Ever after at Romansa Castle, and doing some edits on The Renaissance of Baird Drummond, which is the last book in the Castle on the loch series. Both are due out late spring, early summer.

In amongst all of this, I'm freezing beans, sorting out a pre-birthday party for my brother in law who is due a b...i...g 'O' soon and making soups. Plus checking for my infamous typos. (I"d written choking and chicken before I finally changed it to checking.)

But it's better to be busy than at a loose end, isnt it?

Happy reading,

love, Raven xx

where I just hope I hit the correct keys...watch this space

 Happy days.

I had a cataract op the other day, and of course as a result that eye is very blurry. Consequently, I'm having trouble hitting the correct keys. It's not quite so bad here on my laptop, but on my phone...

Oh dear...

Yesterday I was trying to say the lovely husband is in charge of putting in the eye drops. That came out as patting in the eye seine! Not quite the same meaning! No wonder the person I was texting replied with ????

I have increased the text on my eReader, and hauled out some large print books.

It makes me realise how much I take for granted. Doing every day things and with my glasses being able to see to do them. Yes my eyesight was getting worse, to the stage where if I hadn't had the op, I wouldn't have been able to see well enough to drive. But, and that is a big

but, I could see well enough to do other things.

Boy it makes me grateful.

This last two days though, with one eye so blurred, I felt drunk—before the gin and tonic I'd promised myself after the op. I'm uncertain when I'm coming down the stairs, pouring boiling water into the teapot, cutting bread. Little things that normally I do without thinking.

I've increased the size of the font on my eReader, annd found some large print books.

I'm not sleeping well, goodness knows why, finding it hard to concentrate and getting frustrated.

I have deadlines and when I tried to type yesterday, it was even more gobbledygook than normal. Even I couldn't work out what I was trying to say!

Therefore, you can imagine how wary I was of typing this, but I think, after going over it, it's okay. Nothing too drastically wrong.

The good news is I'm fairly sure the blurriness is slowly going. I know it can take a couple of days—or a couple of weeks. I'm hoping for the former, but if the end result is I can see so much better I'll take the latter. And celebrate.

Have a great week, 

love, Raven xxx

Where I wonder where the week has gone.

 Happy whatever day you are reading this on.

It doesn't seem seven days since I last posted. It seems like five minutes. 

Weird, because I've not been rushing all over the place, not been particularly busy...except for playing catch up on my writing.

The words are coming slowly these days. I wonder if it's because it's the time of the year? Summer going, autumn coming? 

I love summer, but I must admit there's something about crunching through fallen leaves and then kicking them in the air. 

(Couldn't find the leaves on the ground picture so here's a tree and sunny view of my last garden instead)

 I've been cracking on with my WIP, thought I was doing ok until I realised my new specs (got to blame something) made me think I'd written 20K more than I have so now it's panic mode! I hate feeling under pressure, but at the moment, that's how I feel—and my blood pressure shows that.

It's strange how sometimes the story is shouting at me, I know exactly where it's going, but life conspires to make it damned difficult to get those words down. Like I said I've not been over busy but lots of little things have demanded my time. Things that had to be done. So writing has been in dribs and drabs and it's darned frustrating. 

Oh to have a clear few hours just to write. And drink coffee as I do. 

I have decided my motto this week is every 1k is 1k nearer those two magic words 'the end', and I'll crack on as and when I can.

Take care and thanks for reading,

love Raven xx

When getting the words down plays second fiddle.

 Morning (or whenever) all.

If you're out there of course. 

Now I know it could well be a bit early for fizz in your neck of the woods, so here's coffee instead. 

You might be wondering why I'm celebrating after I've only written a measly 4k this week. It was 6 but 2 went into the bin. I lost the plot with my WIP. In every way possible.

The Reason? I've just enjoyed a great family week.

There was a lot of catching up both via face time and face to face. 

I did make notes for my next book in the Romansa Castle series as I waited for an appointment, did a few bullet points to remind me of things to check, and reread where I'd got to. However words down to stay were meagre and I need to get on with it.

I'm writing the book that follows The Fix Up, but they can be read 'anywhichway' as my mum would have said. Tentatively titled The Catch Up, and out in the spring. (If I get a move on)

However this week, I admitted defeat when it came to an early morning coffee with family, walks by the sea and a wander around the nearest market town or sitting at my desk, there was no contest.

And I feel better for it. Raring to write. Know exactly where the story is going and how.

So time to crack on with the next 50K 

I've got my coffee. The fizz can wait until those 50k are down and I'm happy with them.

Until next time

Happy Reading,

love, Raven xx