#Crafting And #Baking Again, More Medical Mutterings, And Weather Reports

Kelly still does Warhammer - though he hasn't played in a while... He'll have quite the army when he does play again though - which means he still gets figures for it. He recently decided to catch up some on putting them together, and painting them, which he's gotten rather behind on. I was busy with other things while he was putting them together, but joined him while he was doing some of the painting, bringing some craft kits of my own to work on.

I didn't join him every time, but the times I did, we played with and walked Lilie first, and then settled her with one of her treat balls (she has a variety of different types, to keep things interesting for her). Then we put a DVD on (we watched some NCIS, since I still need to finish catching up with that, and it's something we both like) and settled ourselves at the table to watch it while we worked on our various projects. Mollie was sleeping at the time, while Joshua was happily playing on his wheel, and with NCIS on both of them would have been happy anyhow. So all three of the furkids were perfectly content to leave us to it. It was very pleasant and cosy.

I had a unicorn I wanted to paint. Well, actually, I kind of think it's an allacorn (I think I spelled that right) since it's got wings as well as the horn. But the kit calls it a unicorn, so I will too. Either way, I thought I'd work on that one, since Kelly was painting, and since I needed him around to help with colours and things, so it was an ideal time. So, I'm painting it as best I can, and then Kelly will go over it to tidy it up a bit for me afterwards. It's not quite finished, but I'll get Kelly to sort a photo for you when it is.

In the meantime, I've been working on a couple of other little projects while the various colours of the unicorn are drying. So I figured I'd share photos of those with you, since they're finished.

I finally finished the little owl sewing kit...

Yes, his eyes are a different colour. It's because I didn't realize the buttons for his eyes mattered which way around they were stitched, and had atatched both eyes before Kelly saw and said something... I decided to just leave it. Oh, and the purple bit is because he has a little pocket on his tummy. It's not big enough to hold much, but then he's not a very big owl, so I wouldn't expect it to be a very big pocket.

I also made this little wind chime...

I've been meaning to put together that particular kit for a very long time... I've had the wind chime kit for several years, and don't even remember where or when I got it. Actually, I forgot I had it for a while. I found it when I was sorting my craft stuff out a couple of months ago, so put it with the kits I haven't yet done from my subscription boxes (which I'd just started to get when I found the wind chime kit). While the unicorn's paint was drying seemed a good time to work on it. Plus, now I feel good for finally getting around to doing it.

Anyway, I also made this heart shaped dream catcher...

I know it's not done in the traditional way... I kind of just put it together how I felt it should be done, not caring if it wasn't quite how they're normally done, since I figured something like that should be a bit more personalized.

I started a new kit a couple of days ago too. I'm doing my other owl sewing kit. It's a different kit, so at least my owls will be a bit different. "Ollie the owl" - as the kit itself calls him - doesn't have that pocket on his tummy for a start. Either way, I'm stitching another owl, and he's maybe about a third done. Of course, I'll post his photo when I've finished him. Or, more accurately, as soon as I get to it afterwards, since it does often take us several days to get around to sorting photos, so sometimes they get posted a week or so later than they otherwise might have, as regulars on here may have noticed. Hey, we get to them... Eventually. We just don't tend to rush. Not unless we need to, because it's time sensative, or it's something I'm desperate to post about. Don't take it personally though, because we're the same way with most things.

Anyhow, as well as crafting, I've also been baking.

I made a spice cake, made with the same sort of spice combination you'd use for pumpkin pie, or pumpkin spice cake, just because I've got a lot of "pumpkin spice" mixed up, and it seemed like a good idea. Plus, I made more brownies for Kelly, because he's a big fan of my brownies. I did eat a couple myself, but I'm not a fan... Brownies are as close as I ever get to chocolate cake though. But I made myself a spinach and mushroom quiche, a mini lemon tart (done to use the scraps from the pastry from the quiche) and - since it's something I love that Kelly doesn't - this coconut cake with lime butter icing:

I made most of them over a week ago, so they're long since gone. We enjoyed them though. I made the spice cake last week, but that's gone now too, since we were enjoying that over the weekend. They were a lovely addition to our crafting and DVD watching time. At least, I think so, and Kelly sure seemed to be enjoying his brownies, and his share of the spice cake.

In other news...

My post-op appointment, which I thought was on April 9th, was actually supposed to have been on April 8th. Since I went to the hospital on the 9th, I missed my appointment, and they just discharged me. They did ask when I was at the hospital if I had any concerns that meant I needed to be seen urgently, but since I seem to be recovering just fine, and wasn't about to say otherwise just to be seen (especially since I'd have had to waste my day in A and E to get seen, and had apparently wasted part of it already as it was) the hospital couldn't - or wouldn't - really do anything. If I want to be seen by a gynecologist properly, I have to go talk to my doctor for a referral, or have a big enough issue that I end up going in to A and E. Since they would have just been poking at my scar and asking if I felt OK, and then would have discharged me anyhow, and it will take several months for me to get to see a gynecologist if I ask my doctor to refer me again, I'm not going to bother. No point going through all that fuss just for someone to poke at my scar in six months or so (possibly even close to a year) and then tell me to go home. If something comes up, I can always call the doctor when it does. That or go to A and E, depending on how bad the issue is. It will get resolved quicker that way anyhow. In theory I shouldn't need to do either though. I'm no longer in pain, and the scar has knitted itself together nicely by the look of it. I'm even getting in and out of the bath by myself easily, playing with Lilie properly, and was fine with the stairs. So, while I officially shouldn't have been fully discharged without a physical examination, I'm not going to fight them on it. I don't see the point. Like I said, if something crops up, I'll get myself seen. Otherwise... *shrugs*

Oh, and... Yes. I took the bins of needles with me when I went to the hospital, like I planned to. No. I didn't bring them home. I almost ended up doing so, but the woman from the help desk helped me out. Well, women, plural, actually. They were great! They contacted various departments in the hospital, and eventually managed to get SAU to agree they should take them as part of their duty of care to me, since it was them spacifically who had discharged me with the shots (a fact they couldn't dispute, since one of the bins actually had a label on it identifying it as being property of that particular ward). Apparently, had they had purple lids instead of yellow ones, I wouldn't have had to go through all that fuss. I did offer to paint the lids purple, but it seems that wouldn't help. No pleasing some people! Either way, despite them having yellow lids, the little plastic bins of needles are finally gone! YAY!

Still on the medical front: I do have one issue, but it's not something the hospital would have dealt with usually anyhow. They cracked one of my teeth during surgery. I didn't think it was bad, and didn't notice it at first... Too distracted with the pain in my stomach, and the allergies to the pain meds, I suppose. Either way, when I did realize, I figured I'd get the post-op stuff out of the way - thus giving myself time to heal enough to sit up for as long as needed for it to be dealt with - and then see about calling the dentist. I'm past due a check-up anyhow, since being in and out of hospital so much in the past year has made going in for check-ups difficult to say the least. I guess the tooth was worse than I thought though, because it broke the other day. Needless to say, that was enough to prompt me to hurry up with that call to the dentist. I've got an appointment for April 24th at 12:45pm.

Luckily, my cold never came to much, and seems to have gone already.

Anyway, the weather's been all over the place. One day warm and sunny, so we have the windows open. The next cold and stormy, so the windows end up closed, and we're reaching for extra blankets. We've had temperatures ranging from about 2 degrees C to around 16 degrees C, and an interesting mixture of conditions, including rain, sun, and hail. A couple of days we even had fog and haze. At one point they promised snow too, though I wasn't surprised when that never showed up. It is April, after all, and we almost never get snow this time of year (if we're going to get it, it generally comes between the start of November and the end of March). I'm not saying it would be impossible for us to get snow between April and October. Just unusual enough that I never bothered getting my hopes up. Of course, Lilie and I would have enjoyed it if it had snowed though. Since it didn't, we enjoyed some puddles from the rain instead. Lilie loves puddles. She's quite the water dog at times. As for me... Well, I'm just a big kid, so of course I love splashing in puddles! *wink*

#MondayMotivation, #Inspiration, And #Wisdom - #Quotes For April 15th 2019

We are like trees whose roots divide and spread outwards. Our neighbours are the same. Their roots too spread out and interlace with ours. Like trees in a wood, our trunks are quite separate but beneath the soil an inextricably tangled network.
~C.R. Milne

Who is it that can make muddy water clear? No one. But left to stand, it will gradually clear of itself.
~Loa Tzu

Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.
~Thich Nhat Hanh

Dreams are like stars. You may never touch them, but if you follow them they will lead you to your destiny.
~Liam James

At some point in life, the world's beauty becomes enough.
~Toni Morrison

The way we choose to see the world creates the world we see.
~Barry Neil Kaufman

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
~Albert Einstein

#FurkidFriday: "She's Not Broken Any More."

Hi everyone. This is Lilie the Westie.

She's not broken any more!

Mummy, I mean. Just in case you aren't sure who I'm talking about.

She's playing ball properly and everything.

It's great, especially since I've got all those new balls to try out.

Speaking of which, I better get back to it...

I just thought you'd like to know.

Lots of licks,
Lilie

#AmReading + #AmWatching - April 11th 2019 #Reviews

It's time to take a look at what I've been reading and watching during this past week.

If you want to know more about the book, or the author, click on whichever it is you want to learn more about, and it will take you to the appropriate page on Goodreads. Clicking on my rating should take you to my actual Goodreads review for the book in question. Please bear in mind that the format I've reviewed on Goodreads may not be the format I actually read.

Alternatively, if it's a movie or TV show you want to know more about, just click on the title to go to a page where you can find out more details about the movie or TV show in question; the title links will usually take you to a page on IMDB.

Don't forget: I read and watch things across multiple genres, as well as for different age ranges, so you should always check before reading or viewing, to make certain something is suitable for the intended audience, especially when children are involved.

OK...

Here's what I read this week:

Changes by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
For the most part I loved this book as much as I have the others in the series. In fact, in some ways I loved it more,, because I've become so invested in the characters by this point, and the stakes are certainly high in this one. So, why only four stars? The cliffhanger ending. I've let some cliffhangers slide with this author, but this one... WOW! Leaving the ending like that is just mean! I'm glad I had the next book already, because it would have driven me nuts otherwise. As it was I had to stay up a while longer to start the next book. I know that's the whole point of cliffhangers, but I hate when authors do it.

As for what I've been watching:

I actually watched some of my DVDs during the past week. Yeah, I know. I'll give you a moment to pick yourself back up off the floor. All set? Are you back on your chair now? No serious injuries from falling down from the shock of what I just said? Great! *wink*

Anyway, I watched the first three disks of season eight of NCIS. Yeah, I know, I'm incredibly behind on episodes of that. I'm incredibly behind on pretty much everything I want to wach though, so never mind. Honestly, the only thing longer than my to-watch list is my to-read list. Haha! At least I'm now a few disks - half a season, in fact - closer to catching up with NCIS. Hey, it's progress, and any progress is good progress, right?

I also watched some movies on Sky Cinema Disney the other day, while I was doing stuff within earshot of the TV for a long time, but didn't want to fuss with a DVD, so thought I'd check out what was on TV I could watch. They were all ones I've seen several times before though. I watched "Bolt" and "Pocahantas" from start to finish, and "The Lion King" from about ten minutes in to the movie until the end (because that's how far through it was when I went to see what was on the channel). All three are movies I love, so I was happy to watch them again, despite having seen all three several times already.

Not-So-Cute #Rabbits, And The Other Animals Of Nytefall - A Guest Post By @cyallowitz

Thank you to Victoria for offering a space on her blog to help promote my newest release, War of Nytefall: Rivalry. This is the third volume of my vampire series, which takes place in the world of Windemere where my previous series, Legends of Windemere, was set. So, there is a lot of magic and monsters in this world to join the civil war between the old-world vampires and the more dangerous Dawn Fangs. Let’s meet the . . . Oh . . . Yeah, I might have a problem here.

In my last series, I had Fizzle the drite who was a purple dragon with dragonfly wings. He was very popular and was perfect for gaining attention to the books. He was happy, loved apples, talked like a child, and had enough power to protect his friends. Fizzle worked for that series because it was an epic adventure with a sense of bright humor. War of Nytefall has an entire cast of vampires, so cute animals are kind of rare. Now, if you will bear/bare/beer with me and cast the ‘cute’ part aside, I do have a few critters that you can meet.

Lost’s Bunny
This may take a little explanation. Lost is a vampire who was born instead of turned, so she’s very special. She’s also a powerful psionic and her pet/weapon is this bunny. Originally, this was my sister’s character in ‘Vampire: The Masquerade’ RPG and she just did whatever popped into her head at the time. Having promised to keep the character as close to what she was, I couldn’t forget the rabbit. It flies around and moves really fast, which is really because of her telekinesis. Many times, it’s shot through an enemy because they’re too busy watching the vampire dancing around in front of them. The poor thing doubles as a purse too with gems, coins, and other random objects inside of it.

It’s really hard to put this creature on the list even though it has the most amount of page time among the ‘animals’. The reason is because it isn’t alive. As a baby, Lost was approached by this rabbit and it tried to bite her. She snapped its neck and they’ve been friends ever since with her subconsciously animating the bunny. The two of them talk with people only hearing her side of the conversation and she feeds it tomatoes. I describe it fairly often as looking decrepit and strange, which is the main reason I said that we weren’t going to find any cute animals here.

Bob’s Horses
Bob is one of the vampire heroes who has an obsession with horses. He loves them and will bring them up in conversation every chance he gets. In fact, his special power is that he can create horses from corpses. He can actually do it to any animal, but he sticks to horses for the most part. In an emergency, Bob will use another riding beast while complaining about them or getting himself to believe that they are close enough to horses to count. One of my favorite scenes is him using a cobbled together pronghorn antelope and having to do repairs as he rides along.

Here’s the thing with Bob and his horses: They aren’t normal. That might seem like an understatement, but I’m sure everyone is thinking skeletal and zombie horses right now. It isn’t that simple. He literally builds them and can keep a stable of 12-16 before he has to junk one to make room for another. Bob can make them for speed, strength, agility, gliding, metal skin, stone skin, breathing acid, and the list is as long as his imagination. Whatever parts and ingredients he can get his hands on, he can put into or onto one of his creations. For example, he could take a normal stallion and add griffin wings to it for a makeshift Pegasus. So, I can’t really list all of his horses because I’d be here all day. There are always some new ones that show up in every book too.

Clyde’s Eusu
I almost forgot about this guy because he’s in the background. Clyde is the leader of the Dawn Fangs and the protagonist of the entire series. After being transformed by the Great Cataclysm into a vampire who is immune to sunlight and displays incredible physical abilities, he becomes a target of the old-world vampires. They really fear him because his blood can transform them into Dawn Fangs, which many go through with for the increase in power. Personality-wise, Clyde is aggressive and struggling to maintain his humanity, so I gave him a pet. It wasn’t on purpose either. It just kind of happened because I had this animal hanging around where he had one of his big battles in War of Nytefall: Loyalty. It was eating so many vampires and some of his blood that I couldn’t imagine it being anything other than an immortal pet.

So, what is an Eusu? Imagine a large alligator that is really aggressive and the top of whatever food chain it decides to join. At least in regards to non-magical animals. Of course, there has to be something unique for me to call it something other than an alligator. It’s got a four-jawed mouth that opens into a wide ‘X’ and slams down on its prey with enough force to usually snap its neck or sever a limb. This was a beast I came up with on the fly when I wanted Timoran Wrath to have a big fight in Legends of Windemere: The Compass Key. He’s a barbarian and I wanted a really nasty predator. The Eusu just came to me and it’s been one of my favorite creatures to use ever since. It’s surprisingly simple in design and makes a great pet for someone like Clyde who is rather predatory himself. It typically hangs around the moat that is near his fortress or wanders out to prowl the island in search of food. Given that it’s been vampirized to some extent, this Eusu is much stronger and durable than others. Makes me wonder if I should do more with it.

So, there are the animals found within War of Nytefall: Rivalry (UK readers can find the book here). Hope you enjoyed it enough to give the book a look on Amazon. See you in the comments.

***~~~***

About the Author:

Charles E. Yallowitz was born, raised, and educated in New York. Then he spent a few years in Florida, realized his fear of alligators, and moved back to the Empire State. When he isn't working hard on his epic fantasy stories, Charles can be found cooking or going on whatever adventure his son has planned for the day. Truthfully, his tales of adventure are much more interesting than his real life, so skip the bio and dive into the action

Blog: www.legendsofwindemere.com
Twitter: @cyallowitz
Website: www.charleseyallowitz.com

#Unicorn Slippers, #HarryPotter Boxes, And #MothersDay Gifts

The last few days of March contained a lot of fun post, as well as some tasty goodies for me.

In the parcel that contained Lilie's princess paws outfit from my Mam, there was a pair of unicorn slippers for me.....

(Yes, they're on my feet in the photo)

Mam also sent me this Mother and Daughter plaque:

Plus, my Harry Potter box arrived. For those who like to know, March's box contained the following:

A t-shirt with a toad, some chicken feathers, and moons on it...

(Illustrating how you get a basalisk, I assume, especially given the theme of this month's box... I'm basing this on my knowledge of how that's meant to work, which comes from what they say in the books and movies).

A chocolate frogs poster...

Some sweets, which were some actual edible chocolate frogs, and some sherbert lemons...

(Yes, they did taste good, in case you were wondering).

Some "divination" Earl Grey tea, complete with a tea strainer...

(I do have one of those strainer things, though this one's slightly smaller than mine... Not that it matters. Doesn't hurt to have a spare though, and since this is the third tea they've sent out, I'm glad they thought to include one at some point for those who don't have one, since a lot of people probably didn't before they sent this one out).

An ornamental mandrake...

(the first photo shows it in its pot, the second shows it out of the pot, so you can see it more clearly).

And a Ravenclaw print...

There was also something with details on it about how I can order a personalized Hogwarts letter, plus a scratch card that I'm waiting to find out what I won from, since we had to contact them to tell them what was on my card, and haven't had the reply yet. At least, we haven't had it at the time I'm writing this, though we might have by the time it goes live.

If that wasn't enough, the last Sunday in March was Mothers' Day here in the UK, and my Mam got me a little something from Lilie. It's a little wooden heart with a message on it. Here's a photo:

Kelly also got me some mini flapjack bites, and caramel crispy bites, which were the rest of my Mothers' Day present from Lilie. I didn't bother to get photos of those, though I did enjoy eating them. *wink*

Like I said, lots of fun post, and tasty goodies!

#MondayMotivation, #Inspiration, And #Wisdom - #SelfCare #Quotes For April 8th 2019

We need to replace your vicious stress cycle with a vicious cycle of self care.
~Dr. Sara Gottfried

Love yourself enough to set boundaries. Your time and energy are precious. You get to choose how you use it. You teach people how to treat you by deciding what you will and won’t accept.
~Anna Taylor

Invent your world. Surround yourself with people, color, sounds, and work that nourish you.
~Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy

Taking care of yourself doesn't mean me first, it means me too.
~L.R. Knost

When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.
~Jean Shinoda Bolen

Carve out and claim the time to care for yourself and kindle your own fire.
~Amy Ippoliti

Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.
~Anne Lamott

#FurkidFriday: Mollie The #Chinchilla Is Doing Well By Herself

Hi everyone. This is Mollie the chinchilla.

I don't really have much to say, to be honest. I mean, nothing exciting has happened to me lately. But I thought I'd check in, and let you know I'm doing OK. You know... Just in case you were wondering.

Actually, I'm doing a lot better in this cage all by myself than the human caretakers expected me to do.

They thought I'd be all miserable, but I'm happily playing, enjoying sand baths, eating well, and that kind of thing. I've even started coming to the front of the cage to greet the Mummy human when she brings me my nibbles, and letting her pet me for a few moments. Not for long though, because I need to get to the nibbles, after all. But she seems to like it, and I have to admit I kind of like it too. That bit of attention at nibbles time is enough for me though. I'm happy to play my myself the rest of the time. Well, when I'm not napping, or watching NCIS, CSI, or whatever else is on TV for me to watch.

Squeak soon,
Mollie

#AmReading + #AmWatching - April 4th 2019 #Reviews (Includes Challenge Updates)

It's time to take a look at what I've been reading and watching during this past week.

If you want to know more about the book, or the author, click on whichever it is you want to learn more about, and it will take you to the appropriate page on Goodreads. Clicking on my rating should take you to my actual Goodreads review for the book in question. Please bear in mind that the format I've reviewed on Goodreads may not be the format I actually read.

Alternatively, if it's a movie or TV show you want to know more about, just click on the title to go to a page where you can find out more details about the movie or TV show in question; the title links will usually take you to a page on IMDB.

Don't forget: I read and watch things across multiple genres, as well as for different age ranges, so you should always check before reading or viewing, to make certain something is suitable for the intended audience, especially when children are involved.

OK...

Here's what I read this week:

Turn Coat by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is an excellent addition to the series, and a fantastic book in general. I'm absolutely loving this series, and can't wait to read the next book. I've already mentioned in reviews for the previous books in the series how great the worldbuilding and characters are. Add to that a nicely paced and exciting plot, with plenty of action, some emotional scenes, and some twists and turns, and you have the recipe for an awesome read.

As for what I've been watching:

Yeah... I've got nothing. I've caught snatches of things on TV, but that's about it. I was going to watch a couple of DVDs on Sunday, but it was Mothers' Day here in the UK, and my Mam felt talkative, so I spent most of Sunday talking to her instead.

***~~~***

Since we're quarter of the way through the year - yes, already - I thought I'd take a moment to update you on how I'm doing with my reading and watching challenges for 2019. So, this is how things stand at the moment:

• I've so far read 22 books towards my goal of 104 books.
• I've completed 8 letters for the title version of the A-Z challenge, and 10 for the author version of the A-Z challenge.
• I've so far watched 4 DVDs towards my goal of 52 DVDs.

As you can no doubt tell, though I'm doing well on the alphabet challenges, I'm a few books behind on my reading goal, and several DVDs behind on my watching goal. I should have read about 26 books and 13 DVDs by now. It's fine though. It's only early April, so I have plenty of time to catch up.

#WriterWednesday - April 3rd 2019

I managed to get some more of my adventure story written during the past week, as well as doing some more roleplaying write-ups for Kelly's roleplaying game. I don't mind doing the write-ups for him, even though it takes away from the time I can spend on my own writing projects. Partially because I like that he asks me; I like the fact he thinks enough of my writing to consider me a good choice for helping with the write-ups for his games. But mostly because we work on them together in the ideas phase, and I enjoy doing something together that involves the interests we share. In this case roleplaying (though roleplaying isn't the only interest we share, of course). It's Star Wars too, so there's that as well, since Star Wars is awesome! Harry Potter is better - in my opinion anyhow, though I think he'd say it's the other way around - but Star Wars is definitely a favourite in our houshold for both of us, regardless of which way around we'd list Harry Potter and Star Wars on our favourites list.

Hey, did you know writing is a habit, which is why a lot of people fail at it? It's also why a lot of people say you should write every day, or try to. How many hours a day you should spend writing varies. Even whether or not you should write every day depends; writing every day may not work for you. But writing regularly will, if you make it work. Of course, sometimes life really does cause problems with that. I've been there a lot myself, especially in the past year. But mostly you can make it a habit you stick to. If you want to, that is. You just have to figure out what will work best for you with everything else you want and need to fit in to your schedule, make an appointment with your writing, and stick to it. Even if your muse doesn't show up, and you end up writing rubbish. Of course, if it's time to take a 'break' from writing, that's fine. But when the break is over, and you'd planned to get back to writing, make sure you actually do everything in your power to do so.

On a similar note, check out these reasons to go out to write, and consider whether that might be the way to help you keep your own writing appointment with yourself.

OK, let's assume you've got your writing schedule figured out. Or, at least, you're getting writing done somehow, whether at home or somewhere else. Except you're not enjoying it. So, what does it mean when writing stops being fun? Maybe just that you haven't found the right project, and need to find the one that brings the magic back in to writing for you. Speaking of which, here's some help with nudging that magic along.

Regardless of who's in your story, here are some tips to creating a rivalry, because it can sometimes be a useful - and entertaining - addition to your story. Maybe not. But you never know. You now have some tips for writing a rivalry in to your story if you think one belongs there anyhow.

Next, here are some tips for more effective writing, which you may find useful, whether you're a new writer, or someone who has been writing for many years.

By the way, if you're struggling to find an idea, chances are it's because you don't 'find' inspiration. It finds you. There are things you can do to help find potential ideas, but the one that works best is being on the look out for new ideas all the time, and making a note of them when they show up. So, where do your ideas come from?

No matter where your idea came from, if you've finished your book, and are planning to write some posts to promote it - either for your own blog, or for the blogs of others who might have invited you to guest post - and you're stuck for topics, check out this list of ideas for guest posts which are related to your new release.

Oh, and don't forget that your book's description is one of the things that's going to potentially hook a new reader. So, to help you make sure yours is awesome, here's how to write a good book description.

#Puppy Birthdays, #Mindfulness Rituals, Kettles, And Medical Mutterings

Last Tuesday was Lilie's 2nd birthday. How did she get to be two already? It seems like it couldn't have been that long since we brought that little eight week old puppy home. But now she's officially not a puppy any more. Of course, I'll probably still call her one, especially since turning two has done nothing to dampen her enthusiasm for getting as much fun out of life as possible. We're still chuckling at her excitement when Kelly tipped a box of balls out in front of her. She didn't know which to play with first, and still keeps bringing different balls randomly, with the sturdy rubber ones that we gave her one of early being favourites (she's got seven of those, in a variety of colours... Even a purple one).

Anyway, I found this list of mini rituals for your daily spiritual practice recently. They're officially aimed at those following one of the Pagan paths, but could potentially be options for anyone wanting to be more mindful in their daily life, so I thought I'd share them here, for the benifit of anyone who may be interested in checking them out.

In other news: I killed the kettle. It was an accident. I forgot there was water in the bowl in the sink, and went to fill the kettle, plunging it in to water, and soaking the parts you're not meant to get wet. We tried to dry it out, but every time we plug it in, it fizzles and knocks the power off for the whole apartment. So... Erm... I guess we need a new kettle again. In the meantime, we're having to heat water for my cups of tea in a pot instead.

For those who might be wondering: yes, the workmen have been around. We're still waiting for the work in our apartment to be done, but we've seen them doing jobs elsewhere in the building. I wish they'd come do the stuff in our place, but at least we know they genuinely are busy doing stuff in the other apartments in the building, since we can hear them, and have seen them when they've been doing the outside and hallway jobs.

Oh, and... No. The council did not come and pick up the bins with the used needles in. We put them down in the hallway last Wednesday night, like we were supposed to so they'd be there for the following day, and I made sure to be up to listen for the buzzer before there was any chance they'd be coming. Nothing. Either they didn't come at all, or they showed up, didn't see the bins out there, and left, despite the fact they were meant to buzz to get in to the building to get them, since I refuse to leave them out on the street, and made them make a note on the pick-up arrangements that they were to buzz to get in to the building. I won't be responsible for some random person getting hold of them, as I said when I mentioned this before. The normal rubbish pick-up happened, but nobody tried to get in to pick up the medical stuff, nor did they attempt to contact me either before or after they were meant to have been here to pick the little bins of needles up. I know the buzzer was working too, since I had no trouble letting the postman and parcel delivery guys in. Well, the speaker part is still a bit iffy from us to the outside, but the rest of it works, so I'd have known it was them, and been able to let them in the building, even if they hadn't heard me. Either way, we brought them back upstairs after they didn't show that day, which means the little bins are currently back to sitting on the kitchen counter again. *sigh*

Anyway, it's been almost eight weeks since I had my surgery, and I'm finally not in pain any more. Well, I get some mild pain when I do some things, but mostly I don't hurt any more. I've had a bit of a cold this past week or so though. Not a bad one. Just enough to have me sneezing and coughing a lot, and feeling a bit tired and run down. At least sneezing and coughing is no longer as painful as it was whenever I did it a few weeks ago, which is a good sign, since it means I must be healing well.

I was going to share photos of all the happy post I got during the past week, but we haven't had time to sort the photos, so I guess I won't be posting those today. I'll post about it all next week instead.

#MondayMotivation, #Inspiration, And #Wisdom - #Hygge #Quotes For April 1st 2019

"Just living isn't enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower."
~Hans Christian Anderson

He who knows contentment is rich.
~Lao Tzu

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
~Annie Dillard

...to hold twilight or watch it darken, describes the pleasure we take in pausing to observe as day slips into night. To stand at our window, wrapped in the half-dark and watch the day disappear... is a moment of hygge.
~Louisa Thomsen Brits

We do not remember days, we remember moments.
~Cesare Pavese

The most unfortunate thing that happens to a person who fears failure is that he limits himself by becoming afraid to try anything new.
~Leo Buscaglia

The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.
~J.M. Barrie

#FurkidFriday: Lilie The #Westie Plays Dress-Up, Gets Groomed, And Celebrates Turning 2

Hi everyone. This is Lilie the Westie.

I've had lots going on over the past couple of weeks. In fact, all of March has been great fun for me!

First, Mummy and Daddy said it was time for my ball to be retired. I'm still not completely sure what that means, but it seems to mean that the old ball disappears and I get a new one, since that's what happened. I'm fine with that. I loved my old ball... Even though it somehow had a bit missing from it, which had nothing to do with me, of course. But I made the switch easily enough, and now I love my new ball. It bounces good, and goes a long way when the humans kick or throw it, which is great. It's meant to have been part of my birthday present, but I got it early, because of the old one getting retired. Anyway, here are a couple of photos of me standing by it, telling Daddy to put the flashy thing down, and play ball with me:

Then, a couple of days after I got the new ball, I played dress-up with Mummy. Well, she didn't dress up, but she made me a cape out of one of my blankets so I could be Super Dog. I loved the game, but didn't much like it when Daddy made me stay still while he pointed the flashy thing at me. Since he did though, I'll share the photo with you:

Those things happened a couple of weeks ago. But last week Daddy took me to the doggy groomer. Mummy didn't come, because she's still a bit broken (though she's not very broken any more, and plays better now). Anyway, I got bathed, plus had my fur and nails cut. So here I am looking all beautiful:

If that wasn't enough fun to pack in to one month, I also had one of those birthday things a couple of days ago (on Tuesday, which was March 26th). I knew I had one coming up, because Mummy said I was only getting the ball a little early. Anyway, guess what I got for my birthday? More balls! You can never have too many balls, after all. Apparently Mummy and Daddy agree, since they got me a selection of different balls for my birthday. I got rubber balls, tennis balls, and even squeaky balls. I love balls! Here's a few photos of me with most of my new balls:

It was a ballapalooza!

Daddy called it something like that anyhow, and it seems like the right word.

Anyway, Daddy just tipped the box of balls out on to the floor for me. It was so exciting! I didn't know which ball to play with first! I ended up playing with them all a bit, and eventually picked one to play fetch with Mummy with. Although, I changed my mind after a bit, and we played fetch with more than one ball. Well, I had to try them out, didn't I?

It was an awesome birthday!

Actually it's been a fantastic month in general. Although, I have to admit, I did need several naps to get through it all. It was all so exhausting. I'm having trouble staying awake where I'm so tired...

I just have to tell you about one more thing though.

My Nana sent me a princess outfit. A bandanna that says, "Princess Paws," on it, and a clip on bow. So yesterday - which was when it arrived - I played dress up with Mummy again, only this time I was Princess Lilie. Or, "Lilie Princess Paws," as Daddy called me. Here are a couple of photos Daddy took of me in my princess outfit:

Lots of licks,
Lilie

#AmReading + #AmWatching - March 28th 2019 #Reviews

It's time to take a look at what I've been reading and watching during this past week.

If you want to know more about the book, or the author, click on whichever it is you want to learn more about, and it will take you to the appropriate page on Goodreads. Clicking on my rating should take you to my actual Goodreads review for the book in question. Please bear in mind that the format I've reviewed on Goodreads may not be the format I actually read.

Alternatively, if it's a movie or TV show you want to know more about, just click on the title to go to a page where you can find out more details about the movie or TV show in question; the title links will usually take you to a page on IMDB.

Don't forget: I read and watch things across multiple genres, as well as for different age ranges, so you should always check before reading or viewing, to make certain something is suitable for the intended audience, especially when children are involved.

OK...

Here's what I read this week:

Valentine Pontifex by Robert Silverberg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another fantastic read from this author. I know there are some who feel this third installment in the series isn't as good as the first two, but I find I disagree with them. This was an excellent read in its own right, and a fantastic continuation of the series, with a satisfying ending.

Small Favor by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is an action-packed addition to this series, which will have you on the edge of your seat - especially if you've been reading from the first book, so got to know, and care about, many of the characters. It does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, but it's more the, "I must read the next book," kind, so I wasn't too irritated by it, even though I generally hate cliffhanger endings.

As for what I've been watching:

I watched a couple of WWII documentaries. I have no idea what they were called. They just happened to be on TV when I was in the living room, and I ended up watching them. They were interesting, if a bit sad. So, in other words, typical for that kind of thing; I generally find them interesting, while at the same time feeling sad that the events happened at all, and that we - as in human beings as a whole - apparently didn't learn from them.

Anyway, I didn't watch anything else this week, so that's it for this week's review post.

#WriterWednesday - March 27th 2019

Are you a writer? Do you have a dog, cat, or other animal living with you? Then have them come over and become one of our "Friends of Furkid Friday" on this blog! Simply follow Lilie's instructions on the "Friends Of Furkid Friday" page to get a spot. There's only one spot a month, and - as it stands at the time of this post being written - the first available one is for August 2019. The furkids and I look forward to hearing from you!

In other news: I've now chosen a new narrator for my Magical Chapters Trilogy. The new narrator is Emma Thorpe (clicking on her name there will take you to her ACX profile).

Speaking of names, here's a great post containing some thoughts on character and place names, which you might want to bear in mind. Just remember that unusual names may mean your readers will all end up pronouncing them differently. I've got some unusual names in some of my books, but I mostly don't worry about how people say them. Some matter to me - like Kero's name - but as long as they're close, I even let those slide. With my audio books, I've mostly been focussing on making sure the narrators pronounce the names the same the whole way through. I figure that's more important anyhow. If it matters to you that the names are pronounced the way you imagine them though - either by readers or narrators - you'll want to make it easy on them by keeping the names simple, being careful what names you choose to start with, and staying away from unusual spellings.

On the subject of characters, here's something to consider when writing new versions of old characters. Something you may not need to worry about, unless you're writing a prequel, but I figured I'd share the advice anyhow, just in case it is useful to you.

Let's continue to talk about characters for a moment, and consider the possibility of using horoscopes for characterization - a pretty good idea, in my opinion.

Still on the subject of your characters, here's a post that discusses the challenge of writing exes that don't hate each other, which you might want to read if that's something that applies in whatever you're writing.

Next, here are a few tips for creating a complex villain, which may be useful to you, regardless of the genre you write in, or the relationships between your other characters.

By the way, if you're struggling to decide on a title for your story or book, you may like to check out this post on how to find the perfect title. Hopefully it will help you come up with a fantastic one. It should at least get you thinking of potential ones anyhow, which is half the battle.

Of course, the first thing you need to do is actually get the writing done. If productivity is the reason you haven't done so yet, you may want to ensure you're getting time in your sacred writing bubble, and check out these quick ways to be awesomely efficient, as well as this post on how - and why - one writer trained herself to write 25,000 words in one week. After all, though you may not have time to write that many words in a week, you do have time to write - you just aren't making it a priority. Work always comes before willpower, you know. Just remember to look after your mental health as well as your physical health, and be aware of writer burnout, and that your writing goals don't have to be as large as those of some writers.

Regardless of what your writing goals and schedule look like, if it's doubt about your work holding you back, bear in mind that it's perfectly normal to feel that way. Sometimes I still think my writing is trash - and that statement applies to both me and the author of that post. Yes, even with more than 50 published titles, I still get nervous every time I publish a new book, despite some of my already available titles having great reviews. Yes, you have to make sure the post, story, or whatever, is actually ready before you publish it. But sooner or later, there comes a point where you have to let go and press that "publish" button. Sure, some people might not like it. But it's impossible to please everyone anyhow, so don't let your fear hold you back. In fact, here's why you need to be confident about your writing, regardless of what others might think of it, or how good or bad you think the reviews might end up being.

Oh, and... If you do get some bad reviews - or, I should say "when" since that's something we all have to deal with sooner or later - take this advice on how to deal with those reviews.

Speaking of reviews: if you're going to contact an author to ask for a copy of their book to review, at least personalize the message. I had three messages just the other day that I just deleted because they were clearly generic messages. I'm not in the habit of handing out free review copies to random people who get in touch asking for them, unless I've put up an invitation for them to do so somewhere recently. However, those times I have done so have been after personalized polite requests made by people who bothered to use my name and book's title. So, reviewers, if you want to get in touch with an author about review copies, at least take the time to use their name, and specify the book title (nice to do in general, but especially important when the author has a lot of books out). The same works in reverse for authors seeking reviews for their books too. A personalized message is much more likely to get results. Just saying.

#Crafting, Phone Upgrades, #Baking, Medical Mutterings, And Workmen

For those who like to know: my March Makerly box contained a sewing kit to make a March hare wall hanging... I think it's an embroidery kit, but it might be a basic sewing kit (I can't remember for sure).  Either way, I know I can tell you now, since I saw them announce it on Twitter last Wednesday. Anyway, I love how it said in the papers that tell you what you're making that it was a, "Completely cruelty free and vegan friendly trophy." I love that they thought about that.

Speaking of craft kits: no. I haven't finished the owl yet. I should have, but I haven't been working on it. It's kind of hard to finish something if you aren't working on it at all, as I'm sure you can appreciate. I'll get back to it soon.

In other news, the new modem for the internet arrived Tuesday some time, but we didn't set it up until the Wednesday. Although Tuesday was officially the day the system should have allowed the switch, it can be the evening before it does sometimes (in fact, officially it can be any time up until midnight of that night) so waiting until the following day gave us more chance we could guarantee they were ready, and reduced the chances we'd have to temporarily swap them back to continue going online. So, I'm not sure what time on Tuesday the system made the switch, but we had our new internet from last Wednesday, and everything went smoothly with switching it over. We unplugged the old one, plugged in the new one, and were good to go. That's what's meant to happen, so I'm glad it did. It does seem a bit faster, so that's nice. We also haven't lost connection, even during those potentially rocky first days when you sometimes - in fact, quite often - can while it adjusts and settles, which is even nicer. We're going to send the old modem back to them for recycling. They even gave us a baggy to put it in to send it back to them.

My new mobile phone arrived on Friday, like it was meant to. As I think I mentioned last week, it's a silver iPhone 6S. I need to get it a case though, since it won't fit in the one for my old phone. Anyway, it's just as well it came when it did, since my old one (the iPhone 4S) was playing up, and when I asked Kelly to help me do something with it, he said the screen was totally blank. Honestly, we're not entirely sure how it was even still talking, but we do know it's only the fact I was using Voice Over (the screen reader iPhones come with) that was enabling me to even still be using the phone at that point. So... Yeah... I cut that one pretty close, and would have been cutting it even closer still if I had to be able to see the screen to use it. I couldn't get texts for the first day I had my new phone though. Nothing wrong with the phone. We had them send out a new sim card, since the different models sometimes take different sims, and we weren't sure if my old phone's sim would work in the new one. The result being that I had to wait for the new sim to activate itself. They said it could take up to 24 hours, but is usually quicker. It wasn't quicker. It was longer. Partially my fault... I forgot to actually activate it at first. But all I could do was wait (at least, after I'd actually activated the new sim) since it would have had to be more than those 24 hours after I'd actually done the activation before they'd have looked in to it. While I waited, I got the settings all adjusted how I wanted them, grabbed my apps off the app store (since I had internet, because I could use the home internet, but didn't have service from the mobile provider) and that kind of thing. So at least the phone was good to go when it finally activated itself on Sunday afternoon. It would have been Saturday, had it not been Saturday morning before I realized I'd forgotten to go on their website to actually activate the new sim. Erm... Oops!

Anyway, speaking of Saturday: I did some more baking on Saturday. I made some brownies, which I knew Kelly really wanted me to make. He loves when I make brownies. But I also made a simple cinnamon cake, just because I felt like making one. I had Kelly take photos for those who might want to see them. They won't win prizes for presentation... Especially the brownies... But they tasted good, which is what matters most. Anyway, here they are:

(The brownies are in the first photo, and the cinnamon cake is in the second photo - both uncut).

In other news...

I'm feeling much better. I get the odd twinge of pain sometimes. But I'm not even taking Ibuprofen any more. Not even at night. I've got some on hand, just in case I need some - especially now I'm starting to do more, since it's past the six week point, so I'm allowed to - but I'm hopeful I won't need it any time soon. Doesn't hurt to have some available in case it's needed anyhow though. I almost needed some on Friday. Kelly helped me have a shower. Not easy, since we didn't want to push it with me stretching yet, and we also still don't have the shower curtain up, so he had to make sure to be careful how he directed the spray (as it is the floor got a bit of a wash too). But I haven't been able to risk climbing over the side of the bath for either a shower or a bath since before my surgery, and it was so totally worth it to feel properly clean for the first time in so many weeks!

Oh, speaking of medical stuff... We're finally making some progress with getting the council to come pick up those used needles. They have the paperwork this time, so are willing to approve a pick-up. I did have a bit of an argument with them over it though, because they wanted us to just leave the little plastic bins on the doorstep, and I refuse to do that. If they can be left in such an unsecure location, why do we need the paperwork to approve them being picked up? It's stupid! I'd have thought they'd want to make sure they changed hands securely, not leave them out there for potentially hours (they can come for them any time between 7:00am and 8:00pm, which means they could potentially be out there for more than 13 hours, assuming nobody comes and helps themselves to them in the meantime). I told them I'd be willing to leave them in our downstairs hallway, and be available from 7:00am to let them in the building to come in for them. But I'm not leaving them on the doorstep where anyone can help themselves to them. They reluctantly agreed, and are meant to be coming for them on Thursday. I don't see why they're so reluctant. Like I said, if it's so important to have proper paperwork to approve them being picked up, I'd have thought they'd want to make sure they change hands in a secure manner. I know I do. Anyway, let's hope they come pick them up on Thursday. Kelly will put them downstairs Wednesday night, so we just have to let them in the building, and in theory they don't have to come all the way upstairs, or wait while one of us goes down. But at least we'll know who's coming in to the building, so nobody can just run off with the stuff secretly.

Speaking of letting people in the building: the speaker for the buzzer thingy is still not reliable. Sometimes it works perfectly, sometimes it doesn't. The button works, so we can let people in. We can also always hear them speaking. But they don't hear us all the time. The repair guys say they'll come replace our handset, since that's probably where the issue is. They haven't had a chance yet though. They've been back out on the roof, continuing to fix that.

The weather has been a lot nicer during the past week - we even had the windows open a couple of times - and the workmen have been out there every day. They seem to be trying to do a thorough job, so it's taking a while. Let's hope they really are doing as thorough a job as they appear - and claim - to be. Let's also hope they do as thorough a job as they promise to with checking for and repairing other issues in the building once they're done with the roof. It would be nice to have it all fixed.

#MondayMotivation, #Inspiration, And #Wisdom - #Quotes For March 25th 2019

Smooth seas do not make skilful sailors.
~African Proverb

Be a lamp or a lifeboat or a ladder. Help someone's soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.
~Rumi

The impressions we pick up as children, when our minds are still open to influence and as soft as damp sponges, are likely to stay with us the longest.
~Ann Patchett

We tend to think that, if someone is deprived of a blessing that we ourselves possess, their life is the sadder. But in fact the man who has less than his neighbour is only unhappy if he had been hoping for more and chooses to feel jealous.
~C.R. Milne

Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.
~Charles Dickens

None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, yet still we go forward. Because we trust. Because we have Faith.
~Paulo Coelho

Never stop dreaming, never stop believing, never give up, never stop trying, and never stop learning.
~Roy T. Bennett

Friends Of #FurkidFriday: Bertie

Hi everyone. This is Joshua the degu.

Last month, I introduced you to my friend, Roscoe. Well, today I'm going to introduce you to someone who shares the same human caretaker as Roscoe. His name is Bertie.

Hello there, Bertie. I know Roscoe is known as more than one thing. How about you? What's your name?

Bertie. Mummy sometimes calls me Bertie Bassett. She used to call me Bertie Bossyboots as well, but she says I’m not bossy any more. Now she sometimes calls me Bertie Boots.

At least you know if "Bertie" is in there somewhere, she means you. Glad you're not bossy any more though. My brother, Jenks, was like that. It wasn't very fun for the rest of us. Anyway, what species and breed are you?

I’m a silver agouti guinea pig. Silver agouti is really a colour, but it’s treated as a breed I think.

The Mummy human said she had one that colour once. For the benifit of those who don't know what that looks like though, describe your appearance. I know you've sent a photo along (which I'll share in a moment) but please describe yourself too, for the benefit of those who can’t see the photo.

I have a smooth, shiny silver coat (unlike my twin brother who’s got a plain grey curly coat!). The hairs aren’t really silver, each one is white, grey and black as you go along it. It gives me a sort of speckly effect, which is called agouti. I also have a twirly bit between my ears, which is called a crest (anywhere else on my body it would be a rosette). And I have white markings on my face (and a line on my side), and big black eyes to charm you with.

You sound like a handsome guinea pig. Here's the photo of you in your tunnel for everyone who can to see what you look like:

So, what sort of place do you live in? Who do you share it with?

I live in a run upstairs next to my Mummy’s workdesk. It backs onto Roscoe and Neville’s run so we can chat and disagree and steal each other’s hay if it pokes through the grids. My brother Biggles is in a run above their run and forming a balcony over mine.

I used to share the run with my best buddy, uncle Percy. He looked after Biggles and me when we first came to live here when we were six weeks old. Percy died last year, and I miss him lots.

I can understand that. I lost all three of my brothers two years ago, and I still miss them lots and lots. By the way, here's a photo of Bertie with his Uncle Percy:

So, Bertie, what’s your favourite thing to do?

Eat grass in the garden. Run around and see who I can irritate. Snooze in my snugglesac. The list is endless.

Nice that you keep busy, though you probably shouldn't try to find people to irritate... That's not nice. Anyway, do you have a favourite toy? If yes, what is it?

I suppose my snugglesac counts. Any sort of tunnel is fun, I love tunnels. I’ve also got a cuddly snowman in the corner of my run. I inherited it from Percy, I think. I don’t pay much attention to it, but I nose it around the run sometimes. I get cross with Roscoe when he nibbles the bobble on his hat when it sticks through the grids, though.

I thought the tunnel might be a favourite of yours. I'd get cross with Roscoe for nibbling my toy too. Speaking of nibbles... What’s your favourite food?

Grass. I like cucumber too. We get cucumber with our cuddles in the morning. I sometimes think that the first person down gets more cucumber than the last, but sometimes it works that the last person gets more, so I’ve stopped worrying if Mummy decides to take Biggles down first. The first person gets the longest run in the kitchen int he morning. I like running around in the kitchen.

Sounds nice. I hope she takes it in turns to let you have the longest run around in the kitchen. Speaking of your Mummy, what’s the one thing your human does that you love most?

I had to think about this. I love it when she rubs my ear at the base above my eye. I also like being held with one arm because she cuddles me up against herself when she does that. I like having selfies taken because she does that too.

I'm not a big cuddler myself, but my brother Jasper used to like cuddles like that. The human caretakers are good about doing the things we like best. At least mostly. But what’s the one thing your human does that you hate most?

Either looking at my teeth or trimming my nails. I wish she wouldn’t do these little things. I’m fine. I don’t need checking.

Yeah... It's really annoying when they pull us about like that, isn't it?

On another note: I happen to know your human is a writer. Has she written anything about you? If yes, can you tell us about it? If no, do you think she will in the future?

I’m getting very worried about this. Everyone that’s ever been here has been in at least a story, even if not in a book, and I think only Hector was in a story but not a book. And he’s supposed to be in book 10, anyway. Midge and Oscar only got mentions in book 7, but it’s still a mention. And all these other guinea pigs that Mummy knows get in there like Auntie Dawn’s pigs in New York City, wherever that is. Why not me? I’m clever. I’m mischievous. I’d be a brilliant character.

Oh, there’s even someone called Joshua in the next one.

Me and the Mummy human have been enjoying reading all those adventures, and both think it's great about a Joshua being in the next book! We hope you get to be in one too. Tell her to put you in the one after that or something... Or at least write you a short story. Speaking of her writing though, what do you do while your human writes?

I watch her, secretly, from my tunnel. I try to will her to write something about me. If I could make up a story I’d try mind melding with her to make her write it. I think Fred used to mind meld with her, from what she says about Fred’s Looks. I’m working on that. The trouble is, I think Roscoe is working on it, too.

I hope you can make that work, and she writes something about you soon. In the meantime, is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?

I write the blog posts at George’s Guinea Pig World. I took over from Percy, so I’m well trained. I also look after the Facebook page. It’s georgesgpworld for short.

Thank you for inviting me to talk to you, Joshua. And thank you for all your comments on the blog, we love reading them.

You're very welcome, Bertie. I always enjoy your posts, so I'm glad you enjoy reading my comments on them.

***~~~***

Author bio, links, etc:

Jemima Pett has been writing since she was 8 years old. Her early fiction attempts failed for want of suitable inspiration: she couldn’t get characters or plot that seemed interesting, and her first attempts were derided by a ‘friend’. She was better at drawing maps of her worlds and arranging the train timetables! Jemima had the bug for writing, though, and wrote articles and event reports for newsletters and magazines whenever she got the opportunity. Her career in business and in environmental research kept her chained to a desk for many years, but also gave her the opportunity to write manuals, reports, science papers, blogs, journals, anything and everything that kept the words flowing. Finally the characters jumped into her head with stories that needed to be told….

Jemima lives in a village in Norfolk with her guinea pigs, the first of whom, Fred, George, Victor and Hugo, provided the inspiration for the Princelings stories.

Find Jemima on her blog, on Facebook, Twitter, Amazon or Goodreads

The Princelings of the East

The Princelings of the East is the first in the series of the same name.
We meet two princelings—nonentities really, but related to the king. They spend their time doing experiments and wondering how the world works. When a disaster hits the king’s birthday party, the blame is put on them, so they set out to find the real cause of the disaster. What follows is a fast paced adventure, meeting the friendly Prince Lupin, busy barkeeper Victor, and cola salesman Hugo, until both of them separately come to the conclusion that time is not what it seems — and neither is Hugo.
The Princelings of the East is suitable for good readers aged ten and up.

Buy it on Amazon. If you buy the paperback on Amazon, you can get the ebook free.
Or… why not get the first three books in one go for your Kindle, iPad, Nook, or Kobo reader?
Buy the first Princelings of the East box set at Smashwords and choose which reader version you prefer.

***~~~***

I hope you enjoyed getting to know my friend, Bertie, and meeting his human, Jemima, again.

If you'd like to be a friend of Furkid Friday too, get in touch with me, the Lilie dog, or our chinchilla sister, Mollie, by sending an eMail to us at keroberous2004@gmail.com with the subject line "friends of Furkid Friday" (Mummy might accidentally delete it if you don't make sure to put that in the subject, so please make sure you remember) and we'll send you the questions you need to answer. Remember: there's only one spot a month available, so the sooner you get in touch, the sooner you can have your visit on this blog.

Squeak soon,
Joshua