Official Trailer - Miss Compton's Christmas Romance

I put this together using Getty Images and Rawshorts, which ended up being a bit of an ordeal. The first time around, I forgot to save, the second time, the voice got deleted from a couple of slides and I could not for the life of me get the same voice back, so once again, I had to start from the beginning...Oh, and it turned out that the images I'd initially selected through Rawshorts and created a beautiful trailer with, weren't royalty free, so that also meant I had to go back to square one. But, I now have the voice I want, some great alternatives to the original images and a trailer that's more or less decent...lol.

Here it is:

And Nanans Rook Reviews has also put a video together, which includes the blurb for the book and a lovely review.

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The Other Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

What a wonderful story! Julia Quinn's ability to create amusing dialogue between the characters shines, as do her brilliantly crafted moments of comic relief. A lovely continuation of the Bridgerton series.

Poppy Bridgerton is curious by nature, so when she discovers a cave during an un-chaperoned walk, she obviously has to explore it. Which is how she ends up kidnapped and on her way to Portugal with the incredibly handsome Captain Andrew James and his crew. The journey promises to be quite the adventure, even though Poppy has no intention of liking Captain James, no matter how well he treats her or how much he gradually tempts her. After all, he did kidnap her, which is not exactly gentlemanly behavior. But when danger strikes along the way, Poppy is forced to examine her feelings for the Captain and ask herself if he might be more than he seems and possibly even the man of her dreams.

The last thing Andrew Rokesby needs on his secret mission, is to have a Bridgerton tagging along, but he also can't leave Poppy behind and risk her revealing the cave she found to others. Too much is at stake for king and country, which leaves him with only one choice - she must come with him. The problems with this are a) the lack of sleeping space, which means she must stay in his cabin at the cost of his comfort, b) she talks all the time and is constantly asking questions, and c) she's far too pretty to not tempt a man into kissing her. Which would be disastrous because of who she is and who he is, and the trouble kissing could lead to. Which is why he decides not to give her his real name.

A fantastic seafaring tale of opposites finding common ground, companionship and of course, a very romantic happily ever after. This story will have you laughing out loud as you fall in love with the characters. A true page-turner that I cannot recommend highly enough.

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How I got published - my publishing journey

Over the course of the weekend, I decided that it might be useful to aspiring authors to hear about my publishing journey and to hear my input on publishing related topics. It seemed like a simple plan: make daily videos and publish them to Youtube...

Well, we'll have to see how that goes, because since I've gotten a new computer after the last video I created, I no longer have the video editing software I'm used to, which means it took me two full days to find a different solution and make it work.

Needless to say, this has put a bit of a damper on things since my plan was to spend a maximum of 2 hours on this daily. I also have books to write and other promo things to do so I really can't afford much more than that.

But we'll see how it goes...

In the meantime, here's my latest video. It's not very long but it gives a pretty good idea of my road to publication and while I do not mention this because I forgot, I don't have an agent, which is just something to keep in mind.

You can watch this directly on Youtube HERE

My best October 2018 purchases

When I stopped by Michael's at the beginning of October I finally decided to splurge on some Tombow paintbrush markers I'd been eyeing for a while. Since I already had several bold colored markers, I decided to go for pastels. The colors are beautiful and don't bleed through my bujo pages unless I go over them repeatedly. Since buying these I've searched online for YouTube tutorials on hand lettering simply because I love the modern cursive look and could not for the life of me figure out how to do it. Expensive markers were clearly not enough...
I believe the most helpful video I found was the one informing viewers that all hand lettering tutorials are sped up and that drawing each letter should be approached with the same degree of slowness you might apply when giving yourself a French manicure. Also, it helps to pick the tip of the brush pen off the page in between strokes. After following these tips, my writing improved dramatically and creating beautiful headings for my bujo became a cinch.

After popping the Tombows into my shopping basket, I spotted some Artist's Loft journals on sale and picked up two. They're not the same quality as my Minimalist Art journal (the faux leather looks cheaper up close), nor do they have a pocket at the back for clippings, but they do have an Index AND they were only $5.00 compared with the $10.95 I spent on my Minimalist Art journal and the steep $19.95 of a  Leuchtturm 1917. So I picked up a couple, figuring it was a good deal. 

Then, a couple of weeks later, I walked into Walmart and found these awesome Exceed Notebooks for only $6.00. The color selection was incredibly tempting and the quality the same as my Minimalist Art journal, though the pages did seem to be a bit thinner a rougher. In any case, I think these will be my next bujo journals, while the Artist Loft Journals will be delegated to something else like plotting my next novel :)

Here's a bit more information for comparison:

Artist's Loft
Dimensions: 6 x 8 inches (15.2 x 20.3 cm)
Pages: 249 - so overall the better deal

Exceed notebook
Dimensions: 5 x 8.25 inches (13 x 21 cm)
Pages: 120

Last but not least, I just have to mention Woman's World magazine, because it's awesome! I usually buy a copy once a week and at only $1.99, it's a really affordable treat. 

Packed with book recommendations, health articles and remedies, fashion suggestions, dieting tips, recipes, a romance novella, crossword puzzle and more, this is now the only magazine I'll consider buying. And the recipes are not only simple but delicious. I've made several already and even tweaked a few. My family is also very pleased with the results so it's a win win with zero complaints so far :) 

The Lady Is Daring by Megan Frampton

Megan Frampton has once again written a marvelous story filled with humor and romance. This is the third book in The Duke's Daughters series and it was just as wonderful as the previous two!

Lady Ida Howlett wishes she had the courage to be seen as more than just the talkative know-it-all she invariably turns into at social events when she gets nervous. Exhausted by having to attend balls only to watch people's eyes glaze over as soon as she opens her mouth, and by her mother's determination to marry her off to a gentleman whom she knows she'd be miserable with, Ida leaps at the chance to go find her runaway sister when evidence of her location comes to light. To this end, she steals a carriage and sets her course for the north of England, only to discover that she's not alone. Bennett, Lord Carson, the man who was meant to marry two of her sisters until they decided to marry his brother and best friend instead, is with her, and he refuses to let her travel alone.

Bennett is tired and frustrated by the responsibilities of his life and by his father's insistence he marry in order to obtain a large dowry. Especially since his father is the one to blame for the family's depletion of funds. Wishing he could escape from it all, just for a while, he decides to accompany Lady Ida on her adventure to find her sister and bring her home, even though he's never really thought much of the youngest Howlett daughter. In the past, his attention has been on her sisters whom he was courting, while Ida...she always struck him as far too talkative and opinionated - the sort of woman a man would not wish to get trapped with. But as their journey together progresses, he discovers another side to Ida - an amusing, intelligent and vulnerable side she never lets anyone see.

When the two discover their feelings for each other have evolved into something so powerful it cannot be denied, they must decide if they can risk taking a chance on a shared future. Because Ida is not the quiet and reserved Society lady Bennett needs and he won't be able to offer her the peaceful life in a remote cottage that she is convinced she wants.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story! It was very entertaining, the dialogue and plot so engaging I found it impossible to put down. This is the sort of book where you simply have to know what happens next. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

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