Tickling my muse ....

I'm off to Rome! I can't quite believe it but childcare is all sorted, there are copious lists left on the kitchen worktop and the school uniforms are washed if-not-quite-ironed-yet. Just the packing to go then.

First stop is Belfast where I pick up Trish Wylie. We must try hard not to talk too late into the night because our flight to Rome is disgustingly early. Not quite sure why we thought that was a good idea now ....



Then it's serious research. Oh but I love this job!!!! Have laptop will travel.

Happy Valentine's Day

There are times when I amaze myself. Normally I'm firmly grunting until I've got my drugs-of-choice (cup of tea, quickly followed by an enormous mug of caffinated coffee) whooshing through my system, but six o'clock this morning I was making Hollandaise Sauce.

'Heart-shaped Toast with Eggs, Asparagus and Truffle Hollandaise Sauce' is a fiddly little dish, but I won through. It was only later it occurred to me I should have held out for breakfast in bed myself ... Duh!

Happy Valentine's Day all!

Who's the sexiest male of 2009?

Here's something to brighten a cold day. The result of the Romantic Novelists' Association's annual poll on 'who is the sexiest male?' has been announced. Always an eagerly awaited thing in romance author circles. This being a subject we take very much to heart, you understand.

"British actor Richard Armitage has leapt from last year's 4th place to this year topping the ratings in the Romantic Novelists' Association 2009 Valentine's poll, to take the title of Sexiest Thing on Two Legs, beating top Hollywood stars to the number one spot.

Johnny Depp, who topped last year's poll, was pushed firmly into second place, with Hugh Jackman and George Clooney mere also-rans. "Richard Armitage took 20% of the vote, more than double the count of any other male on the list," said the RNA pollster. "He was a clear winner from the off."

The RNA is not alone in admiration of the actor, as numerous online Richard Armitage fan sites will testify. The ardency began with North and South, grew by leaps and bounds with his appearance as the leather-clad baddie in Robin Hood, and shows no sign of diminishing as Spooks takes to the airwaves.

According to romantic novelists, the sexiest male celebrities of 2009 are:

1. Richard Armitage
2. Johnny Depp
3. Hugh Jackman
4. George Clooney
5. Daniel Craig
6. Sean Bean
7. Alan Rickman
8. David Tennant
9. Pierce Brosnan
10. Gerard Butler"

Can't argue with that, can you? Slightly preoccupied as I was, I didn't even vote! Nice to see Johnny Depp in second place, too. Johnny, you may remember, will never be quite happy without me in his life. I'd long suspected that fact but it was nice to have it confirmed.

It's all to do with biorhythms, apparently. The theory goes that there are three fixed cycles which start at your moment of birth - a 23-day physical cycle, a 28-day emotional cycle and a 33-day mental cycle. By knowing someone's birthday you can work out the highs and lows of their life. And, by clicking here you can find your perfect match.

Isn't that useful?

And since I know you want to ..... click here to find how you match with our Richard.

You've got 80% to beat ......

Snow

Not that we actually have very much where we are at the moment - it's still significantly impacting my life.

Yesterday there was enough snow for a snowball fight and my children's schools were open as usual. Something they found very annoying. And I, in turn, found them very annoying. Was it my fault?? Did I instruct all their schools to stay open when others were closed???

Today ....... it's at that messy slush stage when everywhere looks very grubby and, for some reason which misses me entirely, the school my younger three go to has a 'snow day' whilst the school my eldest two go to (fourteen miles away) is open. It's a mystery! Elder two not happy. Still more snow forecast ...

Ooops!

I've just been told off for playing my music too loud! Surely that's a role reversal????

My youngest was off school yesterday with a temperature, and will be again today, so I'm 'stealing a march on the day' and starting early. I think 5.00am is a perfectly reasonable time to have something to hum along to, don't you? Apparently not. Hey ho!

Back at the keyboard

I've had a good working day. Lots of words streaming from my fingertips. Really does make a change to be blogging that! In fact, makes a bit of a change to have the time to blog at all.

I hestitate to say it, but I do believe my life has returned to 'normal'. Well, as normal as it can ever be with five children and a floor that's still drying out ... Plus my husband has an oncology appointment coming up and they do rather loom. But he's looking good so I'm refusing to be too anxious.

And I have a book out on the shelves in the UK and North America right now. I will eventually get around to updating my website but I'm loathed to interrupt the flow of my current WIP. It's the hero. He's really rather demanding ...

So, in the meantime, here's Romantic Times Magazine'sreview of 'Cinderella and the Sheikh':
CINDERELLA AND THE SHEIKH (4.5) by Natasha Oakley Getting a documentary about her great-great-grandmother's life made is almost as important to Polly Anderson as hanging on to her stepfather's ancestral home, and Sheikh Rashid Al Baha knows it. A breeder of fine horses, Rashid allows Polly and her crew into his country to ascertain her culpability in a bad deal he made with her stepbrother. He never expects to discover she's innocent -- or to fall in love. Polly's sweet and vulnerable, and Rashid dreads telling her the truth -- he's sure it will mean the end of their affair. Oakley begins her Brides of Amrah Kingdom duet with a well-told story. The exotic setting -- and Rashid -- add a dash of mystery and glamour.

—Catherine Witmer

And now there is nothing for it but to try and fill out my tax return. Anyone else in the UK really irritated by the 'tax doesn't have to be taxing' advert????? I don't know what form they're looking at.

A little bit distracted!

My lovely sister-in-law is having the worst possible time so I have my five year old niece and my newborn nephew with me. It's amazing how quickly you get back into the swing of night-time feeds!

Seven children .. yes, I can do that!!!!