Reflections 2014

Well 2014 has been an amazing fun packed year... In a nutshell with pictures:

 My hen weekend was spent with my amazing lady friends in a cottage in Portmadog, Wales... My second home. (I spent almost every summer holiday at a caravan park there when I was a child and I still love to go back there sporadically to reminisce and to draw some inspiration for my writing... Criccieth Castle is the base for my witches coven in The Beyond Series Books) if you are ever in that area I thoroughly recommend you go.

A friend couldn't make my hen do, so I went to Cambridge to spend this glorious weekend with her. My third home... I lived here for two years just before my teens and I loved it as I still do.

  My third book in The Beyond Series was published. I couldn't help but seize the opportunity to use the motorhome (Amethyst, named after my main character in the books.) to advertise the fact. Seems to be working, sold quite a few books on the back of that genius move... Thank you my brainy hubby and manager.

 I married my soul mate in the most beautiful setting of a country lodge chapel then sailed on the river Trent while we entertained our wedding guest on a chartered boat. It was everything I dreamed of and I felt a Princess in that dress! Best day ever.

Oh yes and we bought this motorhome to travel the UK in for a year. Four months in and still loving it.

  A trip to Brighton in the summer took us to the famous Lanes and the even more famous Choccy Woccy Doo Dah. They even have their very own witches kitchen display of Halloween cakes. Mmm lovely.

 Derek and I honeymooned in Cyprus and this was our balcony view on the shores of Paphos. Very beautiful and my fourth home! Spent the most adult holidays here, Derek surprised me with the honeymoon and weirdly my wedding dress was called (by the shop, not me) Paphos!!!

 Halloween at Whitby was a dream come true, We watched the Play Dracula at the famous and atmospheric Abbey.

I joined Lions International. It's great to be part of such a great organisation once more. We are now using our twelve months travelling the UK to raise some money for the lions charity organisation for more information please see my other blog penneysontour.blogspot.co.uk

My motorhome mascot Jess the Ness - bought as an engagement present from my hubby, he proposed on a boat on Loch Ness so this Christmas we went back and spent the holidays in The Highlands. For more info on our year long travel blog please see the link above.

I could have posted so many photos of Scotland. It's so beautiful, I've taken hundreds, but I think this one represents the stunning scenery perfectly. And we had snow for Christmas!! 

And so onto Edinburgh for Hogmanay. See you all in the New Year with more inspirations and adventures.

 XXX Happy New Year! XXX

Boredom Relief

Well I'm well into the editing process of my fourth book in The Beyond Series of supernatural fiction Lycan Lamia and I have to say it is the worst part of the whole publishing process and I hate it with a vengeance. I do struggle to keep on track and always manage to find other things better to do than have my lovely words pulled apart by an editor. Although a necessary process it can be quite brutal and I have to stand back from my creative work, looking at it from an objective viewpoint whilst trying very hard not to be offended by some of the comments made. I do get positive comments too, It's just difficult taking the negative ones on the chin.

So I find other creative things to do to occupy myself, like writing this blog and going to the movies - I recently saw the third Hobbit film. It was great to finally see the conclusion to a three year story, but unfortunately it reminded me way too much of the third film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, lots of armies getting together for a great battle! Ooops, sorry for spoiler, but I have asked this question since. Why did they make Lord of The Rings before The Hobbit when in books terms The Hobbit came first? I find it quite odd. However, I did find the over acting and very long close up scenes amusing and wishing that French and Saunders would do a Christmas Special dedicated to The Hobbit trilogy like they did with LOTR, which was hilarious.

As my hubby and I are travelling around the UK for a year I have been looking for some inspirational places to write about in my novels, especially now I've have created a new magical mystical trilogy for teens and young adults. So, here are some of my favourite photos I've taken over the last few days in the Scottish Highlands. I knew Scotland would be lovely, but I never expected it to be so awe inspiring. I would seriously consider living up here one day.

Ullapool on Loch Broom

Highlands

Highland Sunset

Castle on Highland Road

Durness Cove

Smoo Cave Waterfall

Smoo Cove

Smoo Cave Entrance

Smoo Cave Entrance

I've Found Narnia!!!

My Hubby and I are travelling the UK for a year and we have just enterd Scotland for Christmas and to try and see the Northern Lights... On our way to Fort William I have to say the trip through the hills (I was going to say mountain pass, but I'm sure someone will laugh and correct me!) was quite scary. Blizzards and icy roads, plus snowploughs constantly passing us in the wrong direction gave me great cause for concern. When we arrived at Fort William, we had nowhere to stay... (all campsites closed).

Blizzards whilst driving!

So as members of the Youth Hostel Association we decided to stay there for two nights and the place was FREEZING!!! Granted the view from our bedroom window was stunning, with trees, a stream and Ben Nevis right ahead, but I couldn't enjoy it because it was too cold to sit there. There was a wood burner in the dining room that wasn't working, so we turned a sofa around in the main lounge to face a radiator. As you may have guessed we were the only two guest staying there.

Loch Linnhe - Fort William

However, I thoroughly enjoyed the walk through the woodlands into the town. We walked along the enormous Loch Linnhe with a backdrop scenery of snow capped mountains and then went for a ride on the Ben Nevis Ski lift. We didn't go all the way to the top, but 650 metres above sea level in the middle of winter was far enough and cold enough for me thank you very much. Again the views were stunning.

Going Up Nevis on Gondala

On the second night three more guests arrived and they were bonkers mountain walkers, the kind you meet in all weathers walking the peaks of Britains great ranges and at all times. I couldn't sleep Saturday morning and so got up at 5 am to make a brew, only to find them suited and booted for a trek up Nevis. Crazy Mad people it doesn't get light up here until at least eight in the morning!!.

Now if you think I'm exaggerating at this weather thing , then think again. We set up Amethyst all ready to head off to Bearnock when we discovered that the water pipes had frozen. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and if we had thought about it we would have kept the central heating on whilst freezing our butts off in a hostel, but we didn't and so now we are without water, a problem still not fixed!!!

Us on Nevis - Brrrr!!!

We then had another scary drive up to Bearnock, beautiful countryside, but the campsite was on an ice rink on a hill and we decided that we would forget that and move on to plan B - Inverness Caravan club site, which was also like an ice rink for campers. We were without water and generally a tad fed up, so a pub crawl around Inverness at night was just what the doctor ordered. And very enjoyable it was too. However, we did come up with a cracking good plan C and D. (It's amazing what a few drinks to relax the mind conjures up great ideas).

Next morning we got up, got a taxi to Inverness airport and hired a 4 by 4 beast of a car and decided to tour the Highlands and beyond staying at B & Bs for ten nights and leaving Amethyst safely at a Caravan club site in Inverness until after Christmas. We both feel much better about this and when you read next weeks blog about where I'm currently blogging from you'll understand why!!!! Dun Dun Derrr!!!!

Jess the Ness has her own tree... Awww.

Below: Festive Amethyst. 

 Almost forgot - We finally got into the christmas spirit by decorating the van.

Christmassy Castles and Bad Pantos

As you may be aware, my husband and I are travelling around the UK for a year promoting my Beyond Series Of Books We stopped off breifly in my hometown to begin my week long birthday celebrations - Happy Birthday to me! Ah thank you... Sold some books before driving Amethyst (the name I gave our motorhome) down to Bodelwyddan Castle in Wales, for my birthday weekend. 

                              

So we arrived on Friday night starting with a cracking meal, lots of FREE drinkies and entertainment from Kimika. The opening act was a VT of their past television appearances which were all from the 8o’s, a VERY young Eamon Holmes and Anne ‘thingy bobs’ from GMTV! I was like Oh My God! How old is this act gonna be? But actually I was pleasantly surprised. Granted the husband and wife act had aged, but rather well considering they'd been in the business for at least thirty years! 

The comedy in between the singing was very funny. The female singer did a cracking impression of Tina Turner and her husband was an amazingly talented guitarist. Oh yes and because it was my birthday, Del had arranged a surprise birthday cake, balloons and the entertainment staff singing happy birthday to me in front of a packed restaurant. Thank my darling hubby – was suitably mortified!

Saturday was pamper morning, I had a go at Tai Chi for the first time and I actually felt some things click and ping in my neck and shoulders. Then I went for a facial and massage which was amazing, then swim, sauna and Jacuzzi. Ahh, pampering myself always clears the head and cleanses my soul.

We all went for a lovely drive out to Betsy Coed, which was so beautifully Christmassy, with a little fair. We went to Swallow Falls, a place of outstanding natural beauty and charged £1.50 EACH for the pleasure, we even had to pay through an automatic pay machine which released the turn style gate when we paid… Outrageous!! Just to look at a waterfall.

Saturday night we had a Queen tribute act called Qween. He was very good and sounded just like Freddie Mercury. Another free night of drinkies meant we were all a little merry and so we ended the night with some dancing, including our first dance from our wedding… ‘Hello’, by Lionel Ritchie, but sang live by a ‘live’ singer. Loverly.

Tired on Sunday, so we just pottered around the castle. Doreen and I looked around the historical part of the castle, places like this always give me a sense of nostalgia and ideas for new stories. My Uncle and Hubby had a go at rifle shooting. I stayed away from the rifle range in case I got shot!

In the afternoon the hotel entertainment staff decided to use this weekend to practice their Christmas pantomime Aladdin on us poor, unsuspecting residents. Dear Lordy Lord… It was sooo BAD, it was brilliant! Yes, I enjoyed it because it was so awful… hahahaha… They were two staff down for the show so they got a guy from the bar to stand in. Granted he was very brave to get up and have a go, but he’d literally had a few hours to practice, so he walked into every scene with the script and he fluffed his lines sooo much he confused the rest of the cast to the point where Widow Twankey snatched the script off him to read his (I mean her) own lines….In fact all the mistakes and ad libs were funnier than the scripted ones. Someone should tell them to keep them in the performance on the other shows they do… Hahahaaaaaaaa…. Still chuckling at it.

And so another birthday week is over for another year, but we have already booked for next year.  And so on to Scotland for Christmas, hopefully I can get Lycan Lamia Edited on the long cold nights in the middle of nowhere… Really excited! Vampire Sorceress on Kindle