The write time…

Today’s blog may be a little shorter than usual. Technically I have taken a few days of annual leave to get on with some writing as I have my next deadline looming – more on that later – but there’s always time to jot a few words for my blog, particularly as I’m sat in the shade in my garden, a nice environment in which to write.

Last Sunday was of course Father’s Day and I thought you might find the above cards amusing. Our daughter, Sophie, had a card made using some of our wedding photos of her with her dad and also some pictures she took of him with funny apps applied! Dan kept his simple but nonetheless funny. While Chris and I share a lot of the household chores, he is most definitely ‘the taker out of bins’ in our house!

I was on-air at QVC for the two-hour Butler & Wilson show, which I hope you enjoyed, but found time to make this coffee and walnut cake in the morning before I left for work… there wasn’t much left of it by the time I got home to be honest. Sophie had popped in with her card and present and had taken some for her family, and Dan took some for Katie who is back at her own home.

Dan bought his dad these Skechers trainers from QVC – very trendy with the white soles, just like most of the pundits on the football shows!

Two things; well done Liverpool on claiming the Premier League title on Thursday – very well-deserved even if you did put my Eagles to shame on Wednesday night… at least we had a victory over Bournemouth, so the re-start to the football season is not all doom and gloom for us.

And the other thing is that we have a slip-on lacy trainer Today’s Special Value next Wednesday if you’re a Skechers fan. I’m not actually in until next Thursday when I have a Shay & Blue show which will hopefully feature the Today’s Special Value, although maybe not as they have a habit of selling out early.

So, I’ve been promising you photos of the lilies for the past couple of weeks – I’ve gone one better, here’s a little video:

Can you believe the difference between mine and Anna’s lilies – mind you, I guess we were lucky to save any at all and at least they still flower. My tuberose bulbs are also just starting to push through, which I’m relieved about. Mum sent them to me as an extra birthday present, but they were a bit late going in. The variety is called Pearl and she bought them because that is my birthstone, something you will know if you took part in my quiz a couple of weeks ago.

As I mentioned on here last week, Monday’s was the last iQVC quiz (at least for the time being) on my JuliaRobertsTV Facebook page, but I am still doing the live readings on Friday evenings at 8 p.m. Tonight, I will be continuing my Christmas novella, Christmas at Carol’s, and if you want to catch up with the first part of the story, the video from last week is on my page.

I might read tonight’s episode sitting outside on the decking, as we’ve been dining al fresco during this hot weather. Last night’s dinner was not very healthy as you can see; a halloumi burger, homemade chips and broccoli done in butter and garlic, all washed down with a bottle of lager. It was a treat because I am well on course with my daily word count for my next book.

As I hinted at the beginning of this blog, I have some exciting book news. On Monday, Bookouture announced that they have re-signed me to write two new books for them. It’s particularly exciting as the next two won’t be police/crime thrillers, the genre of books I’ve written for them so far, and instead they are two standalone emotional women’s fiction stories, which is where I started my novel writing career.

My first deadline is the end of July, but I should make it easily as this book is flowing onto the page – it’s almost as though it is writing itself! The funny thing is, I’m reading Christmas to you tonight with Christmas at Carol’s and the scene I was writing yesterday in the scorching heat was also Christmas!

When I look back at my novel writing journey, it’s hard to believe that all of these books have been published in the past five years – I’m estimating well over 500,000 words in those pages. I’m not a journalist and have never had any writing training, but I knew I had stories to tell so I just got on and did it. People sometimes ask for advice with writing a novel and I always say (like that famous sports brand advert) just do it… get the words down on the page and see where it takes you. Speaking of which, I need to get back to the book or I’ll never make my 2,000 a day word count!

Just before I finish, do check out the Australian Bodycare three-piece Supersize Skinwash & Wipes Today’s Special Value coming up this Sunday. We’ve been using the wash as hand wash at home throughout the current crisis, but it is also brilliant for freshening you up in the shower when the weather is excessively hot and humid as it has been this week. The wipes are also good on the go!

Apparently it is cooling down this weekend, but then they did say to expect thunderstorms last night and we didn’t have one. Thank goodness for the Dyson fan, which we’ve had on in the bedroom for the past three nights – without it I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have got much sleep and that’s not good for the creative juices.

Right, I really must finish there – have a great weekend and see you on Thursday.

Much love,
Julia xx