Best Intentions and Royal Weddings

So, it’s coming up to the Easter looooong weekend we’ve all been waiting for. What, not you? Oh, well. I have. I have the Pimms and the hammock at the ready, the BBQ cleaned and ready to fire up, and through all this, keeping my fingers firmly crossed that the stunning weather we’ve been experiencing holds out for another few days.

I also realise quite glaringly it’s coming up to the end of the month and the end of my April Challenge and that to date I’ve only managed 6,000 words. I could cite a myriad excuses, but I won’t. What I will do is promise to do my very best between now and month's end. Wish me luck?

As for the inescapable news of the Royal Wedding next weekend…yes, I admit, I’m just as excited as most people – I love a wedding, and a Royal Wedding, well…that’s just icing on the cake. Plus it’s my son’s birthday party that weekend too.

So I am looking forward to two weekends of festivities in a row. And through all of this, I hope to find time to write too. Heh, who says I do things by halves?

Anyway, whatever you’re doing, have a wonderful, wonderful Easter. Hope my Easter Bunnies bring you lots of yummy chocolate eggs, and enjoy the Royal Wedding, if you’re watching.

Maya x

YES, GO THERE!!!

Editors are always telling us to push the envelope, or boundaries, or whatever it is they want pushed, to which I say...YEAH!

But, when it comes to the actual pushing of the thing, I’ve always fretted about how much is enough or how much more to push it, you know? Ok, I know same sex couples won’t fly in a Presents or that the heroine can't suddenly develop fangs or horns, or wings…or can she? Hmm...

Anyway, I think one of the reasons I’ve been so reluctant to tackle my latest MS is because I'm, in a word, TERRIFIED! It starts with the heroine doing something so, so terrible that every time I think about it, I cringe for her. She’s in a desperate position and fiercely believes she doesn't have a choice. She has to act to save someone she cares about BUT it’s still wrong. From the very first line of the story, she knows this. But she *has* to go through with it or well, there's no story. And then there’s the fallout from her actions. And the hero who has to dig very, very deep to forgive and love her...

Ack! Talk about pressure. She (and by she I mean, I) have been faffing about muchly, seriously wussy about getting into the story because of this fear of pushing this particular envelope that in the end and I discussed it with my DH. Guess what he said? Well his answer is the title of this post…heh!

So I’m about to plunge my characters into their deepest, darkest nightmare and literally bringing two kingdoms to the brink of war!!! (yes, it deserves three exclamation points ;))

I need luck and a lot of backbone for this one. I *will* write it!

And if I’m not a babbling wreck by the time I finish chapter 3, I’ll let you know how it went…

April = No Slacking Month!!

Since I’ve been such a slack Minx, I thought I’d mosey on over to the Minx Blog today to see what my fellow Minxes were up to. And lo and behold, I got hit in the face by the fact that I'd signed up to the April Challenge. Read more about it here.



After a few heart-stopping minutes of sheer panic, I admit this is a good thing. I've been near comatose writing-wise since I hit send on my revised full MS seven weeks ago today (Counting? Me? Nope!!). So this challenge-for-all-the-world-to-see is just what I need. So what if the kids are on holiday, and the birds are tweeting for me to join them in garden? It IS time to write *that* scene where the heroine does *that* thing she really doesn't want to do but *must* (can I put any more asterixes in this post, d’you think?) which results in HUGE turmoil for her and her hero!

Wish me luck?

Oh, and whilst procrastinating percolating, I started compiling a playlist for the upcoming challenge. Well, I say compiling, but so far I haven't gone past this song.



It's dancey, but the words, whilst not profound, is making me think lots about my MS.

Enjoy!