Hiya Everyone!

Welcome to my little space in wordpress world.

For a start I’d like to just say thanks for dropping by and invite you to come back again soon as I’m learning my way around this thing.

*Big Hugs*

Be good

Belinda

I’m nominated

Christopher of Christopher’s Fashion has nominated me and my blog for the versatile blogger award.

Considering I haven’t touched this blog in probably over a year, this has driven me to post… today anyway.

Basically, you thank blogger who nominated you, list 7 facts about yourself, and then nominate 15 other Versatile Bloggers who you adore.

I don’t even think I read 15 blogs. So I don’t know about passing it along, but I sure will point you all to a few blogs I think are great. (needless to say go check out Christopher’s fashion blog)

K blogs/ youtube channels I check out regularly
Dawn Meehan Blogger and Mum of 6 brilliant kids.
Nikki Tutorials Nikki is Dutch and so much fun.
Vintage Or Tacky Cora is a talented and stunning woman.
Sprinkle of Glitter Louise inspires me.
All I know now Carry lives her dreams and works hard.
Viva Glam Lana Makes my day, every time she posts (usually on youtube)

Now for the facts…..

#1- I love rainy days. (though walking to work in the rain is a little poopie)

#2- I’d never met a celebrity before 2007.

#3- I reaaaaaallly wanna own a dog, as well as my cats. However we live in an area where there are so many barky dogs, we’d never have any peace and quiet if we got one.

#4- I can’t wait for the kiddo to start Food Tech in High School so I don’t have to cook ever night of the week.

#5- I freaking HATE maths, and both my previous and current jobs require me to not ignore my mathematics skills.

#6- My entire house is a mess. The reason hubby decided to agree to me participating in the cook club with Mandy, was so the kitchen would be cleaned at least once a month.

#7- I spend waaaaay too much time on youtube.

The Peacemaker tour comes to my backyard.

Time to saddle up the horses and slap on the akubra. Today (A few days later than expected due to scheduling awesomeness)  I am proud to host my very FIRST blog tour pit stop; and to start with I have the honour of hosting Marianne de pierres, who is launching her book Peacemaker.

I was able to ask her a few questions, hoping that nobody else had already asked them a billion times. Drum roll Please!

Q1

Originally your vision was for Peacemaker to be a Graphic Novel. Is the Novel, published by Angry Robot, in the same vein as the first edition of the Graphic Novel, and how closely should we be visualising the characters to the previous graphics?

A1

The whole concept began as a short story then shifted to a novel and onto graphic novel and back to novel. So the characters in the comic are closely aligned with my original short story vision. I discussed what they should each look like with the artist and we found images online that matched those in my head. She tweaked and primped until they looked right. Virgin was always rather serious and obstinate looking. Nate was way cool!

Q2

This is an odd combination of genres to be putting together. What was running through you head when the plot popped up and demanded to be written?

A2

Honestly, Bel, I don’t know! I’d started looking at the short story again and wondering how to best develop it into a novel and all of a sudden “WESTERN” popped into my head. I mean, I’ve been wanting to write Western all my life. It seemed that I’d finally found the story vehicle I sought. The world came easily—in a rush, in fact. The blending of the genres was easy for some reason.

Q3

Some of your other books are unintentionally cathartic in their revisiting and resolving issues from your past… Is Peacemaker hiding any of your skeletons?

A3

Hahaha! You’ve heard me talk about Burn Bright! *Smile*  There’s no real personal catharsis happening in this novel, but there’s definitely a continuation of themes that I like to explore: self-empowerment, self-awareness and integrity. Perhaps there’s a little bit of stuff connected with the spirit guides that might be personal but I’m not clear enough on what it is to answer you properly. *Smile*

Q4

This is a question I’ve been tending to ask any author (since I met Charlaine Harris). When you know better, you do better… What do you know better and do better in Peacemaker than you have in any other of your novels?

A4

Hmmm … I think (I hope), my ability to create interesting secondary characters continues to improve. And I think I just generally have a better facility with language. Other than that, the biggest thing is that I’m comfortable blending genres; messing around like that doesn’t scare me. But grrl, that’s a hard question to answer!

 

This cross genre masterpiece was published on April 29th by Angry Robot And is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and Barnes and Noble.

Thank you very, VERY much for dropping by Marianne.

Everyone! Go Get That BOOK!

It’s almost time!

Later this week I’ll be hosting Marianne de Pierres on her blog tour for Peacemaker.

I am REALLY excited.

There’s also other extremely exciting news coming up in the weeks to come.

Life is beyond awesome this week.

Supporting the sisterhood

If you read my last blog you’d have seen that we’ve got a new girl at work???

Introducing……………………………. Jo.

Jo’s Reiki Healings on Facebook

and soon to be fleshed out is

Jo’s Reiki Healings on Blog.com

Jo is a young woman who has learnt to grab life with both hands and hang on for the ride.
She’s got two wonderful children, who are beautifully polite, and have character to spare. Jo is married to her adoring husband/ high school sweet heart who’s truck crazy.

In all the abundant spare time us mothers tend to accumulate  she’s a cake decorator extraordinaire, loves to go camping and is learning to become a yoga teacher.

On top of ALL that, she’s just plain cool. Jo speaks her mind and when you sit in a room with her, you just can not help smiling like a goofball.

 

If you feel like liking her page on FB she’d greatly appreciate it, and once we’ve breathed life into that blog, well, the sky’s the limit.

I’ll have more information on Jo’s Reiki Healings in the coming weeks… even an inside view as to what it’s like to have a Reiki session with Jo.

 

 

Love this year so far.

This year has been filled with growth and change.

I completed by Business Administration certificate 3 at the end of January.

At work we’ve introduced a lovely new girl into the fold. She’s fitting in amazingly and is well on her way to making her place in the world of alternative healing in South Brisbane.

Kiddo has fitted in really well at her new school and is astounding me with how mature she’s growing.

I’m currently 5 books ahead of schedule with my goodreads challenge. 28 down, 72 to go.  Thank goodness for audio books.

I started a new blog series on Books Vs Film. Though I had to reschedule the pick for March because we’re not getting Divergent along with the rest of the world. *pouty face*

And now for some pictures!

I LOVE taking pictures of lightning and I think this is one of the most vibrant pictures I’ve snapped over this storm season.

 

This was a rainbow I snapped on my tenth wedding anniversary. Can anyone else see beyond the Violet?

 

I sat for ages to be able to catch this little guy. The light quality made getting the pic really difficult. Cute none-the-less.

 

These noisy little ratbags woke me up on a Sunday morning. There’s few better ways to be coaxed awake.

Review of Peacemaker

Peacemaker
By Marianne de Pierres

On the lead up to hosting Marianne on the Peacemaker Blog tour, I jumped at the chance to read an early review copy from netgalley, to see just what this intriguing new offering, had to… well… offer.

For those of you who live in Brisbane, having a natural area in the middle of the central business district would seem less bizarre, than say, a giant dinosaur on a golf course, right? Imagining a wild west themed nature reserve in the middle of a city… sure, why the heck not, after all there is something about a guy in chaps. *eyebrow wiggle*

Blurb from Goodreads…
“When an imaginary animal from her troubled teenage years reappears, Virgin takes it to mean one of two things: a breakdown (hers!) or a warning. Dead bodies start piling up around her, so she decides on the latter. Something terrible is about to happen in the park and Virgin and her new partner, U.S. Marshall Nate Sixkiller, are standing in its path…

Virgin Jackson is the senior ranger in Birrimun Park – the world’s last natural landscape, overshadowed though it is by a sprawling coastal megacity. She maintains public safety and order in the park, but her bosses have brought out a hotshot cowboy to help her catch some drug runners who are affecting tourism. She senses the company is holding something back from her, and she’s not keen on working with an outsider like Nate Sixkiller.”
I completely fell in love with Peacemaker. It has the grunt and grit of Marianne’s Parrish Plessis series, the brilliant characterisation of her humerous crime series (written under the pen name Marianne Delacourt) an eye for suspense that has come from years and years of honing her craft.

The world building is imaginative and pleasantly disjointed. A discord that really brings out the multi level genre mix we have to feast from.

On most days I can relate to Virgin Jackson, needing a little space to just sit and be one with the world.

If only we had our own Birrimun Park on our doorstep.

Peacemaker began as a webcomic ( more information ) and, thanks to Angry Robot, this amazingly original body of work is now a novel to be devoured and treasured as of the 29th of April 2014.

Stay tuned… Marianne will be dropping by on the 9th of May to answer some questions about Peacemaker.

Home

Paperback, 416 pages
Expected publication: April 29th 2014 by Angry Robot
ISBN
0857664182 (ISBN13: 9780857664181)

A Character after my own heart

Seriously Magnificent.

I don’t think I’ve reviewed a children’s picture book on here before. First time for everything, right?

My good friend, Marianne de Pierres, has captured exactly what it is to be both a kid and an adult in Serious Sas and Messy Magda… at least this is pretty much what it’s like in my household.

My housekeeping skills are less than lack luster, like Magda’s, and I have the ability to embarrass the snot out of my daughter, especially when she was asked to bring me to school years ago. (apparently just breathing will do the trick in the years to come).

After reading this charming book to my own (not so little) Sas, she agreed, sometimes it doesn’t entirely suck to have a weird, crazy, messy Mum.

As for the illustrations in this delightful PICTURE book… Rachel Annie Bridgen has her own style and it is, in short, quite brilliant, both in colour and in imagination.

You can pick up copies of Serious Sas and Messy Magda from Book Treasure, Amazon, Book Depository, and Fishpond Australia.

Remember to leave a review if you do buy a copy and love it… and believe me you will LOVE it.

Echo! Echo! Is anybody out there?

It has been SO long since I blogged.

I’ve waited for a damn good reason to get back in the saddle and I have grand news…

Marianne de Pierres has just done her cover reveal for the book (not graphic novel) for Peacemaker

So without further ado I give you the wonderful cover by Joey HiFi.

 

 

 

Peacemaker will be published by Angry Robot

Released in UK and US in early May 2014, and available soon after in Australia.

 

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Seven Steps to Have a Happier Day

My friend is currently down a deep dark hole called depression and I risk her wrath by making this public, because she is in the stage of feeling at a complete loss as to how to dig her way out.

She’s frustrated and I can relate, because everyone who knows and loves her would dearly love to be able to wave the magic wand and be able to take her black mood away. However the hardest thing about depression is you can only change yourself. Nobody can do it for you, or to you.

Only you hold the key to your own happiness.

I have been searching the web and have found some cheap ways that may help anyone get through the day and hopefully bring a smile to a face or two.

To my friend who is most likely glaring angrily out at me from her pit of despair. Please try these things before making any excuses (or as you call them, reasons) as to why it is completely impossible to do any of the following. This comes from a place of love. You matter enough to me to do this. 

 

#1 Get up out of bed. Nothing can change for the better from bed. It is the first decision we all have to make each day, and it’s especially difficult for people with depression. If you do it early enough in the morning to watch the sun rise you’ll be getting your first burst of natural light for the day, this will help with setting your body clock over time.

“One of the largest studies on the use of light to treat clinical depression was published in 1992 in the journal Biological Psychiatry. Dr. Kripke administered light treatment to 25 depressed hospitalised patients at a VA hospital.

Patients who were exposed to natural white light were significantly less depressed than those in artificial light.”

 

#2 Take a walk, get some fresh air. You need to let your brain have some time in standby mode, and walking through the world just observing what is going on around you can help with this.

~In Europe, doctors prescribe exercise for their depression patients. I think the best is a combination of exercise and getting out in nature … along with giving your body and mind enough time of mindless walking to let the true feelings and thoughts rise to the surface. You will also see that nature has cycles, too — there are times of joy and times of hibernation. Allow your body and soul to sync with nature and you’ll automatically feel a bit better. ~

 

#3 Get a little sunshine. Vitamin D from the sun (rather than from pills) can help your body function better.

 

#4 Gardening (again with the outdoor activity) but even a cheap pot with some potting mix in it can work. Occasionally vegetable seeds can be bought quite cheaply or cultivated from produce you buy at the shops. Try things that can give you high levels of vitamin C like capsicum and tomatoes. Buying fresh veggies can be quite expensive so growing your own can be a way to save some money and feel accomplished at the same time.

As quoted by Julie Myerson

“Gardening has shaken me up and slowed me down. It’s the only activity I can still do when I’m worried or angry or sad. Tending a garden is a meditative, humbling experience: you can’t force anything, you just have to wait. And yet every time you put something in the ground, it feels like a pronouncement of faith in the future – or at least in the next few months.”

#5 Eating better can help your body chemistry become more stable. Avoid refined sugars and processed foods as much as possible. Lentils and beans can be a cost effective replacement for meat, while helping you with iron levels. Grow your own food to gain the maximum nutrients from fruits and veggies.

 

#6 Laugh. It costs nothing, and makes you feel better.

 

#7 Help someone in need. Quite often depression can cause us to lose perspective and become quite self centred. We may be too busy mentally berating ourselves over personal failures to notice someone else in need. Observe others, and remember, even helping with small things can make both you and the person you’ve helped feel better.

Sources

http://www.viva-lite.us/blog/health-happiness-and-sunlight-closely-linked/

http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/11-ways-to-beat-depression-naturally

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/26/gardening-secret-of-happiness-julie-myerson

 

In the immortal words of that large corporation

No seriously, The Night Creatures REALLY will take over the world

Now my last post had cover reveals that were quite pretty, and HEAPS of work went into them, and the people at Austin Design Works should be congratulated for their champion effort.

Their cover art will now be used for e releases and prequels to the night creatures stories.

After some serious deliberation, some major discussion and a deal that will most likely propel the night creatures book into the stratosphere;  Jarek Kubicki has agreed to rework the covers only a little to allow for his lusciously rich artwork to remain the faces of these books.

And then there is the added squeeeeeeee that is the song Angel Arias, written and performed by Her Royal Madness herself,Yunyu.

If you’d like a bit of a taste of how on the mark this song is here’s a youtube clip that will give you goosebumps.

We’re now cooking with gas. I sincerely hope you’ll go find these books on Amazon and if you’re not in the mood for physical copies and owning a small piece of the artworks of Mr. Kubicki (WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU), you’ll be able to download copies of all three books in e book.

Life is beautiful today. I am so proud to be able to give you this information… and remember to share the love.

You can also go read blogs, book reviews and other randomisity I’ve contributed to www.burnbright.com.au . Our team works hard to bring you some pretty awesome stuff… but when you see the foundation we’re working from, you can understand why we love doing what we’re doing.