one more sleep!

One more sleep til entries for my end of year, its nearly Christmas, just 'cause I feel like it, big book giveaway are free to start pouring in!

Come back tomorrow to find out how you can enter my TWO, yes that's right, TWO big book giveaways for your chance at winning a triple pack of personally autographed books.

So exciting!!!

two more sleeps...

Two more sleeps til my big book giveaway!

It runs from December 1st through 7th with autographed books up for grabs just in time for Christmas!

Come on back here on December 1st, or follow me on Goodreads, to find out how to enter my two big book giveaways.

See ya then!

big book giveaway extravaganza heading your way!

I admit it, I'm a hussy.

I love my Sony Reader, and with a passion that knows no bounds.  I truly do.  Yet I cheat.  Regularly.  With paperbacks.  The scent of freshly printed paper, the feel of the pages as they slide past your fingers, the weight of a book in your hands...  *shiver*

For those of you who share my secret love, this holiday season, starting December 1st, I'm giving away a triple pack of autographed paperbacks, winners' choice to one lucky reader!

And since I love this time of year sooo much, I'm doing another triple giveaway at Goodreads!

WATCH THIS SPACE COME DECEMBER 1ST FOR ALL THE DEETS!

* Giveaways end midnight December 7th 2011.  One winner for each contest.  Winner will be notified through media by which they entered.  Follow Ally on twitter, follow her at Goodreads, and like her at Facebook for her latest news and musings and behind the scenes goss as well as more fun surprises throughout the year!

I'm reading... my first ever nora roberts!

About a week ago, upon a recommendation from my mum, whose taste often mirrors mine (the woman owns every book by Dick Francis and LaVyrle Spender - 'nuff said!) I was forced to grab a copy of  Nora Roberts "Vision in White".   It's the first of a four book series dubbed the "Bride Quartet", and the first Nora Roberts I've ever read.  I know, how, right?

Skip to a week later and I'm half way through book  four, that's how  much I just love love loooove this series!!!  I cried three times in the first chapter alone.  Seriously.

The four heroines are four long time best friends who run a wedding planning business together from the gorgeous family estate they all but grew up on.  The wedding planner thing has been done many times over in romantic fiction but the strength of the women's friendships, their backgrounds, the way the heroes fit into their lives makes this series a total stand out.  You wish you were on the inside of their tight clan.

Did I mention I loved this series.  Yeah?  Well I did!

Buy "Vision in White" here!  Today.  This instant!!!

Visit Nora's website.

Follow me on Good Reads.

calling all queenslanders

Grab today's Sunday Mail for the U Magazine cover story!  All about the plethora of fabulous, talented, local romance authors.

Or...you can see a link to the story here.

And yes, alllll those books belong to me!

sold!

So excited to say that book 22 is done and dusted!

This was my fairy dust book -  a book that was bliss to write from beginning to end - known here as Addicted to Love.

I wish I could stick all my eds gorgeous comments hereupon they have been so gushworthy, but that'd just be showing off ;).

Shall squee on over here some more when I get a title and release dates.  Until then, here's a pic that reminds me a lot of my hero Dax. Sigh...

leaving, on a jet plane

Heading away tomorrow for a girls weekend with my BFFs from Melbourne!  Two of the four of us did the dash back home to family in the last year so it'll be a teary catch-up I'm sure.  As well as plenty of sleep, wine, chatter, wine, laughter, shopping, wine.  Did I mention wine?

See ya next week!

come on in, the water's fine!

Have I mentioned the weather in sunny Brisbane right now?  I must have.  Surely.  Because IT IS AWESOME!

Queensland is famously known as "beautiful one day, perfect the next" and it's living up to that moniker right now for sure.

This is the view of our pool this arvo mere minutes before splashdown.  And while a pool can be such a time suck, a money pit and a general pain to keep clean, especially amidst a lush suburban jungle like ours is, that moment when you slide in to find the temperature absolutely perfect and the water lifts you, floats you, takes the edge off the day it's heavenly.  Better yet the joy on the kids faces when they have that moment too - now that makes it all worth it.

So, the forecast continues to be blue skies and sunshine.  How many of you should I expect???

ah spring!

One of the more lovely things about moving home to sunny Brisbane is the weather.  Don't get me wrong, I adore Melbourne truly seasonal weather, even if you can, and do, famously experience "four seasons in one day" at times.

 

But here the winters are mild and sunny, the summers hot and bright, and the springs, well they are just glorious.   Our garden has exploded practically overnight, with a gorgeous array of the most vivid flowers as far as the eye can see.  And the scents...oh my!  Open our back door and we are flooded with the most delicious floral aromas.  They're practically edible.

And we are not gardeny people.  All of this comes down to the cleverness of those who came before us, and nature.  Hence the fact that I have no idea what flowers they are!  I *think* the top left ones are Jasmine.  As for the others?  Not a clue!

So if any of you recognise the flowers hereupon let me know!  I'd appreciate it to bits.

the 7 horse by a nose

Today is Australia's biggest horse race, the Melbourne Cup.  

It's dead right that they call it the race that stops a nation as every TV & radio around the country will be tuned in at 3pm to watch as 24 horses thunder around the long 3200m of track to see who takes this year's purse.

My pick?  The 7 horse, Unusual Suspect.  Why?  I like the rider's silks ;).  Black, grey and white, they are, with a great silver star in the centre.  In 25 odd years of betting on the big race, that kind of thinking has helped me pick the winner once.  Yet here I go again. I'm consistent if nothing else!

As luck would have it its the only rider in the entire field whose rider is listed as "none".  But hey, here's for the underdog right?!?!?!

To see lots of green grass, racing odds, and pretty dresses, check out the Melbourne Cup official page here.