• Blog

    Any Way You Plan It Blog Tour and Giveaway

    5/2/2016

    Any Way You Plan It Blog Tour Banner
    Let the blog tour begin
    Today is the kick-off of the Any Way You Plan It Blog Tour. I’m thrilled to have so many amazing bloggers and authors hosting me over the next two weeks.

    Stop by each and every site on the day listed on the schedule below to read a combination of excerpts of Any Way You Plan It, as well as Guest Posts and Reviews.

    We’re also running a fun giveaway that includes a $20 Amazon Giftcard and e-books which have been donated by many of the hosts. That’s exciting for you as a reader. If you’re anything like me you probably struggle to find new authors in the maze of online retailers. Here’s a great way to discover lots of new ones.

    Any Way You Plan It Blog Tour Schedule

    May 1st Monique McDonell
    www.moniquemcdonellauthor.com

    May 2nd Written by Deb – Deborah Nam Krane
    http://writtenbydeb.blogspot.com.au/

    May 3rd HeySaidRenee -Renee Conoulty
    www.heysaidrenee.blogspot.com.au/

    May 4th Jen Collin Author
    http://www.jennifercollin.com/

    May 5th Pamela Cook
    http://www.pamelacook.com.au/

    May 6th Glynis Astie
    www.glynisastie.com/

    May 8th Caroline Fardig
    http://www.carolinefardig.com/

    May 10th Cat Lavoie
    http://www.catlavoie.com/

    May 12th Isabella Louise Anderson
    http://www.isabellalouiseanderson.com/

    May 14th Celia Kennedy
    http://celiakennedy.weebly.com/

    The Upper Crust Series Promo Banner Original Covers - Autumn
    Grab your copy of Any Way You Plan It now. myBook.to/AnyWayYouPlanIt

  • Blog

    Any Way You Plan It – release week

    4/30/2016

    The evolution of the Upper Crust Series
    Any Way You Plan It - Upper Crust Series - Monique McDonell - Original CoverAvailable at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EOA93RW

    This week is the launch of Any Way You Plan It, Book 4 in the Upper Crust Series. Any time I release a new book it’s exciting. I had intended to release it much earlier but life doesn’t always go to plan does it (As Marissa finds out in this book – talk about life imitating art!)

    When I wrote the first book in this series I intended to make it a stand alone novella. I had an idea about Piper’s character and then as I was writing I really liked the side characters of Lucy and Cherie so I decided to explore them and give them a book each.

    So then my intention was to write a trilogy.

    “Hang on – but isn’t Any Way You Plan It – Book 4?” I hear you cry.

    Then while I was writing Any Way You Dream It, Lucy’s story I sent her home to a high school reunion and I had a similar experience. Her friends Marissa, Mike and Todd spoke to me and so I thought ‘d better write books for them too.

    So this book, Any Way You Plan It is Marissa and Mike’s story. They have been friends forever but she’s always had a thing for him. He’s known that but wanted to stay friends because he’s bad at relationships. So Marissa decides it’s time to give up and get on with her life. And that’s what the book is about.

    How do you move on from loving someone who you still see all the time? Or is that even possible?

    You get to meet a lot of new characters in the town in this book and they reappear in Books 5 and 6. It’s fun to write a book where characters reappear. It’s like visiting with old friends because the truth is I write characters that are fun and kind and exactly the sort of people I like in real life too.

    I hope you enjoy Any Way You Plan It. If you do I’d love it if you could leave me a review on Amazon or let me know over on my Facebook page. I love hearing from readers.

  • Blog

    Last chance to enter the Any Way You Fight It Blog Tour Giveaway

    11/4/2015

    Any Way You Fight It - Upper Crust Series - Monique McDonell - Original Cover

    Only one day left to enter the Any Way You Fight It Bog Tour Give- Away. There’s $20 Amazon gift card up for grabs so go on and take a chance.

    Any Way You Fight It
    Matchmaking came easily for Cherie . . . unless she was matching herself. A successful realtor, Cherie could sell a piece of property with ease, she could match up her friends with their perfect mates, but she couldn’t seem to find love for herself. Heck, even her seventy-five-year-old Nona was dating again! Cherie had the perfect love once, or so she had thought. But that was a long time ago, and yet, Luke was the standard by which she measured all potential mates.

    After matching her two best friends and watching them live their happily ever afters, Cherie decides it’s time to make a change and get back in the game. Now all she needs to do is balance what she wants (a Luke-alike) with the demands of her crazy Italian family (a good, Catholic Italian boy).

    Just when she is ready to shake off her past and move forward, her past walks through the door of her favorite local pub with her best friends. Luke is back, looks better than ever, and still has eyes for Cherie. And Cherie can’t control the heat she still has for him. But as with most long-lost loves, he has a past as well, and that past just might prevent Cherie from finding her happiness despite what her Nona’s visions predict.

    Can Cherie and Luke make peace with their pasts and look forward to a new life together? Or will this be the final good-bye?

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

  • Blog

    Bag a bargain from the Upper Crust Series

    10/17/2015

    Monique McDonell Upper Crust Series Banner
    It’s release week for Any Way You Fight It book 3 in my Upper Crust series.

    It is always fun releasing a new book and you hope people enjoy it and support the book. To get you hooked, if you’re not already here are a couple of incentives.

    Any Way You Slice It, the novella that started it all is #free. Download it for a fun, fast read.

    Any Way You Slice It - Upper Crust Novel - Monique McDonell - Original Cover

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    As a further teaser Any Way You Dream It is just #99cents. That’s a bargain. Books 1 and 2 for a grand total of #99cents.
    Any Way You Dream It - Upper Crust Series - Monique McDonell - Original Cover

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The easiest way to get them all in one place is to swing by my Amazon Author Page.

  • Blog

    Release time for Any Way You Fight It

    10/14/2015

    Any Way You Fight It - Upper Crust Series - Monique McDonell - Original Cover
    Available on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016LLTVJ2
    Finally it is release day for my latest novel in the Upper Crust Series – Any Way You Fight It.
    I’m so excited that this book is finally out there and available for readers. I really enjoyed writing this novel and I love the character of Cherie who was so supportive of her friends in Any Way You Slice It and Any Way You Dream It.
    This is a story about second chances and letting yourself take them. I hope you take a chance on this novel.

    It is available here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016LLTVJ2
    And to celebrate the release Any Way You Dream It is only 99cents so grab a copy while you’re at it.

    Any Way You Fight It – Blurb
    Matchmaking came easily for Cherie . . . unless she was matching herself. A successful realtor, Cherie could sell a piece of property with ease, she could match up her friends with their perfect mates, but she couldn’t seem to find love for herself. Heck, even her seventy-five-year-old Nona was dating again! Cherie had the perfect love once, or so she had thought. But that was a long time ago, and yet, Luke was the standard by which she measured all potential mates.
    After matching her two best friends and watching them live their happily ever afters, Cherie decides it’s time to make a change and get back in the game. Now all she needs to do is balance what she wants (a Luke-alike) with the demands of her crazy Italian family (a good, Catholic Italian boy).
    Just when she is ready to shake off her past and move forward, her past walks through the door of her favorite local pub with her best friends. Luke is back, looks better than ever, and still has eyes for Cherie. And Cherie can’t control the heat she still has for him. But as with most long-lost loves, he has a past as well, and that past just might prevent Cherie from finding her happiness despite what her Nona’s visions predict.
    Can Cherie and Luke make peace with their pasts and look forward to a new life together? Or will this be the final good-bye?

    Extract from Any Way You Fight It
    “Right—I’m going to give you the abridged version.”
    “I’ll take whatever you offer,” she said.
    “Well, when I was eighteen I had a romance, I suppose you’d call it.”
    “Yeah if this was eighteenth-century England.”
    “Whatever,” I sighed. “And it was a secret. He knew, I knew, and one friend.”
    “No family?”
    “Nope, he wasn’t Italian, and I just didn’t want them stalking me and ruining everything.”
    “Makes sense. I never had that kind of family. I could have dated an axe murderer and my mom would have been happy I had a man, but I can see your situation was different.”
    “Yeah, so we had this lovely summer fling. And then he dumped me.”
    “Ouch.”
    “Yeah, and he just left and didn’t say good-bye.”
    “That’s low.”
    “Yeah, it was. And it hurt and probably more so because no one knew so I had to act all normal and I couldn’t discuss it with anyone.”
    “So, you’ve never talked about it?” Her eyes popped wide.
    “I never have.” I took a fortifying sip of beer. “The thing is I date, I flirt, but I haven’t really met anyone who made me feel like that guy did.”
    “Wow. That’s a long time between boyfriends.”
    “Yeah, I went out with a couple of nice guys in college, one for almost a year, but that spark or whatever wasn’t there. And because of my parents’ whole ‘you can’t end up with someone who isn’t Italian’ attitude and because I haven’t met any Italian guys who lit that flame . . .”
    “You’ve stayed single . . .”
    “Exactly.” I sighed.
    “But now you’re ready to move forward, why is that? I mean I know that was big for you to tell me, but you didn’t tell me anything Piper couldn’t have handled.”
    “There’s more . . .”
    “Oh goody!” She clapped her hands.
    “Calm down, Glinda the Good Witch. This is hard for me.”
    “Sorry, but what’s changed? Is it because Piper and I have found someone?”
    “I think partly, but a couple other triggers have hit as well.”
    “I think we need fries for this part?” she asked, waving down the waiter. “Okay continue.”
    “First, although it didn’t happen first, my mother has waived the Italian rule. Apparently having a single thirty-year-old daughter who isn’t producing offspring means she has to compromise, so I’m allowed to date non-Italians now.”
    “That’s pretty huge for her.”
    “Yeah and for me. The thing is part of me is really resentful about it. I’m happy but I’m also thinking—now, why now? Why not ten years ago, five? All these years . . .”
    “That makes sense.” The fries landed and we each took one and blew it. We had years of experience and neither of us was stupid enough to burn our tongues now. I squirted ketchup in the corner of the basket. We liked to dunk or scrape our fries through not smother them. “On the other hand, better now than never.”
    “I know.”
    “So that’s good news for moving forward.” She snapped her fry and popped half in her mouth. “So, what was the other thing?”
    “I saw him again.”
    “Him? The guy from way back when?”
    I nodded. “The guy.”
    “Wow. Where? When? Who?”
    “Here. Last week. Luke.”

    “Holy shit, Cherie. Luke?” Lucy’s eyes were bugging out of their sockets.
    “Yep, holy shit.”
    “You dated Luke? He dumped you and then he walked in to this very bar years later?”
    “Yes.”
    “And we made you guys hang?”
    “Yes.”
    “And how was that?”
    “It was freaking weird.” That was an understatement.
    “He’s very hot; I can see why you had a fling with him. You have excellent taste.”
    “Thanks, I think.”
    “So, did you find out why he dumped you?”
    “I didn’t ask. It doesn’t matter. It’s old news. Seeing him again just proved to me it is time to get on with my life. It’s time to take a chance again, and now that I can date beyond the Italian-American community, I can find myself a Luke-alike.”
    “A what?”
    “A Luke-alike. A guy like Luke.”
    “Why can’t you just date the real Luke?”
    It did seem like an obvious solution but the real Luke was in love with his dead fiancée. I didn’t need to go into that.
    “The real Luke lives in New York and is emotionally unavailable. But I will admit he is hot, and apparently that kind of hot is my kind of hot.”
    “So you want my help to find you a Luke-alike?” she asked, finally putting the pieces to the puzzle together.
    “Chase must know tons of blond, buff babes who could maybe like me.”
    “Babe, anyone who doesn’t like you is an idiot. Have you seen yourself? You are gorgeous. And now you’re gorgeous and open to possibilities.”
    “I guess.”
    She clapped her hands again. “This is going to be so fun. Now I get to be the matchmaker.”
    I wasn’t sure how Lucy’s matchmaking skills were to be honest, but she was all I had. It did feel better to have told someone.

  • Blog

    A day in the life of a writer in the digital age…

    9/23/2015

    Monique McDonell Upper Crust Series Banner
    So today has been kind of a crazy kind of a day for me but not all that unusual. It made me think about all the aspects of my writing life that don’t actually involve writing so I thought I’d step you through some of what I did.

    Just as an overview I have one book that is in edits for October release (Any Way You Fight It), one book that my BETA readers are reviewing (Any Way You Plan It) and one book I’m doing the rewrites on for the BETA readers Any Way You Want It.

    So here’s a look at what my day has looked like in no particular order:
    1. I woke up to my pretty new series banner for my series (see it above) so emailed my designer Erin and said thank you.
    2. Erin also had a draft paperback cover for me (books 1 and 2 together in a book) so I emailed her about that.
    3. Emailed my writing group for feedback on a paper back book cover for a combined Book 1 &2 and to discuss a possible book launch.
    4. Did my usual round of the Facebook author groups I belong to or run and commented.
    5. Had an email chat with a BETA reader on her thoughts about Any Way You Plan It.
    6. Replied to an email from my editor about the edits coming later today.
    7. Promoted a book on sale on several FB reader groups.
    8. Posted a book cover to Instagram.
    9. Lined up paid promo for Alphabet Dating for late October (the book is set during November so that makes sense).
    10. Replied to emails from my writing group about paperback cover and launch.
    11. Worked out paperback specs for book cover designer – how many pages affects the spine width.
    12. Set up a blog tour for Any Way You Fight It myself (running my own this time so emailed bloggers and authors I know).
    13. Emailed book covers to author for a blog hop I’m helping run next week – Here Comes the Bride Blog Hop.
    14. Set up rafflecopter for the Here Comes the Bride Blog Hop.
    15. Wrote author questions for Here Comes the Bride Blog Hop.
    16. Received edits for Any Way You Fight It and read through the basic feedback, replied to editor via email.
    17. Scheduled some social media.
    18. Wrote this blog post.
    19. Liaised with blog tour operator about scheduling a Facebook party for Any Way You Want It launch for November.
    20. Interacting on my various social media platforms with readers.

    Any Way You Want It - Upper Crust Series - Monique McDonell - Original Cover
    Now I don’t do all this stuff everyday, but it’s not typical.

    Just have a quick look at that list – no writing has taken place yet, and no editing either.

    I have set myself the challenge of writing #1000wordsaday as regular readers know and so I still have to do that.

    There are things on my list I never will get to today. (I have had to work today, for my actual job, and it’s school holidays/vacation here so there are plenty of other distractions too).

    Anyway I thought it was an interesting exercise. I know there are plenty of people who wonder what I do all day and I wonder myself where the time goes. It’s true some days I clearly do stuff about, and some days I spend a lot of time writing or hours editing or planning.

    So if you wonder what a writer’s day looks like in the digital age, here’s an example.

     

     

    Comments

    Pixel Peeper
    9/24/2015 04:54:50 pm

    Wow…I get tired just reading the list! Sometimes, we people with “regular” 9-5 office jobs are jealous of the “relaxed, flit-around-all-day, socializing” people who are self employed and we rarely think about all the very real work that is involved in getting a book out there – and does not involve actually writing the book.

    Looking forward to all your books!
    Reply
    Monique
    9/24/2015 04:57:55 pm

    Thanks Pixel…sometimes it’s good to get a look behind the scenes.

    Sandie Docker
    9/29/2015 11:54:44 pm

    Holy Cow! How do writers find the time to write?????
    Reply
    Monique
    9/30/2015 12:49:56 am

    I think finding the balance is vert hard Sandy 🙂

    Julie Valerie @Julie_Valerie
    9/30/2015 05:25:12 am

    Amazing we find time to write! I feel like copying this list and keeping it in my back pocket so that every time someone asks, “Is your book finished?” I can slam it down on the table and say, “Here. Read this. This is what we do in addition to writing.” Ha! That’ll quiet them.

    On another note, this list is proof of your professionalism and hard work. And the universe always rewards hard work! 🙂

    Item #21 Added this blog post to the Fiction Writer Blog Hop. (See? The work never ends. It just keeps going and going and going…)
    Reply
    Monique
    10/4/2015 07:57:21 pm

    I know, Julie. I’m sure people think I don’t do a thing all day but that just isn’t true at all for most writers these days, the writing is only a small part of the gig.

    Jayne Denker
    9/30/2015 06:14:38 am

    And folks think we just sit around in our pajamas eating chocolate and daydreaming! Well…we do that too, but not all the time. 😉 (For the record, I am wearing real clothes as I type.)

    Brea Brown
    9/30/2015 07:29:29 am

    Uh… yeah. Exhausting. Which is why I’m such a slacker when it comes to promotion and marketing (and why my sales are so lame, but… whatever). I just can’t make myself sacrifice that writing time to do the drudgery. Ah, well… Maybe someday I’ll rock both sides of the biz, like you do.
    Reply
    Monique
    10/4/2015 07:58:24 pm

    I’m not sure I exactly rock both sides of the biz but no one can say I’m not trying.

    Pauline Wiles
    9/30/2015 10:05:45 am

    I love day in the life posts, but actually this is a great example of all that “other” stuff which keeps us from producing new work.

    Barbara Barth
    9/30/2015 06:51:23 pm

    I’m exhausted from your list – but it is one to learn from, too. Love the book cover!

    Tracy Krimmer
    10/1/2015 09:23:35 am

    Monique, I adore the cover of your book.
    Reply
    Monique
    10/4/2015 07:59:19 pm

    Thanks Tracey and Barbara – it’s such a lovely cover isn’t it? I love it too!

  • Blog

    Moving forward and maintaining momentum on a Musical Monday

    9/13/2015

    To be a writer you need to write.
    Any Way You Fight It - Upper Crust Series - Monique McDonell - Original CoverI haven’t been much of a blogger lately and my social media engagement had been down as well, I suspect.

    Sometimes I really fret about that stuff – you can’t sell books without an online presence if your books are sold almost exclusively online. You lose visibility and people forget about you, or so everyone says.

    On the other hand you can’t sell books if you don’t write. Without that stage you have nothing to sell. That’s a fact.

    For the last couple of weeks I’ve chosen to focus on the writing and not get quite so distracted by the business and promotion side. Who knows if that’s a good strategy or not but I do feel more energetic, more engaged with my characters and more enthusiastic about writing so those are all positives.

    Any Way You Fight It, Book 3 in The Upper Crust Series is off at the editor now and will have an October release. Any Way You Plan It, Book 4 in the series is with the BETA readers now and Books 5 and 6 are ready for reading too. And I have a Christmas and a Summer/Valentine’s novella ready for readers as well.

    I guess that means I need to take a little break from the writing and get back to the promotion and other aspects of the writing business because that’s what it is, a business. I already run another small business so I guess this makes me a entrepreneur, with two businesses on the go.

    Like any business this one has goals – I want to get those four Upper Crust and two novellas published by January, I want to get better at organising my promos and newsletter, I have sales goals and marketing goals and now all I need to do is maintain momentum. Yeah, that’s the hard part.

    This song came me into my head yesterday for some inexplicable reason…and it reminded me of Marissa and Mike in
    Any Way You Plan It…so here we go an old Australian ’80s classic by Jenny Morris for Musical Monday.

  • Blog

    Muses, musing and Musical Monday

    7/19/2015

    Any Way You Fight It - Upper Crust Series - Monique McDonell - Original CoverI seem to have been a bit lax in the blogging area of late.

    One of the things about having a #1000wordsaday challenge going is that I spend a lot of time thinking about what to write next in my novels, I think some of that time I used to spend thinking about what to blog next.

    I don’t think we have a finite amount of creativity but I do think we have a finite amount of time to be creative and so we have to pick and choose how we spend it.

    I’m not a huge believer in muses or waiting for the creative impulse to strike. That’s not true either. I happen to think that is a wonderful thing. If I don’t feel like baking a cake or redecorating then I might wait for inspiration. If I was writing purely for pleasure I might do the same.

    However if you have a schedule and deadlines and an agenda just like in any job sometimes you just have to show up and get to work. I had an editing disaster earlier this year. (Actually I had two and neither were my fault and editing is already the least pleasant part of this process for me so frankly, I’m still a little bitter about it.) Anyway, I made a decision when I was an hour away from sending my book to the editor and I lost 10,000 plus words and ten days work. I decided that if this was a job for a PR client I would have sat my bum down in the seat and started again. So that’s exactly what I did. I’m not sure the muse would ever show up and make me feel inspired to do that task. I still feel kind of ill at the memory.

    I guess my point is that sometimes you have to push through even when you feel uninspired but there’s a limit to how many areas in life you can do that in. Apparently, for me blogging has gone by the wayside.

    Still I have managed to complete all six books in the Upper Crust Series so you can expect four more releases from me in 2015. Don’t you love the cover for Any Way You Fight It? (I’m sending the book to the editors in the next few days so expect an August release).

    I’m also working on a Christmas novella and I’ve written a summer/Valentine novella as well so I guess the blogging has been lax for a reason. You can’t do it all.

    For Musical Monday here is one of my all time favourite songs by the Eurythmics – Right By Your Side – I actually saw this tour back in 1987 in Sydney. The song is a perfect fit for Zara and Kyle the characters in my Christmas novella.

  • Blog

    The Value of being accountable, blog tours and more

    6/29/2015

    The value of being accountable
    Any Way You Dream It Promo 2015
    This month I completed another 50,000 word challenge. This one was run under the auspices of the Romance Writers of Australia. I used the month to do a first draft of the 6th book in the Upper Crust Series.

    I finished a little ahead of schedule with story all written (obviously with holes to plug and rewriting to do).

    These sorts of challenges work well for me – not because I’m a super fast writer, not because I’m super organised but because I like being held accountable.

    I’m a pretty reliable human being (tediously so). I’m punctual, I don’t forget stuff, I never stand people up and I meet deadlines (pretty much all the time). I’m also a shocking procrastinator, SHOCKING! What I can postpone of put off astounds even me.

    I let myself down on a daily basis but I don’t let other people down. So if I tell you I’m going to sign up and do something with you, you can be reasonably certain I’ll do it. It could be that being a tragic people-pleaser comes in handy for something.

    For me being part of a group and meeting deadlines is easier than doing it alone. So CampNaNoWriMo, which happens again in July, NaNoWriMo and this 50k challenge are great motivators for me. Setting up the #1000wordsaday group on Facebook has also kept me writing this year. I feel I must show up and so I do.

    I know this doesn’t work for everyone. Some people find these things have the opposite affect on them. It’s a matter of finding what motivates you and what destroys your creativity. But if like me, you won’t quit in front of a crowd or let the team down (even if that’s metaphorical) you may find these challenges motivate you.

    ***
    In other news I am currently on a blog tour for my novel Any Way You Dream It.
    http://www.clpblogtours.com/2015/06/book-blitz-any-way-you-dream-it-by.html

    Stop by and see the reviews for the novel and you could also win an Amazon Gift Card for your trouble.
    29 – Sinfully Good Reads – Excerpt
    June 29 – Chick Lit Plus – Review
    June 30 – Caroline Fardig – Guest Post
    June 30 – Celia Kennedy – Review, Q&A & Excerpt
    July 1 – Jersey Girl Book Reviews – Review, Guest Post & Excerpt
    July 1 – Polished and Bubbly – Review
    July 6 – Living Life With Joy – Review & Q&A

  • Blog

    Why new characters are like new friends (and Musical Monday)

    6/14/2015

    Why I enjoy starting a new project
    Any Way You Slice It - Upper Crust Novel - Monique McDonell - Original CoverI’ve been busy this month working on a #50k30D challenge.(That means I need to write 50,000 words in June).

    That’s a lot of writer’s idea of a nightmare. The pressure is too much and they don’t like that feeling of being under the gun. I guess I’m not like that. I kind of love it actually.

    For me writing a new book meets creating new characters – or as I like to call it – making new friends. I love and miss some of my characters from my stand alone books – Allegra will always be one of my favourite people as will Cassie from Hearts Afire and I really can’t speak highly enough of Matt from A Fair Exchange of Harvey from Alphabet Dating. (I’m not a total nutter I do know they’re not real people.) Still I like meeting new characters too.

    The Upper Crust Series allows me to check up on the characters from other books in the series as I write them so it’s the best of both worlds. I’m writing about Todd and Sarah in Book six just now. Todd was in Book 2 and features heavily in book 4 as well. Marissa from Book 4 and Chloe from Book 5 also appear quite a bit, see old friends with the new.

    One of the reasons I like writing a book in a month (albeit a rough first draft) is because you have to be with those characters every day so you really get to know them. What they like to eat, what clothing they wear, what makes them laugh or cry – I know this because I’m spending so much time with them.

    It’s like being on a summer camp or a European bus trip with them. We bond fast and we share our secrets by the campfire or over some chianti and at the end of the month we walk away wondering if we really should have shared all that. I love it.

    I enjoy the newness and the discovery of it all and of course the sense of achievement when I write a scene I’m happy with or hit a goal. Writing can be lonely and soul-destroying so you need those things to spur you on, well I certainly do. Some of the secrets I’m told by the characters will never make the page and others will be edited out down the track but for right now, I’m enjoying just knowing them.

    And because it is Monday we need some music. This is one of my favourite songs at the moment. I love the retro 80’s style video and the energy of the song. I like dancing to it in my car, and it give me permission to say “shut up” which I usually just don’t do.

    Here’s a funky acapella version. This is how I sound in my imagination – which of course is the beauty of having a good imagination – imaginary friends and talents.