A Job I Wouldn't Be Good At

 When this topic from Long and Short Reviews came up, a story from my past immediately came into my head.

When I was a kid, I went to my primary school summer fair and encountered a stall which claimed to tell your future using numerology. I got a printout with various predictions on it, most of which I can't remember, but one was "With a sharp and technical mind like yours, you would do well in a career like engineering."

Right.

While it's nice to be told you have a sharp and technical mind, even as a child I knew this was absolute nonsense. While I got a double A* in my GCSE Science, that was primarily by sheer determination and my chemistry and biology scores dragging my physics score up. Physics and maths, which are the sorts of subjects you need for engineering, are definitely not my strong subjects, and while I'm good at using a computer I'm certainly not technical. I would be utterly terrible at engineering.

It's probably just as well I can't remember the rest of the predictions, because if that one is anything to go by they weren't worth remembering. I think it did suggest I would get married in my thirties - I was 27, so they got that wrong as well.

So what job wouldn't you be good at?

Share one interesting fact you know

 I really had to think about this topic from Long and Short Reviews, because while I know quite a few useless facts, how many of them are interesting is open to question. For instance, the fact that First Lady Dolley Madison's favourite ice cream flavour was oyster is one that has stood me in good stead at quizzes, but isn't likely to do much more than raise an eyebrow at any other time. (I know a lot of junk about US presidents and First Ladies, and none of it will ever do me any good unless I get accepted to go on Pointless.)

One that did come to mind recently, though, was when I was discussing the Brontes with a friend. I've always been a great fan of Anne Bronte and we were talking about visiting her grave in Scarborough, where she is buried apart from her family as she died while on a trip there. My friend's comment was "It's a shame she's not buried in Haworth near that curate she was so in love with."

Oh yes, the story of Anne Bronte being in love with William Weightman, which was a huge part of the Bronte canon for years.

My friend was utterly amazed when I told her that Anne was not, in fact, in love with Weightman. There is no evidence whatsoever that she was - the only thing it's based on is a throwaway comment from Charlotte about Weightman eyeing Anne up in church and Anne ignoring him, which doesn't seem unreasonable in the circumstances. I had thought that this had been disproved some time ago, but apparently it's still a thing.

So there we are - it's not a thing. Anne Bronte was not in love with her father's curate.

So what interesting facts do you know?

Making It Hard review tour starts today!

 Today my review tour for "Making It Hard" begins - all the stops are below:

July 13: The Avid Reader
July 13: The Faerie Review
July 20: Country Mamas With Kids
July 20: Lynn's Romance Enthusiasm
July 27: D.S. Dehel
July 27: The Reading Addict
August 3: Maggie Blackbird
August 3: Iron Canuck Reviews & More

Enter to win a $10 Amazon gift card, and happy reading!

Release day!

 It's Release Day for "When I Look In The Mirror"!

When hairdresser Tatum Fox takes part in a séance at a party, her only thought is of the attractive man sitting beside her, the mysterious Zack, who appears in her dreams that night and who she hopes to see again. However, when she begins to experience paranormal activity and finds herself confronted by an unnerving client at work, she discovers that the séance summoned a demon – and Zack may be the only person who can free her of him.

Zack reveals himself to be an angel, and shows Tatum that she also has the power to battle supernatural creatures – a power that is increased through sex with him. Their connection soon strengthens, but is Tatum strong enough to defeat the demon with Zack by her side – and can there be a future with an angel, or is their passion doomed to end?

Books 2 Read: https://books2read.com/u/bOPO7W

Amazon US:  https://tinyurl.com/28sjjkcr

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/When-Look-Mirror-Tanith-Davenport-ebook/dp/B0C9XNDJ6K/ref=sr_1_66?qid=1689075452&refinements=p_n_date%3A367747031&rnid=367744031&s=digital-text&sr=1-66

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/when-i-look-in-the-mirror-2

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1417354

I hope you enjoy it!

How I stay cool during heatwaves - and new pre-order

 Ugh. This topic from Long and Short Reviews is definitely appropriate at the moment. 

I live in the UK, so most houses don't have proper aircon like they do in the States, and we're simply not prepared for this sort of ridiculous weather. It's not too bad today admittedly, but I've been spending my days dressed as little as possible while I watch my two cats melt into the carpet. So how do we try to stay cool in this sort of weather?

I open all the windows and doors to try and get a draught through the house.

I drink as many cold, iced drinks as I can.

And, at night, we have a ChillMax box which we can put ice in to create a wave of cold air across the bed. It's not perfect, but it helps.

I also tend to avoid certain posts on social media, because whenever we have a heatwave in the UK certain people in hotter areas will go "Pfft! That's sweater weather for me!" That's nice, I'm roasting.

And while I'm here, I have a new book on pre-order.

When hairdresser Tatum Fox takes part in a séance at a party, her only thought is of the attractive man sitting beside her, the mysterious Zack, who appears in her dreams that night and who she hopes to see again. However, when she begins to experience paranormal activity and finds herself confronted by an unnerving client at work, she discovers that the séance summoned a demon – and Zack may be the only person who can free her of him.

Zack reveals himself to be an angel, and shows Tatum that she also has the power to battle supernatural creatures – a power that is increased through sex with him. Their connection soon strengthens, but is Tatum strong enough to defeat the demon with Zack by her side – and can there be a future with an angel, or is their passion doomed to end?

Books 2 Read: https://books2read.com/u/bOPO7W

Amazon US:  https://tinyurl.com/28sjjkcr

So how do you stay cool during heatwaves?