What I eat in the average day - and COVER REVEAL!

 Speaking as someone who works from home most days, this topic from Long and Short Reviews should have inspired me to come up with all sorts of exciting recipes I cook. I wish that was the case. I am a terrible, lazy cook, I admit. Everything is quick and easy.

Mornings? Boiled eggs, mostly.

Lunches? Something I can put in the oven and ignore for thirty minutes. I'm fond of ready meals as they're nice and straightforward, and I almost never use the microwave because those meals tend to come out terrible.

Dinners? Much the same, although I may switch it up and do burgers and chips. It would probably help if my husband and I cooked together, but as we eat separate things, it hardly seems worth making a big effort for one person. In the past I've made resolutions to learn how to cook, but I simply don't have the patience, particularly when every recipe is for 4 people.

And, of course, I will snack on crisps all day.

Yes, I agree I'm unhealthy.

So while I'm here, I just have to reveal my brand new cover for "I'm With The Band".

His only regret was letting her go.

When filmmaker Tawny Michaels is asked to make a documentary about recently re-formed band Greycomet, she already knows who she’ll have to face – her ex-boyfriend Marsh Kilmer, lead singer of the band. In the ten years they’ve been apart Tawny has been happy with nothing but flings, choosing to avoid relationships, but Marsh’s only regret is losing her – and he’s determined to win her back, no matter what.

Knowing the production company is in the financial hole and finding herself still attracted to Marsh, Tawny decides to go along for the ride, but their passionate reunion hits trouble when the documentary attracts a stalker who has been relentlessly chasing the band. Tawny finds herself hiding out with Marsh, fighting to keep her business afloat while keeping herself safe – but soon realises her safety is the last thing on her mind. Can she forgive Marsh the past and trust him with her heart?

"I'm With The Band" is now on pre-order from Totally Bound and will be on general release on 9th May 2023.

So what do you eat in the average day?

Something I'm proud of doing

 An interesting topic from Long and Short Reviews this week. I can think of two things I'm proud of doing, and both are things that take up a lot of my time.

During the day I work as a debt advisor for a charity. It can be stressful - you can probably imagine the sort of things we hear from clients, particularly during our current cost of living crisis - but it's also very rewarding. Debt can sneak up on anyone at the worst possible times; all it takes is a divorce, a death, a huge medical bill or the loss of a job. Knowing that the work we do makes a genuine difference in the lives of people who are struggling makes it all worthwhile.

And of course, outside of work I am an erotic romance writer, and yes, I am proud of that. The romance genre is often dismissed as "slush" or "trash", and the erotic romance genre is even more often dismissed as porn - I have been called a sex worker before by people who really should know better. But I'm proud of what I write and nobody is going to convince me otherwise. There's nothing wrong with wanting a bit of fantasy and a happy ever after.

So what are you proud of doing?

New things I've tried recently

 I thought this would be an easy topic from Long and Short Reviews, as - previously discussed on my blog - I make resolutions every year to watch new films, read new books and try new foods all the time. However, I have to admit I was struggling for anything I'd tried recently. Possibly because the Christmas period was spent running around like a headless chicken in work and out, I didn't have time to do much that was new.

So the best I can come up with is the new foods I've tried recently.

My husband and I tried out a new Indian restaurant we'd been meaning to give a go for ages, since they have an interesting menu with items I'd never seen before. I ended up with a keema paneer dish, a combination I'd never had, and while it didn't taste quite like I expected (somehow I expected the cheese to melt, but it was mostly solid) it was delicious.

I also discovered blue hen's eggs recently while we were having an egg shortage at our supermarket. They didn't taste any different from non-blue eggs, but apparently they smelled different, as our two cats were utterly baffled by the shells.

So what have you tried recently?

What I think of New Year's resolutions

 A nice topic to follow on from last week. As I said then, I tend to use the same resolutions every year, simply because I know I'll do them.

I used to decide things like go to the gym, work out five times a week, lose weight and learn to cook new recipes. These always went nowhere. Like many people, I would quit the gym at the end of January, would never remember to work out inside the house, and while I did occasionally manage to lose weight, the cooking of new recipes would never last either. I think I managed one, it came out terrible and I gave up. I am not a cook.

So I stick to challenges that match what I enjoy so that I'll definitely do them. Reading more, watching more films, going to the theatre more, trying new foods. They're all things that I do anyway so it doesn't hurt to do more of them. I'm also challenging myself to finish off Agatha Christie's catalogue - I've read most of them now (including all the Poirots, Marples and Tommy and Tuppences) but have a few left still.

So what do you think of New Year's Resolutions?

My goals for 2023

 I always love this topic from Long and Short Reviews. It's nice to give some thought to what my goals are for the year, writing-wise and otherwise. I have a set of resolutions I set every year, but I always try to think of others as well.

My usual resolutions are to read one book, watch one film and try one new food every month. Last year I managed 30 books (as tracked by the Goodreads challenge), 45 new foods and I don't know how many films, but it was definitely more than 12. I hope to do the same this year - and since I've watched 3 films already, I think that one is well on the way.

I also plan to see as many plays as I can and try to finish off my list of Shakespeare plays, as I'm aiming to see all of them on stage at some point. I have tickets for about five at the moment, so that one is going well.

As far as writing goes, I plan to write more in the Rock My World series and possibly branch out with a couple of new writing challenges. We'll see how those go, but I've just started a new one, so fingers crossed.

So what are your goals for 2023?