Share your morning routine

 The actual topic this week from Long and Short Reviews was "Share your morning or bedtime routine", but my bedtime routine is boring, so I decided to stick to the morning. 

I am weird, apparently, in that I get up two hours before I'm due to log in to work from home. I know many would say it would be great to just jump out of bed five minutes before work started, but I'm not built that way - I like to have a relaxing morning before I start work. I don't like to be rushing around getting ready.

So after getting washed and dressed, I make breakfast, feed the cats, and then get online for an hour. I check my email, check Facebook, do any promo I may need to do, and get a small amount of writing done. I also waste a bit of time on the SongPop app, which for some reason I have never grown out of.

And then it's usually time to log in to work, and I won't get chance to write, surf or anything else until lunch.

Well, it works for me. I used to save getting dressed until I'd finished eating and messing around online, but I find I can't write in a dressing gown. My entire writer's routine consists of putting clothes on.

So what's your morning or bedtime routine?

COMING SOON - ADVENT CALENDAR GIVEAWAY

December 1st-25th

Goodies Given Away Every Day Totaling $450

https://ellenmint.blog/advent-calendar/

It’s Christmas every day with this romantic Advent Calendar giveaway. Twenty-Five authors have teamed up to bring you over $450 worth of prizes. Every day another door opens and another giveaway chance for you to win!

Each day, return to the site to click on the calendar and open the door to another fantastic prize. Be swept away this holiday season by gripping romance, pampering treats, cozy gifts, and an amazing offer hidden inside the calendar.

The giveaway is sponsored by these wonderful authors:

Ellen Mint • Jordyn Kross • Caroline Akervik • Wendi Zwaduk • Totally Entwined Group • T. Strange • Katherine Grant • Heather DiAngelis • Tanith Davenport • Liz Paffel • TJ Finn • Melissa McClone • TJ Finn • AE Lister • Elizabeth Cole • S. J. Coles • Lonna Seibert • Aurora Russell • Rianne Thaxton • Tigris Eden • Delta James • V.J. Allison • Monica Barrie • Cynthia Terelst • Sara Ohlin • Jaqueline Snowe

Favourite social media platform and why

 Okay, when I saw this prompt from Long and Short Reviews I felt old. My publisher Totally Bound has been asking for TikTok reviewers recently and I have to admit I never use it - I know people who do, but have never had any interest in it. I also have a personal Instagram but not a writing one, which I probably should sort out sometime. And I have no idea what's going to happen with Twitter.

My favourite social media platform is still Facebook.

Why? 

It's easy to stay connected with people (although I can never figure out the algorithms they use for putting notifications on my feed), it's easy to share my writing, and I'm addicted to hidden-object games. Yes, I admit that - pointless as they are, I love them. I've played all the iterations of Criminal Case, much as my husband rolls his eyes at this.

It also introduced me to SongPop, although I have that on an app now.

So what's your favourite social media platform?

What sci-fi/fantasy book I'd like to visit

 This topic from Long and Short Reviews took some consideration, as I don't read a lot of sci-fi or fantasy, and the few I've read tend to be either dystopian or just gloomy. I loved the "Red Dwarf" novels, for instance, but wouldn't want to be stuck on a mining ship three million years into space. And the "Foundation" series is about a failing society, so not exactly fun.

In the end it was remembering a story I wrote as a teenager that gave me an idea. Though it's thankfully now disappeared, I wrote a futuristic story about a girl who goes to a computer game academy on a different planet, and one scene took place in a dazzling restaurant which was inspired by Douglas Adams' Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

That would be where I would visit. I'm not too bothered about the rest of the planet-hopping in "Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy", but visiting the Restaurant at the End of the Universe would suit me just fine. Maybe not with the talking cow, though - that might be pushing it too far.

So which sci-fi or fantasy book would you like to visit?

Scariest real-life ghost story

 Long and Short Reviews came up with a good topic this week - I'm looking forward to reading everyone else's stories. For me, I've had a few paranormal experiences, but the one I remember best happened when I was eight years old.

I woke up in the middle of the night to a pitch-black room - not surprising at that time - but when I looked over towards the door, I could see a dark figure standing there. For whatever reason I assumed it was a burglar, but I was too scared to scream, so I just stayed in bed and stared at it.

After a moment it started to cross the room towards my bedroom window. As it reached the window, I blurted out "Who are you?" Why I thought it was a good idea to say this to a burglar I have no idea.

It turned around and started approaching my bed, at which point I dived under the covers and screamed for help, at the same time kicking out at it - and hit nothing.

My bedroom door flew open and the light came on, revealing my dad standing in the doorway completely naked. Not the best sight in the world, but at that point I really didn't care. Of course, there was nothing standing beside my bed, nor was there any sign that anything had been in my room at all.

Dad insisted I had been dreaming. I am well aware that when you're half-asleep it's possible to see strange things, but I still say I was wide awake when it happened. 

Whatever it was, I never saw it again.

So what about you?

Do you buy books new or thrift them?

 This topic from Long and Short Reviews was an interesting one, because it took me back to my teenage years. We had a local market which had a bookstall and every week we would be there looking for cheap novels.

My friend was much more into it than me, I have to admit, because most of their stock was Barbara Taylor Bradford or Mills and Boon, neither of which I was really into. However, I did pick up a few while I was there - and donated them back a few weeks later after reading them.

These days it's new all the way. That said, if my current local market has a bookstall, it might be worth a look.

So do you prefer new or thrifted?

Using the library versus buying books

 I really wish I had a different answer for this topic from Long and Short Reviews, because as a child I was always in the library and still consider it a worthwhile thing to have in a city.

But I have to admit, while I own a library card, I haven't been to a library in years. I always have new books lined up on my Kindle and download more samples all the time, so I am definitely in the camp of buying books rather than borrowing them.

I don't even get any royalties from people borrowing mine, because most libraries wouldn't dream of stocking the sort of thing I write (unless it's written by E. L. James, who seems to have a pass). So I'm ashamed to admit I tend to forget libraries are there these days.

Speaking of my own writing, I have a new cover to reveal...

He dominates the charts, but can he dominate her heart?

Pop-rock singer Tamsin Keller likes to dominate, but when she breaks up with her cheating ex-boyfriend, she visits BDSM club Dante’s for another reason—to submit.

Her experience is heightened when she locks eyes with a mysterious stranger, who turns out to be rock star and Dominant Aspen LaRoche. Fascinated by Tamsin, he invites her to his holiday home for the weekend and Tamsin accepts, hoping to discover more about her submissive side.

Aspen proves to be an expert tutor, and Tamsin finds herself addicted to the pleasures he shows her. When Aspen also discovers she is a singer, he offers her band an audition with his recording company, and Tamsin jumps at the chance, knowing he can provide opportunities that she has never had before.

But when Tamsin’s jealous ex reappears in her life, will Tamsin’s career and happiness be over, or will this be the start of something for both her and Aspen?

"The Start of Something" is out on December 27th and I'm looking forward to it already.

So do you prefer buying books or using the library?