A unique talent I have

 This topic from Long and Short Reviews was an interesting one. My husband would probably say my most unique talent is the ability to make a mess and not notice, a talent I share with my two cats. While he has a point there, it's probably not that unique. In fact, I'm struggling to think of one that truly is.

The one thing that I did think of was related to my day job as an admin. I have a gift for organisation. I am very good at arranging meetings, having all the paperwork in order, planning residentials. And something that for some reason seemed to floor people I had meetings with - I could always anticipate them. 

What that last means in real terms is that somebody would be holding forth on a particular topic and would need a particular document to prove their point. At the moment they needed it they would turn to me to ask for it and I would already be holding it out for them. Apparently people don't realise just how predictable they can be in these situations - or maybe it was just that I had been reading their paperwork for ages and knew it inside out.

So what unique talent do you have?

What mythological animal I'd want as a pet

 I skipped last weeks' Long and Short Reviews topic as I don't listen to podcasts, but this one interested me. I've always liked the idea of having an unusual pet. Growing up I had fish, which were pretty but not especially entertaining, and now I have cats whose primary function is making a mess.

So for a mythological creature, I like the idea of a unicorn. Let's face it, it's basically a horse with a horn, so shouldn't be that complicated to take care of. I used to help a friend with her horse as a child and it was fairly straightforward, although probably expensive. If I was really lucky I'd like one crossbred with a pegasus so I could go flying on its back whenever the mood took me.

Since that's never going to happen, I'm going to put in a mention of one of my favourite Instagram animals, Alfie the Alpaca in Adelaide, because he is also an animal I would love to have. While you would probably be shocked to see a unicorn in my back garden, would you be any less shocked to see an alpaca?

So what mythological animal would you like?

Cover reveal!

 Today I am very happy to reveal the cover for my upcoming novella "Hyperventilating". It's the first book in the "Rock My World" series and will be out on pre-order on May 10th.

With her, he can reach the stars – but can she reach his heart?

Amber Blake is fleeing a terrible betrayal in her past by touring with rock band Puppetmaster as a make-up artist with her best friend Elyse. Knowing the band is struggling, she hopes to use her make-up skills to reinvent their image, but when a member of the crew drops out, Amber finds herself asked to contribute in a different way – in the form of heated sexual conversations with hot lead singer Cassian Marsh to put him in top form before every concert.

Despite her past, Amber is unable to resist Cassian’s charm and raw energy, and enjoys knowing she can drive him wild with just her voice – but their increasingly passionate meetings leave her longing for more. Can she move past the betrayal she suffered – and can she convince a man as commitment-phobic as Cassian to break his no-dating rule and let her into his heart?

Something lucky that happened to me

 This topic from Long and Short Reviews was a tough one. My first thought was about winning something, and to be honest I am not a person who wins things. I once won a prize in a bingo game for being the only person in the room not to have had a single number called off their ticket, so needless to say I am not a "lucky" person.

I did manage to win a prize a few months ago which was pretty impressive - it involved a free trip to Go Ape, a year's free bus travel in Yorkshire and a £100 bar tab at a bar in Otley. I haven't bothered with the Go Ape voucher, but I can't complain about the bus pass or the afternoon we spent getting drunk on orange wine.

Other than that, the only thing I can think of as lucky is my writing. I have had the good fortune to be published by publishers who love my writing and who recently offered me a three-book deal. The first in the series, Hyperventilating, will be out on 21st June and I can't wait to unleash it on the world.

In fact, I have a partial cover to reveal today.

So what lucky things have happened to you?

Book setting you'd like to visit and why

 This topic from Long and Short Reviews was a tough one. I read a lot of historicals which, much as I enjoy them, don't tend to be settings I would actually want to visit. The royal court may have been attractive in Henry VIII's time but you could still catch a raging case of the sweat.

The setting I eventually came up with was from a short story of Isaac Asimov's called "Gold". 

Why? It's set in a time where films can be made using perfect CGI and heavy subliminal imagery to add depth to the performance. In the first half of the story our lead character is working on the perfect version of "King Lear". I would absolutely value being able to experience Shakespeare in an era where filmed performances could be enhanced that way.

So where would you like to visit?

Tell us something about a pet

 Like a lot of pet owners, I could talk about mine all day. The difficult part is deciding what exactly to tell. My two cats Dash and Spot are a bonded pair (a brother and sister duo) and absolutely inseparable.

This is about as happy as Dash ever gets. She is extremely moody and is just as likely to claw you as she is to accept stroking. She will never be a lap cat, but when she's in the right mood she loves to be petted on her head and at the base of her tail. She is also extremely skittish and has never left our garden, not even to follow her brother.

Spot is our little house panther; he loves to roam the neighbourhood and often brings random food items home to eat (I would love to know which of our neighbours routinely leaves a carcass of chicken out for him to steal). He likes to sit on my lap while I work, which is adorable if inconvenient to type round his head.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing everyone else's pets.

Favourite book genre and why

 You might reasonably think that because I'm an erotic romance writer, my favourite genre would be erotic romance, or maybe just romance in general. It's certainly true that I enjoy romance, erotic or otherwise, and I'm always open to reading a new one. You might also think that because I love horror films I would love horror novels. However, when I have spare time, I have other favourite genres I turn to.

For fiction, I'm a great fan of historicals. I'm particularly keen on Anne O'Brien and Philippa Gregory, although I tend to stick to the ones based on true stories - I'm less keen on alternative histories. I like to look up the true history behind each story as I'm reading it, since I'm well aware that as writers we have some license to elaborate.

As for non-fiction, I love biographies and autobiographies. I've read a lot of the autobiographies of the cast of "Little House on the Prairie" and quite a lot of other actors too, such as Burt Reynolds and Miriam Margolyes. I also discovered the writer Gavin Maxwell through a very well-written biography by Douglas Botting, which was impressive considering I knew nothing about him before picking it up.

I think I just love reading about people, past and present, and finding out the truth about them. I'm currently working through some new biographies of the Bronte sisters and those are always fascinating as opinions change year after year.

So what are your favourite genres?