Five star reviews!

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So excited by the five star reviews that are coming in for Greed. Thanks to everyone who took the time to leave a review. I really appreciate it. If you have a minute, and have read the book, would you also mind leaving a review on Amazon? Every single one matters and it’ll help get my book further up the charts. Thanks.

Right, now that’s done, on to the blog. How are you today? Hope you’re all hail and hearty. Me? Well, I’ve been busy cranking up my social media for my writing and for Greed. It’s tiring, I can tell you, but I’m already seeing more people beginning to follow me and I got some more book sales, so that’s great. I haven’t gone viral on Tik Tok (yet, fingers crossed) but you never know.  If there’s anything you’d like to see me put up on social media (for instance, answering authorly questions), then comment on this post or email me on dawn@danelsonauthor.com or DM me on my author page on Facebook, which is D A Nelson Author.

So, we’ve been basking in sunshine lately in Scotland and it’s been nice, but too hot. I’ve had to have a fan running  all night in my room because it’s so hot in the room and my poor elderly pug, Bonya, gets too hot and pants… loudly. The fan seems to work though and we can all get a rest. The last couple of days, however, the weather has become pretty overcast and wet. Torrential rain yesterday, but it was good as the plants needed a good watering.

What’s been happening? I’ve gotten around 30,000 words written of my next book, Envy, which is due out in November. I’ve also got a short story due for an anthology in October and I’ve signed up for a different series next year. I also want to write my historical fantasy steampunk series. I have started it, I have notes, but I really need to finish my other projects and get on to it. I’m very excited about it. There are another two books I have finished, but not polished, in my computer and I’d love to get those out too. Busy, busy, busy.

What I’ve been watching… I’ve become addicted to Help! We Bought a Village which is a series about people who’ve bought rundown villages in rural France and Portugal and are redeveloping them. I love programmes like this.

I’m also feeling bereft having binge watched The Sandman series, which I loved. What a series. I was hooked.  However, the prequel to Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, starts next Monday at 2am. I CANNOT WAIT!! You all know I’m a huge fan of Game of Thrones and this new series will hopefully be as great.

I’ve also been watching (again) my guilty tv watching secrets, which are Father Brown and Murdoch Mysteries. I love a good mystery, especially if it’s set in the past, and these two are just fab. They give me a lovely hour of gentle murder! 😉

Right, I’m going to love you and leave you. Til next time,

Dawnx

Cover reveal for my next book

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Hello! How are you all? Hope you’re having a good week. I’ve been working away on my next novel in the Sisters of Sin series. This one is about an assassin whose codename is Envy. Her real name is Izzy, she’s Scottish and a bit of a hard-nut. She’s got a small farm on a mountain overlooking Loch Lomond where she provides a home for various waifs and strays. Anyway, I think I’ve given you enough for now, you’ll have to wait for the book to come out to learn any more.

So, what have I been up to apart from telling Izzy’s story? I’ve been having fun putting up videos on my Tik Tok account (@danelson70). There was one where I duetted with Beaubull, it was hilarious, but you’ll have to go over to my Tik Tok account to see it.

Myself and the boy did a fair bit of walking this week with the two younger dogs. We walked around a local beauty spot called Ardmore Point. When I say we walked around, I actually mean we got more than halfway there when stopped to have a snack and a drink.  Then I realised I had lost my car keys so we were retracing our steps when I found they had slipped through a hole in my jacket pocket and were inside the jacket. Phew. It was good though as we met a friend of mine I hadn’t seen for a while. She was walking with her dog and her daughter, so we had a fab catch-up.

Yesterday, we took the dogs up Ben Bouie, which is a local mountain. We got most of the way there, but it was really hot and we were all suffering so we stopped for lunch and to give the dogs some water. We stopped at a point overlooking Loch Lomond and it was just lovely. We were both exhausted last night. My son normally goes to his bed after midnight, but he was fast asleep by 9pm.  😉

A week tomorrow, this beauty launches. This is the third book in the Sisters of Sin series and is by the fantastic Sofia Aves. I just love Sofia’s writing and this book is amazing. Get it here:  https://books2read.com/sos3/https://books2read.com/sos3/

Right that’s me for just now. I’m just about to go and make tonight’s dinner. So, until next time,

Dawn xx

 

Summer flowers, happy reading and not being able to get into the garden

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Hi there! How are you? Hope you’re all well. Today I am not going to bombard you with stuff about Greed. Nope, today, I’m having a rest from all the madness of a book launch and doing a proper blog post. Today’s blog theme is wild flowers near me. The pictures are those I took last week during a dog walk and they are of lovely wild flowers I found and thought were pretty enough to be shown.

 

So, as you can imagine, I’ve been deep in getting my book out, so not much else has happened. My son stopped school for the school holidays. They get just over six weeks’ holidays here in Scotland and he’s bored already. Sigh. We’re not going on holiday this year as we don’t have the cash, but hopefully next year. Fingers crossed.  It doesn’t matter because where we live is so beautiful that it feels like a holiday most days anyway.

When I haven’t been making social media posts and other stuff to promote my writing business and others, I’ve been reading and watching tv. I am so pleased to see Miss Scarlet and the Duke is back on.  I love that series. It’s my little pleasure in a world that’s gone crazy recently. I try not to be affected by all the price rises in the UK and the fact our government are so incompetent (and crashing and burning as we speak – surely Boris will do the honourable thing and finally leave!), and I do this by watching nice safe programmes that take my mind off it.  I’ve also caved and paid for Starz so I can watch the sixth series of Outlander. I am not happy about this. I pay a lot already for Prime, so why can’t I see my programme on it instead of having to pay extra. Anyway, loving the new series.

Books I have been reading. Well, I have been reading and absolutely LOVING Vanity, which is the first book in our romantic suspense series and is by my pal Terry Wells Brown. It is brilliant. Her writing reminds me of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books: it’s got that strong female lead, lots of leg quivering sex and some great humour. And her hero, Juan Carlos…phew! fans face  I’m not just saying this to encourage you guys to buy the book, I’m saying it because I genuinely love this book, but Buy Vanity. It’s fab.  I’m nearly finished it. Haven’t had the time or energy to read it over the last few days, but tonight I will (with a saddened heart because I’ll have completed it) finish it.

I will then have the absolute pleasure of choosing which book to read next. It often can take a while – I have so many in my tbr pile!

Other things I have been doing. I recently got back into baking. I don’t know what tripped the baking mania off, but I made three loaves of bread. The brown loaves did not turn out at all…I think the packs must have been out of date or something. The white loaf was amazing. I made the equivalent of four small loaves into one mega loaf and after kneading it with my mixer, I hand kneaded it and then let it rise twice before bunging it in the oven. The house smelled heavenly. I wish I could have taken a picture of this loaf, it was huge. Once baked and cooled, I cut it up and put three-quarters of the slices in the freezer (because, as you know, fresh baked bread does not last) and myself and the boy chomped into the rest. Delicious.

I’m dying to get back out into the garden. I have plans for it, but it has been so miserable here in the west coast over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been unable to do much in it. I have painted my bench a lovely blue – I’ll take pics on the first dry day we have – and I want to spray paint some plant pots to match in with my blue theme. I cleared a patch of the garden of brambles (wild blackberries) and got scratched to pieces. I bloody hate brambles, they are the bane of my life in this garden. They are so invasive. The side of the house is packed with them and that is on my to-do list. I also need to build my raised beds and clear the side patio area. There’s a lot to do and I will get back into it soon I hope.

Right, I’m going to finish up here. It’s nearly 1pm as I write this and my tummy is telling me it’s lunchtime! Till next time!

Dawn xxx