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Well, hello, how are you? All well I hope. I haven’t written a long post for a wee while and it’s because I have been really busy writing, doing repair jobs around the house (they are never ending), decorating my bedroom (pale blue, it’s lovely) and preparing for a small house party last weekend.

With regards to the small house party last weekend, I had some family, close friends and a couple of neighbours around as a kind of extension house warming. I themed it on Alice in Wonderland (hence the figurines and pics of flowers) and spent three days making food for it. By the Saturday, I was exhausted even before one guest had arrived, but once they all started coming and the wine flowed, I got my second wind and had a fab time. The buffet went down well, we had music on so there was dancing, it was nice enough for some to sit outside and when it got dark my dad lit the fire pit. It was a great night and I’d like to thank everyone who came and for all their gifts and  good wishes.

I’ve also been working with my editor, the lovely Graham, to finish the final draft of Dusting Down Alcudia. I am now in the process of hiring an artist to do the front cover and have three quotes to look at already. I am looking to launch the book in November.

***HERE’S WHERE YOU CAN HELP*** I am looking for avid readers who would like a free Advance Reader’s Copy of Dusting Down Alcudia. All I ask for in return is you give an honest review on sales sites such as Amazon. I am currently gathering names just now and if you would like to be included, please contact me at: danelsonauthor@gmail.com

So why read the book? Well, let me tell you about it…

When top archaeologist Nina Esposito finds a famed treasure hunters’ journal, she knows it will lead her to a long-lost Roman necklace.

But when an ex and a rival archaeologist come on the scene, things don’t go quite to plan as the pair battle out for the right to her heart. Added to the mix is the shady character of a local billionaire who will stop at nothing to snatch the jewels from under her nose.

Now she has to navigate through her confused feelings and concentrate on finding the necklace before anyone else does. Failure just isn’t an option.

Fancy reading the book for FREE in return for your honest opinion? Then send me your name and email address to: danelsonauthor@gmail.com

So what else has been happening? Well, our wee pug Bonya has another lump, this time on her stomach. Because she had cancer last year, we had to get it removed and it’s being sent to a lab to find out if it’s cancer or not. Hopefully it’ll be the latter. The poor wee mite is snoozing on the sofa as I write. She’s all woozy and spaced out. Hopefully she’ll be back to near normal tomorrow. She is currently sporting one of those plastic head cones and looks hysterical. The operation went well so we’re expecting her to make a full recovery.

What I am reading at the moment. Well, I was lucky enough to pop along to Gill Sims‘ book launch of her latest hilarious book Why Mummy Swears. For any of you who don’t know Gill, she’s the blogger who brought us the incredibly funny Peter and Jane blog and the Sunday Times’ best sellerWhy Mummy Drinks. This is the sequel and it’s great. Good luck with the book Gill. PS was delighted to get my copy signed!! PPS was also very excited to meet Judgy Dog in person. He’s a lovely wee thing.

The kids went back to school yesterday. I bought the boy’s school shoes on Monday. Talk about cutting it fine this year? I did organise getting all their uniform at the beginning of July, though so my late buying of shoes is kind of cancelled out in the ‘being a bad mum stakes’. And what did mum do when her beloved offspring went off to school? Well I met the aforementioned lovely Graham (my editor) for lunch to talk Dusting Down Alcudia (for about ten minutes) and other books/authors (including the Brontes who we both love, for about two hours). We went to Café Andaluz and had a lovely time eating and talking.

So, there you are, that’s been what’s happening (-ish) over the last two weeks. Of course, more has been happening, but I am sure you don’t want to know about all the housework and dog walking and talking to other dog walkers (for ages, much to the dogs’ disgust) that I have been doing.  😉

Right, I am off to make dinner tonight. I have no idea what I am going to make. Haven’t had time to do a menu for this week yet. Sigh.

Til next time.

Dawn xx