And just to show I can procrastinate my way around tax returns just as super-inefficiently as I can around my writing, I was happily off trawling websites for – well, anything really, that would take my mind of said overdue taxes and a bazillion receipts from last year’s overseas adventure. Blissfully, I found this!

It’s tiny I know, but procrastinate by hook or by crook, I could not find a bigger picture of the cover, but I did find this, a delicious title, Lovers in Crete, and discovered it’s my very first published book, The Greek Boss’s Demand, now available in Manga!

And to go with such a delicious title, I think we need a delicious blurb – here is is, courtesy of Google Translate…

“Alex opened the door to my office first suspected. Black hair and imposing appearance in front of your eyes … Certainly Nick Santos.Goodbye cruel and resurrection every day is spent nine years ago in Crete, Alex’s chest tightened. But he should have moved the imperial family’s home in Greece. Wonder why Sydney real estate companies are in something. The answer is found soon. It came as a successor of the late president. It impossible to work under him at Nantes. Datte, since it is known there is not a secret.”

Sigh. They really don’t write them like that any more:-))

It’s 2012! How did that happen? I hope 2012 is a good year for all my readers.

2011 ended with a bang for me. In the midst of Christmas preparations and a visit from my sister who lives overseas, I was hunkered down finishing and then revising my latest manuscript, book two of a duo my editor has called, Desert Brothers: Bound by duty, undone by passion. I love that tag line! Book one is called, Duty and the Beast, (a title I came up with and that stuck – yay!) and will be out in May in the UK. And book two, which got accepted just shy of new year’s eve, is entitled, The Sheikh’s Last Gamble, out in Modern in August. The duo will be coming out as back to back releases in Presents around September/October, so not that long to wait!

And even more excitement, because The Sheikh’s Last Gamble is my 25th title with Harlequin! That’s not all full length stories, there’s a couple of novellas and a free on-line read in that line up, but I’m chuffed to have reached such a milestone. I think I might finally be getting the hang of this gig:-)

Just before the excitement of Christmas and visitors and screaming deadlines, the family actually managed to sneak away a few days down the south coast, to a little town I love called Port Elliot. Gorgeous beaches – one a fabulous surf beach where the southern ocean rolls in and crashes on the rock strewn shore, the other a protected swimming beach called Horseshoe Bay, a favourite with families as it’s more protected. For the first time we took our dog, Chino with us. Chino is ten years old now and has a history of car sickness which she’s only recently started getting over (at last!), so finally she’s been able to join us at the beach. She wasn’t too sure of that white frothy wet stuff, but boy, did she love the sand. Here’s a couple of shots of her having a game with a ball she found in the sand and playing chicken with the waves. She loved it!

It’s a shame she’s taken so long to overcome her car sickness but I’m glad she’s on the way. I don’t think, after this, she’ll want to be left home again.

She’s sitting outside my study window right now, wanting to be let in, so that’s probably a good time to actually hit post and get the first blog for 2012 up. I hope it’s a good year for you all!

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible…

The Colosseum and the Palatine Hill took the best part of a day, and the National Museum of Rome took another. I wish we’d had a week to spend in this fabulous city. Here’s pics of the Colosseum and a couple from the Palatine Hill. Museum up next!

I’m not really sure why that last one captured my attention, but it did:-))

More from Tuscany and the beautiful mountain region around Fivizzano soon!

It is a very long way!!

But it is worth it! Here’s a few snaps…

More soon!

Currently in Singapore, soon to be in London. Stay tuned!