Monday 27 August 2012

Fun Facts to kick start your Monday


I’m feeling trivial today. Here are some silly things you might not have known. See if you can give me an answer to number 10.

    1.  The human body produces its own supply of alcohol naturally 24/7.
Hmm, mine must be the exception, which explains my need to give mother nature a regular helping hand. 

2.   The origin of the English world ‘orgasm’ derives from the Greek ‘orgaein’, meaning to swell, to become excited or lustful.

3.  Someone paid $14,000 for the bra Marilyn Monroe wore in some like it hot.

4.  Talking of bras, the average size today is 36C but ten years ago it was apparently 34B.

5.  Your tongue is apparently the only muscle in your body that is attached at only one end.
I can think of another that no man I know would willingly part with.
6.  Jazz fans and gun owners are among the most sexually active people in America.
I totally don’t get that one. What’s the connection between the two groups? More to the point, how do they know this?

7.  According to statistics, Australian women are most likely to have sex on the first date.

8.  It’s impossible for most people to lick their own elbow.
Try it! Go on, I dare you.
  
9.  Fishing is the biggest participant sport in the world.
Probably wouldn’t be if fish had any say in the matter!

10.  Okay, see if you know this one. Which is the world’s best-selling book and also the most shoplifted?

Wendy

Friday 17 August 2012

Topspin


With the US Open just a week away, is this a good time to talk about tennis? Glad you said yes because my latest novel, Topspin, is released by Musa Publishing today.

I ruled the roost at a local tennis club for years in various capacities and as a writer I don’t believe in wasting experiences. Soooo, I invented the Porchfield Country Club on my native Isle of Wight, threw a dichotomy of members into the mix, shook it all up, stood well back and waited for the explosions. The wait was a short one.



Well, you know how it is when just one common interest throws a group of strangers together. There’s always someone out to make trouble, someone else who thinks they know it all, etc. etc. Porchfield is no exception, but I don’t want you to think that I’ve drawn these characters from real life experience. We definitely didn’t have a reformed gangster in our club, and I’m certain we didn’t have respectably married women having affairs with complete strangers…well, not of the ménage variety, anyway. Takeover bids were unheard of, as were mothers of twins running away from their past. Allow me a little fictional licence here, please!

My hero Jack Regent is a tough ex-gangster looking for a quiet life. Women love him, he leaves them, which seems like a perfectly satisfactory arrangement to him. No one will get close to him since his wife Tania, the love of his life, cheated on him. He never expects to see her again, but when their paths cross in the most violent of circumstances, Jack discovers that his feelings haven’t changed, He already knows he’ll do just about anything to keep her safe, even if it costs him his own life. After all, that’s how he lived for years. But re-examining their past relationship and trying to decide if some of the blame might actually rest with him, isn’t so easily accomplished.

Topspin from Musa Publishing. Available now just $1.99
http://bit.ly/OpGQdT

Wendy 

Saturday 11 August 2012

The Next Big Thing



Patricia Preston has tagged me to participate in The Next Big Thing blog challenge.  Here's how it works:

First: Answer the 10 questions below.
Then:  Spread the fun and tag 5 more awesome people to participate.
It's also nice to link back to the person

1.  What is the title of your book / WIP?

“The Sicilian Defence”

2.    Where did the idea of this book come from?

It’s the third in a series I’m writing for Carina Press, following the fortunes of the Forster family. Rob is a serious chess player, the heroine is from Sicily and The Sicilian Defence is a well known defence in chess circles.

3. What genre would your book fall under?

It’s a light Regency romance.

 4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Oh heavens, I don’t know. I’d be a dreadful disappointment to famous people because I hardly ever watch films and wouldn’t recognize Brad Pitt if I passed him in the street!

 5. What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Is Electra a pawn in her government’s power struggle?

 6. Is your book published or represented?

Not published yet. Still being constructed.

7. How long did it take you to write it?

I usually take about three months to write a full length novel.

8. What other books in your genre would you compare it to?

I try not to read other books in the same genre so there’s no cross-contamination.
  
 9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?

I’ve always loved the idea of ladies in beautiful dresses and gents in tight breeches with beautiful manners, in public at least!

 10. Tell us anything else that might pique our interest in your book.

It’s the third part of a family saga and readers get to find out what’s happening to the characters they’ve already met in previous books, as well as getting insights into future stories. I love that sort of thing and hopefully readers will too. The first in the series, Compromising the Marquess, will be published in December by Carina Press.

Wendy

 The Five Awesome Fiction Authors I'm Tagging –

Fenella Miller
Pauline Barclay
Maureen A Miller
Eliza Knight
Shirley Wells

Tuesday 7 August 2012

Would you fly on a plane like this?



Kulula is an Airline with head office situated in Johannesburg . Kulula airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight "safety lecture" and announcements a bit more entertaining.
 Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported:
 On a Kulula flight, (there is no assigned seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced,
"People, people we're not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!"
 ---o0o---
 On another flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot said,
"Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."
 ----o0o---
 On landing, the stewardess said,
"Please be sure to take all of your belongings.. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have."
 ----o0o---
 "There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane."
 ---o0o---
 "Thank you for flying Kulula. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."
 ---o0o---
 As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Durban Airport , a lone voice came over the loudspeaker:
"Whoa, big fella. WHOA!"
 ---o0o--
 After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in the Karoo , a flight attendant on a flight announced,
"Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted."
 ---o0o---
 From a Kulula employee:
"Welcome aboard Kulula 271 to Port Elizabeth . To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised."
 ---o0o---
 "In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are travelling with more than one small child, pick your favorite."
 ---o0o---
 "Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Kulula Airlines."
 ----o0o---
 "Your seats cushions can be used for flotation; and in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments."
 ---o0o---
"As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses.."
 ---o0o---
And from the pilot during his welcome message:
"Kulula Airlines is pleased to announce that we have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"
---o0o—
 Heard on Kulula 255 just after a very hard landing in Cape Town : The flight attendant came on the intercom and said,
"That was quite a bump and I know what y'all are thinking. I'm here to tell you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault, it was the asphalt."
 ---o0o—
 Overheard on a Kulula flight into Cape Town , on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain really had to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to The Mother City. Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what's left of our airplane to the gate!"
 ---o0o—
 Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing: "We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal."
 ---o0o—
 An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, smile, and give them a "Thanks for flying our airline". He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment. Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane. She said,
"Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Why, no Ma'am," said the pilot. "What is it?"
The little old lady said,
"Did we land, or were we shot down?"
 ---o0o—
 After a real crusher of a landing in Johannesburg , the attendant came on with,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Captain Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we will open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal.."
 ---o0o—
 Part of a flight attendant's arrival announcement:
"We'd like to thank you folks for flying with us today.. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube, we hope you'll think of Kulula Airways."
 ---o0o—
 Heard on a Kulula flight:
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing.. If you can light 'em, you can smoke 'em

Wendy