Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “golly gee.” Use “golly gee” or another interjection that displays the same sentiment in your post. Enjoy!
Golly Gee!
Quite the expression to use for how I felt on my way home from work, on Friday evening, when I received a call from someone I know, telling me they had recommended me as an author for them to sign up to their Publishing House!
Apparently, she sent the link to my book to one of the co-founders of the Publishing house, and they loved the sound of Marriage Unarranged, and the future titles to follow!
Now, I’m not holding my breath, because I need to see what the deal is, but Golly Gee, indeed!
How’s your week been? I’m sure it’s been hectic, if it’s been anything like mine. Well, it’s time for my Guest Writer Spot, so sit back and enjoy an entertaining story from the lovely Ritu Bhathal.
Where do the Colours Come From?
By
Ritu Bhathal
“Oh, Matty, not again!” I placed my cup of tea on the dining table and hand on hips, tried to send a look of stern disappointment to my child.
I’d only popped into the kitchen to flick the kettle on, leaving the mischievous three-year-old for a moment.
Yes, that minute was a little longer, as I chose my mug for the day and dropped a teabag in, ready for my morning cuppa.
Oh, then I had to load the tumble dryer with the wet clothes I’d forgotten to decant from the washing machine last night. Praying they wouldn’t have that awful damp smell…
There are some people who you know, without a second glance, that you are going to be happy to help, and one of those, for me, in Lizzie Chantree.
Now, we haven’t met IRL, but have been social media compadres for a good couple of years, and I have read a few of her books, including her non-fiction, Networking For Writers. I’ve also been a member of her Facebook writing group, where she is a constant source of motivation.
Now, our busy Lizzie has got a new release out… on November 23rd, and it sounds like it will be a wonderful read!
A gorgeous romantic story of love and new beginnings. Learning to love herself and be content on her own is the first step. But will Olivia be able to leave her past behind, follow her heart and find lasting happiness? A read full of humour, romance and tear-jerking reality, from international bestselling author, Lizzie Chantree.
Here’s the blurb!
The Woman Who Felt Invisible
Have you ever felt invisible? Working as a stationery supervisor and a sitter to a pair of internet famous, delinquent dogs, wasn’t how former cyber-specialist, Olivia, imagined her life turning out. Working in a tiny cubicle with a decrepit computer and being overlooked had suited her for a while, but now she’s fed up, lonely and determined to make the world ‘see’ her again. Old school friend, Darius, wants to fill Olivia’s days with romance, but their love of technology has taken them on very different paths. Gorgeous undercover policeman Gabe, is steadfast in finding out if Olivia was part of an online scam, but something doesn’t feel right and he suspects someone else was manipulating her life. Can love blossom from the most deceptive of starts? And can someone who feels lost, find a way to flourish against all odds?
Lizzie has been kind enough to provide an extract from the book for you to peruse:
This was it. This was Olivia Tenby’s life, now. This was how low she had come. At the age of forty-one, she was sweating her guts out in a house that felt like a furnace, babysitting two delinquent Labradoodle dogs called Bertie and Belle, while their owners swanned around getting even richer somewhere else. Wiping her palms across her face, feeling glad she’d discarded her top so that she couldn’t drip on it, she pressed a button. Music blared out of speakers set into the ceiling. This house had everything – lights that came on when you spoke to them, a vacuum cleaner that tripped you over while it scurried along the floor of its own accord, and a fridge that dispensed perfectly shaped ice cubes into crystal glasses.
Olivia looked around furtively for a moment, and then laughed and decided to go for it. Her job as dog sitter extraordinaire had begun two weeks ago. She’d been told to entertain the excitable animals in any way she could think of, as they were naughty and destroyed everything while the owners were out – which they always were. Olivia hadn’t even met them, which was baffling. They left her notes with instructions on how to stop the dogs eating the walls and making a mess of the thick pile carpets. She actually quite liked the job, it was as easy as walking in a straight line. Then she thought about how wobbly she always was after three vodka and cokes, and quickly pushed that picture aside. The dogs were bored and, although her job included giving the house a cursory swipe with a duster, it was always immaculate when she arrived. Something was a bit weird, though, as the place was incredibly hot. The dogs liked to slobber all over her, making her even hotter. So she’d taken to stripping off as soon as she sat down with the pooches, otherwise she’d probably pass out and be found weeks later, mummified in dog hair.
Here’s a little more about Lizzie, and her all-important buy links and social media links, too.
International bestselling author and award-winning inventor, Lizzie Chantree, started her own business at the age of 18 and became one of Fair Play London and The Patent Office’s British Female Inventors of the Year in 2000. She discovered her love of writing fiction when her children were little and now works as a business mentor and runs a popular networking hour on social media, where creatives can support to each other. She writes books full of friendship and laughter, that are about women with unusual and adventurous businesses, who are far stronger than they realise. She lives with her family on the coast in Essex.
Book links: Lizzie Chantree. Universal book buy link: The little ice cream shop: viewbook.at/IceCreamShopByTheSea Universal book buy link: Networking for writers: viewbook.at/NetworkingForWriters Universal book buy link: If you love me, I’m yours: viewbook.at/IfYouLoveMe-ImYours Universal book buy link: Ninja School Mum: viewbook.at/NinjaSchoolMumRomance Universal book buy link: Babe Driven: viewbook.at/BabeDriven Universal book buy link: Love’s Child: viewBook.at/Amazon-LovesChild Universal book buy link: Finding Gina: viewbook.at/FindingGina Shh… It’s Our Secret: https://www.bhcpress.com/Books_Chantree_Shh_Its_Our_Secret.html The woman who felt invisible: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09J98F32J
Social media links: Website: www.lizziechantree.com
Well, hello there, Peeps! How are you? I may sound full of beans, but they aren’t highly caffeinated, if that is the case, so energy is still pretty low, but…
Are you ready with your drink?
If we were having chai I’d tell you that school is still here… I have to admit, there were moments I thought we weren’t going to manage, but with a couple of our SEND pupils off sick, it made the classroom a much calmer place. Never in a million years, would I wish ill on anyone, especially a child, but this really highlighted how much of a difference having these children in our provision makes. The average child was granted so much more attention, and I was able to jump in and do some spur of the moment interventions with some of the children who really need them. There has been staffing ups and downs across the school, too, which means that adult wise, we were robbing Peter to pay Paul, adult wise. Not easy, but we coped. I wasn’t in on the Friday, but couldn’t help keeping an eye on what was happening, as it was Children in Need, and the children were dressing up. Had I been in, I would have been dressing up as Pudsey, as per usual! The next thing now, is trying to decide what we are doing as a Nativity! I do love Christmas at school!
If we were having chai I’d mention another thing, school related. Apparently we have a ghost! The building is over 200 years old, built in Victorian times, and there has been sightings of a white figure, but a few people, over the years. The part of the school we are based in is the original building, and below, in the basement, there is even an original Victorian stove! But, back to last week. My nursery teacher was in the Nursery at lunchtime, and he heard a funny noise from the small storage cupboard we have there, which has a staircase leading to the basement level. He heard knocking! And when he asked a ‘spirit’ to show a sign they were there, something fell down! Eek! And another member of staff was in the toilet, and someone knocked on the door. She hurried and opened the door, and no one was there! Double Eek!
If we were having chai I’d say that, aside from school we had a special week, at home, as it was our twentieth anniversary. This was the reason for my day off on Friday. We celebrated with a lovely meal, and exchanged wonderful gifts, too. I got a specially commissioned piece of art for us, and he got me a car! (Along with flowers, and chanpagne for me, and a coffee machine for him!)
If we were having chai I’d update you on Project House. The handyman was in, again. Blinds are all done. Yay! Amazon failed witha deliver of a curtain pole and bathroom heater, so that will be next week. Security cameras done. So pretty successful, I’d say!
If we were having chai I’d also tell you that Pops had an operation on Thursday, too, for a very severe hernia. He will need another op after this, but thankfully the first appears to have been successful. We also had a funeral within the family on Friday, (not in this country) so there was a lot of emotion, up and down, all through the week…
If we were having chai I’d say that I found a new yummy treat from the makers of Jaffa Cake… Jaffa Cake Donuts, or Jonuts!
If we were having chai I’d share with you that Sonu Singh has been unhappy with us, for cutting his food down a little, but it’s for his own good! However, he still wakes us early, to miaow for his brekkie!
Reflecting the slightly greying hair, now, with an updated Bitmoji!
This week will be a little busy, with one member of staff isolating. I am lucky to have such a great team, and they have all already got set to chip in, to ensure the children have the least disruption to their week! We also have a twilight, which is when we have to stay until 6pm for training, on one evening. And Sonu is having his heart check, today (Monday) so we are a little nervous… Other than that, life is pretty much the same as usual… And I’ll be back on Monday to let you know!
And while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!
“And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you.”
Kiersten White, The Chaos of Stars
Thanks, Spidey, for another lovely, apt quote.
If you read Thursday’s blog, you’ll know that Hubby Dearest and I celebrated our twentieth anniversary, this week.
We went out for dinner on the day, with our grumpy teens, and I had Friday off, so we could spend time together. After a lovely surprise from him (more below), we popped to Bluewater for a little amble around and something to eat, before heading off to the in-laws to pick up the kids.
It wasn’t anything spectacular in the form of what we did, but just time together was wonderful.
Now, the surprises… so, I know gifting isn’t the be-all and end-all of a celebration, but it is lovely to be spoiled, and I think (hope!) we both were, in our own ways!
I commissioned artist Inkwisitive to create a piece of artwork from one of our favourite images from our wedding, for my present to Hubby Dearest. The children clubbed together with me to get Daddy a coffee machine that he wanted.
And him?
Well, that man excelled himself! On Thursday, I was gifted some pink champagne and a bouquet of roses so big I could barely hold it, and needed three vases at least, to hold them! Then on Friday, a delivery arrived, in the shape of a new (to me) car! The country roads, and driving in inclement weather is only going to get tougher, and he wanted to upgrade my current ride for a safer one.
See, I told you. Spoilt, rotten! I never married him for material gain. That has never been important to me. But he really does spoil me, and treat me like a queen.
I love him so, so much. Always and Forever, my love 💜
P.S. I really don’t need gifts, only him…
So, have you celebrated any big anniversaries? If so, how did you mark them?
But I Smile Anyway... 
