“The heat index is somewhere between OMG! and WTF!”
~Anon~
You’re telling me, Spidey.
Wow. It is hot.
We thought we might get a very warm August, which I can cope with, as we are on summer holiday. You choose what you do and how you dress.
Instead, we had much cooler temperatures and even many days of rain.
Then, the week we start back to school, the Gods decide it would be a great time to turn the temperature dial.
Fabulous.
The week we had home visits, we spent walking the streets, from house to house, in very warm temperatures, and as I sit here typing this, they are still pretty high.
I know they don’t hit the heights of some countries, but the heat in the UK is of another level.
Humid, uncomfortable heat.
We aren’t really prepared for any extreme weather conditions here. A few flakes of snow, and the country comes to a standstill… And the buildings aren’t equipped as standard with A/C so we suffer in the heat, too, in houses with insulation to keep us warm in the winter…
Lil Man is playing in a cricket tournament today, too; poor thing. I think there will be lots of water consumed!
Meanwhile, I sit here and melt… I believe it ends in a day or so… (Thank goodness!)
So, Peeps, how do you cope with extreme or unexpected hot weather? 😊
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “mostly/at least.” Use one, use ’em both, use ’em any way you’d like. Bonus points if they both appear in your post. Enjoy!
This week was spent, mostly, traipsing around in the heat on home visits for our new children.
At least the ones we met seemed to be a lovely bunch!
Roll on the beginning of this academic year and the joy of beginning that start of school-readiness training… all over again!
Every year, it feels like we will never get these kids to the next stage.
Every year, we work our fingers to the bone to give children opportunities to grow, learn and flourish.
Every year, we wave a teary goodbye to them, proud of what they achieved.
Every year, we forget where they started… and get reminded of it in September with the new cohorts.
There are times when it feels like we won’t cope, but we always manage in the end, and it is a wonderful reminder of what we do with these children when their next year’s teachers come to us and say how well they have settled.
It is, in no small part, due to the work my nursery and reception team put into getting them school-ready!
Today, I have a lovely visitor to my Book & A Brew with Ritu segment, and that is Jodie Homer, talking about all things writing and her newest release, Married By Thirty.
Hello, and welcome to But I Smile Anyway,Jodie! Let’s get you set with a drink, first. Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, or maybe a masala chai?
Hello Ritu
Ooh, I wouldn’t say no to a hot chocolate, especially with cream. Yummy.
Love a bit of whipped cream! I can offer you some homemade pakoras, but I also a Victoria sponge, freshly baked by my daughter! What’s your preference?
I could take some pakoras right now thank you.
So, could you tell me a bit about your journey to becoming a published author, Jodie?
I love this question, I’ve always loved writing and reading, and I wish I had started a bit sooner, but I started writing with a little idea after joining the chick lit group and came up with my first novel Raindrops on the Umbrella Cafe. I have learnt so much since I started with editing and writing I feel like I’m finally getting it now.
It’s amazing what you pick up as you go along, isn’t it? I think, having self-published my first book, before being signed, I have a different way of thinking about the whole process.
Do you have a favourite out of the books you have published so far?
Is it bad to have a favourite? Of course not! Is it like having a favourite child? Erm, kinda. But we all have one! I do have a favourite but ssh, don’t tell the others. A Magical Christmas on the Isle of Skye is my favourite. My two main characters Emilia and Harry are my favourite couple.
I know you are busy, like me, juggling childcare and work with trying to write. Do you have a special place where you do all your creating and writing?
I wish I had an office to write but unfortunately, I write where I can so in bed or on the sofa with the remote next to me and a snack on the other side.
That was me, too, before we moved and I was able. to have my own room!Old habits die hard though, and I can still be found with my laptop in bed!
Why romance? And why Scotland?
I’ve always loved romance novels. I am the most hopeless romance there probably ever was and I love happily ever after. The myths of Scotland came before the towns the books are set in. I research the myth and base the book on that town. I’ve never been so I spend a lot of time on Google Maps.
Google Maps is a godsend, isn’t it?
Let’s get back to your latest release, Married by Thirty. Two friends with a pact, that gets thrown off course because of a haunted house. Was this storyline based upon any real myths?
Yes, it is. It’s not the clearest myth. Basically, the manor house is real and the myth is the earl’s (not duke’s) wife dies and the earl locks the door of the manor house, and there are all sorts of rumours as to what happened to the wife so I basically rewrote it but added in Freya and James.
The friends-to-lovers trope is quite a big one. Is that a trope you enjoy to read, too?
Yes! I absolutely adore the friends-to-lovers trope I love the history of characters and their feelings. When i was in year 7 I got together with my best friend and we stayed together through the whole of secondary school.
Have you ever had any experience of ghosts or hauntings?
No, I haven’t, but I absolutely loved writing any scene with Dahlia in there. She is actually my favourite character. I wish I had a more interesting haunting story to tell, but I don’t. Never say never!
I know you have another book lined up for release soon, too. Care to share any details about that?
I do. I have a Christmas book called A Village Called Christmas, out in November. It’s about a character called Holly who loves Christmas, and she runs away from her cheating boyfriend to a village called Christmas where all of the characters have Christmassy names, and it’s like a Hallmark Christmas movie where the male character Joseph’s family may or may not be the real Santa Claus.
Sign me up already! That sounds fantastic! Peeps, already another one to add to your TBR piles!
Thank you so much for visiting me here on my blog, Jodie! We’ll have to do it again, soon!
Thank you so much for having me today. 😊
The Blurb
Almost fourteen years ago, Freya and James made a pact to marry if they were both single at thirty. When Freya inherits Mulberry Manor and its rumoured ghost, she returns home and enlists James’ help in figuring out the truth behind the ‘haunted house’. But it’s not just the house that is being a little weird. Can James and Freya figure out the mystery of Dahlia Mulberry without the spark between them setting both their lives on fire? And now they’re both thirty… when the clock strikes midnight, will they really put a ring on it?
Freya arrives back in her hometown on the Isle of Skye after a bout of bad luck. She wishes she’d never moved away to chase her dreams. Instead, she is back, having inherited a supposedly haunted manor house, and back in the midst of her best friends, including Jamie. Jamie, who she also shared a pact with about getting married to each other if they were still unmarried by thirty. Jamie, who was her first love. But, before she can think about her love life, there are some more pressing issues at play in her new house… Issues that begin to make Freya question the one relationship she thought was solid. I loved Dahlia Mulberry, an extra special character, who I don’t want to talk about too much, but I almost wish there were another book detailing her story … hint, hint! A quick, fun read with a haunting mystery to solve. Married by Thirty is the second book in the series For The Love Of A Scottish Myth.
About the Author
Jodie lives in a small village in Solihull with her husband and two children. She loves nothing more than dancing around embarrassingly to 90s music and eating mint chocolate. Jodie enjoys reading and writing books full of romance and swoon-worthy fictional men.
If we were having chai, I would say that we had a hectic, but lovely last week of holidays. I even baked bread! And made a lovely Vegetable and bean soup to go with it. I feel like a domestic goddess!
If we were having chai, I’d say that it was Rakhri on Wednesday, so the brother and sister in my household had their little ceremony. I spoke to my brother and then went to my brother-in-law to tie his Rakhi, as I do every year.
If we were having chai, I’d tell you that I have read up a storm this month, especially since I haven’t been able to write. I finally reached the end of my ARC pile (for now) and began reading books on my Kindle or my physical TBR pile. I started with two books that have been hyped up so much. Have you read them? They weren’t bad, but worthy of all the hype? I am not so sure…
If we were having chai, I’d sigh and say I was back in school on Friday. It was an Inset day, so we had things to get ready in classrooms, as well as an afternoon meeting with the rest of the Academy staff. A long-ish day. I was exhausted by the end! And that is without kids! Lil Princess was also in school. It felt funny not having Lil Man with me, too. He is no longer a school-going lad…
If we were having chai, I’d have to mention a fantastic podcast I started to listen to, by three of my favourite writerly humans; Lucy Mitchell, Lucy Keeling and Bettina Hunt. It was a great first episode, and I cannot wait to hear more!
If we were having chai, I’d say that it was my birthday, yesterday. We kept it quiet as I have a hectic week this coming week, but after a leisurely walk with Hubby Dearesgt in the local woods, we all went shopping, and for a meal. Simple, but perfect. All I need is my loved ones around me. It was extra special because Lil Princess bought me a present with her own money for the first time, and went out to buy it with no help from anyone else, either! That’s a pretty big thing for her. I am so proud and will cherish that bracelet forever.
If we were having chai, I would bring it back to Sonu Singh. He seems to sense that. I need a little extra attention, especially when I am so tired, so he’s been my little shadow for a lot of the time. I guess it is a good thing that Lil Man is at home a little longer, yet, to wean him off having everyone around all day, every day. I will miss my plant-eating, early morning miaowing, little ginger ball of fluff every day!
This week will predominantly be me getting home visits done at school for my new classes, as well as an Early Years conference which my whole team has to attend. The end of the week is capped with a cricket tournament that Lil Man is playing in, which ends the cricket season for his club, too.
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!
But I Smile Anyway... 