January - packing up and moving on!

I know, I know…. I haven’t posted since wishing you a happy Christmas but I do have a good excuse, honest! 

Just before Christmas we sold our cottage. We’d had it up for sale for almost a year but with the house market being in the doldrums, we hadn’t attracted any serious interest. That all changed very quickly indeed just before Christmas after a lovely couple came to view, loved it, and offered to buy it straight away!

You may wonder why we would want to sell our cottage, which we bought as a derelict shepherd's bothy twenty five years ago and renovated ourselves. Well, with our three lovely sons all grown up and seeing the big wide world as theirs for the taking, Mr JH and I have decided to sell up/downscale and age disgracefully by having some adventures of our own rather than putting our feet up by the fire.

We did manage to have a fabulous last family Christmas at the cottage. But the moment January arrived we were in packing mode. So now we have packed up and moved out - our exciting adventure has begun. We have very luckily managed to find a place to stay temporarily, until we decide where we’d like to base ourselves. We have moved from our cottage in the hills to a lodge house down by the side of the river. The river is one of the best in Scotland for fishing salmon and river trout and I must admit that I do love the sight and sound of the water thundering past us - from a safe distance of course - here on the river bank!

And the writing? Well, I’m just about to start writing a new full length novel for publication later this year and I can do that just about anywhere – same goes for blogging – so if I’m not here as much as you’d like me to be with my news then please do pop over and Like my Page or Follow me on Facebook or Twitter as you’ll find me online there most days and I’d be delighted to chat and share news.

So what’s happening this week…?

Award winning 'Innovative' Loveahappyending Lifestyle Magazine - for which I am an associate editor – has a fabulous third issue available now to read online or to download. I like to download it to read on my Kindle Fire in full colour. Find out how to get your FREE copy HERE

January 25^th is Burns Night here in Scotland and it is celebrated all over the world. I’m celebrating by offering my bestselling novel Bagpipes and Bullshot at a specially reduced price in paperback. Or you can download to Kindle at £1.90 or $3.00. A wee bargain!

Here’s the links if you’d like to check it out on Amazon UK or Amazon US. Other countries worldwide via Amazon are included in this offer.

You can win a copy of Bagpipes and Bullshot if you are my 5000^th Twitter Follower! I'm close to 5K lovely follower peeps and feeling so excited about reaching such a milestone! A copy of my bestselling novel Bagpipes & Bullshot goes to Follower No.5000!

Be a Tweetheart and Follow me on Twitter! https://twitter.com/JaniceHorton

Until next week then…..

Janice xx

Happy Christmas!

A very happy Christmas and New Year to all...!

Thank you for your blog visits and for all your lovely comments over the past year.
See you in 2014 and haste ye back!

 

Happy St Andrew’s Day…!

Join the party over at Loveahappyending Lifestyle Magazine website today!

Over fifty million people around the globe claim Scottish decent and so on the 30^th November - St Andrew’s Day and Scotland’s national day - it’s a day to celebrate everything Scottish!

 

Discover your inner Scot with my fun lifestyle feature over at Loveahappyending Lifestyle Magazine where you can Test your knowledge of Scotland’s Heritage by taking the Ultimate Scottish Quiz. In the Scots Language Test you can find out if you really know your Sleekit from your Sonsie! Then you can Kilt up and claim your tartan! Plus there are tips on appreciating your perfect dram and some exciting St Andrew’s Day recipes!

Finally, look the part with a Satire ‘selfie’..!

 

 

 So click here to haste ye over there…!

 

The Festival of Romance - fun and celebration!

I could have floated back to Scotland on a cloud of bliss after this weekend at The Festival of Romance instead of taking an Easyjet flight. This event, held annually in Bedford England, was three days of excitement and celebration amongst romance authors, readers, and industry professionals.
 

It was fantastic to meet up again with those peeps I already know and to finally meet those I feel I already know so well online but hadn’t yet met face to face. It might appear weird to throw yourself into the arms of people you’ve never met in real life and practically hug the life out of them – yet it felt complete appropriate to do so when these are people I already loved!

I was in contact with lovely JB of Brook Cottage Books before and during my journey to Bedford, as I was flying in from Glasgow to London Luton and she was flying in from Belfast. She sent me a photo so I’d recognise her when we finally met – and this is us just mere seconds after we did!
 

 

Ditto lovely Carol ‘Dizzy C’ (pic below) of Dizzy C's Little Book Blog, the wonderful Kim the Bookworm and fabulous Heidi of ‘Cosmochicklitian’
 

On the Friday night, Linn B Halton, Mandy Baggot and Sheryl Browne and I went to a fabulous Bedford Italian Restaurant for fun, wine and pizza!
 

 

Then at the Saturday night Gala Dinner, just when I thought the festival was only about being amongst fabulous friends, it also became a celebration of our success - when Linn B Halton, Editor in Chief of the emagazine with which I'm an associate editor - was awarded the 2013 Festival of Romance 'Innovation in Romantic Fiction' Industry award for “evolving the loveahappyending.com author/reader initiative into an interactive lifestyle magazine”.

 

 

After receiving her award, Linn said: “Being nominated was a huge honour, but to actually win the award was overwhelming. As organiser of LLm I was thrilled to accept this on behalf of everyone involved. There are thirty-two contributors in total involved with LLm and it is the wide range of articles (including book reviews) that saw our hit counter tip over the 3 million mark a couple of days ago, and we are now at a staggering 3,045,639.”
 

 

Huge congratulations to all the winners of all awards at this year's Festival of Romance and thanks to event organiser Kate Allan for all her hard work - what a fabulous weekend!

Innovation in Romantic Fiction Author winner – Linn B Halton with some of the Loveahappyending Lifestyle Magazine team

  

 

Left to right: Carol, Heidi, JB, Linn, Mandy, Sheryl, & myself

Happy Halloween FREE Book Offer!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

 

This time last year I was launching How Do You Voodoo? - the first book in my voodoo romance series of novellas – for which I had done some intense research in the spookiest graveyard in Scotland – the Necropolis or The City of the Dead – which features in a central scene. Would you like to spend Halloween in a dark and spooky place like this…?!

 

Glasgow central looks grey and spooky in October!

 

 

This Halloween is launch day for Voodoo Child - the third book in my series of voodoo romance novellas.
 

Again, it’s available exclusively from Amazon for Kindle.   

 

Story synopsis: In ‘Voodoo Child’, ex-celebrity UK fashion model Nola and her handsome Haitian husband Louis are expecting their first baby. But as one precious life begins another is about to end. Louis’s beloved old Uncle Sid is dying and has declared his last wish is to see Louis and Nola’s new baby baptised on St John’s Eve – the most important event in the voodoo calendar. The voodoo isn't over yet for Nola or for Louis!

 

Voodoo Child Amazon Links

Amazon UK and Amazon.com

Special Halloween Offer!

You can download the first humorous romance in this series absolutely FREE TODAY – 31^st October!

 

FREE Amazon Links

Amazon UK and Amazon.com

 

Have a great Halloween everyone !

Janice xx

 

 

How Do You Voodoo? - FREE 27th to 31st October!

The third book in my series of voodoo romance novellas

'Voodoo Child' is out this week!

It’s available exclusively from Amazon for Kindle
      

OUT NOW! $1.55 0r £0.99p

 

Story synopsis: In ‘Voodoo Child’, ex-celebrity UK fashion model Nola and her handsome Haitian husband Louis are expecting their first baby. But as one precious life begins another is about to end. Louis’s beloved old Uncle Sid is dying and has declared his last wish is to see Louis and Nola’s new baby baptised on St John’s Eve – the most important event in the voodoo calendar. The voodoo isn't over yet for Nola or for Louis!  

Amazon UK and Amazon.com

 But what if you haven't yet read the first novella
How Do You Voodoo?
 

Or second book in this series
Voodoo Wedding?

Well, from TODAY and for the next FIVE days
(27^th – 31^st October)

I’m offering the first book in this series absolutely FREE

27th - 31st October incl - FREE!

 
 These are the free download links:

 Amazon UK
Amazon.com

Other Amazon sites worldwide are included

 

If you have this book already...?

Feel free to share, tweet, and tell all your friends!

Did you know that How Do You Voodoo? has 25 Amazon UK reviews with an average reader score of 4.6 stars and Love Reading Love Books said How Do You Voodoo? was ‘A Five Star Read’

Voodoo Wedding - Book Two - is also available from Amazon for Kindle alongside Voodoo Child at the fabulous price of just $1.52 or £0.99p so why not treat yourself to a little voodoo romance?

 

 Something old, something new, something borrowed.... something voodoo!

ONLY $1.55 0r £0.99p

Have a great Halloween everyone and don’t forget

that I love to chat and I'll be on Facebook and Twitter over the next few days promoting Voodoo Child. Please RT me!

#voodoochild

 

 

 

Festival of Romance - and Loveahappyending Lifestyle!

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO THE LOVEAHAPPYENDING TEAM!

 

LLm Editor in Chief, our own Linn B Halton has been shortlisted for the Innovation in Romantic Fiction (Author) award for evolving the loveahappyending.com author/reader initiative into an interactive lifestyle magazine.

 

Linn B Halton



 

And Carol Wright from Dizzy C's Little Book Blog, JB Johnston from Brook Cottage Books and Tanya Farrell from After the Final Chapters, all in the Loveahappyending Review Team have been nominated for Best Romance Blogger!

 

CONGRATULATIONS AND WELL DONE LADIES!

 Click here for the full announcement

 

8th to 10th November in Bedford

 

 

Festival of Romance 2013

The Festival of Romance celebrates romantic fiction in all its forms and gives readers a chance to meet favourite and new authors as well as taking part in lots of fun events and parties.

It is the UK's ONLY convention dedicated to romantic fiction.

You can book tickets online for all the Festival events.

Check out what's on and see which of your favourite authors are attending.

See you at the Festival of Romance!

 

My Writing Workshop...

 

Arts and Crafts Weekend 19th and 20th October

 

There is an Arts and Crafts Fayre taking place this weekend -19th and 20th October - at Tynron Parish Hall (near Thornhill, Dumfries & Galloway).

Local crafts people will present their art and crafts and refreshments will be available. Proceeds to Tynron Parish Hall Funds.

Aspiring writers: I’m holding a writing workshop during this event on Sunday 20th October between 2pm-3pm. If you’d like to come along (and I'd love to see you there!) please check out the webpage and scroll down for contact details and more info.

Haste ye over to Tynron!

 

Paperback Books and The Festival of Romance

This week, while my lovely editor is working away on Voodoo Child (planned launch date 31^st October) I’ve been busy preparing and formatting the paperback editions of Bagpipes and Bullshot and Reaching for the Stars. This means I’ll have ‘real’ books to offer alongside my ebooks at last and I’ll be able to carry paperback copies with me when I do my personal author appearances.

 

Bagpipes and Bullshot and Reaching for the Stars will be available to order from Amazon sites very soon if you’ve been waiting to read my full length novels in paperback!

These are the paperback covers!

  

 

It’s only four weeks to the Festival of Romance in Bedford! (8^th-10^th November) I’m going to this event for the first time and I’m really looking forward to spending the whole weekend talking about books and celebrating romantic fiction.

There are some fabulous events planned – check out the website and grab your tickets now.

I’m really looking forward to meeting up with writer friends I already know really well, those I have been friends with online for ages but haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet in person, and catching up with what’s going on in the romantic fiction industry - as there will be publishers and agents and editors to chat to about such matters.

I’m speaking at the Coffee and Cake morning on Saturday 9^th November at The Lane, Bedford. I’m also looking forward to attending the Festival of Romance Ball on the Saturday night!

Are you going…?

Do let me know so we can say hello!

Romantic meetings and writerly events…

Happy Friday everyone – I’ve had a an even busier week than usual as I’ve been out and about on writerly business. On Monday I was invited to the famous and very romantic location of Gretna Green for a meeting.

 

It was wonderful to catch up with writers I already know well through the Writers Scotland Group, to be reintroduced to one or two I’d met before through the Romantic Novelist’s Association, and to meet some new lovely writer peeps. The meeting was interesting, involving romance writers, commercial enterprise, media and PR, but as it was a preliminary talk, I don’t think I’m at liberty to tell you exactly what it was all about just yet - so I’ll tell you more when I can!

After lunch and the meeting itself, a few of us had a tour of the famous blacksmith’s shop and the wedding room and had our photo taken in front of the wedding anvil!

In this photo: myself, Lynda Denton, Eileen Ramsay and her husband Ian,
Michelle Styles and Gwen Kirkwood
 

The Marriage Anvil at Gretna Green

 

 

On Tuesday, I was invited to speak about my writing and my life as a writer at the first meeting of the season for the Dumfries and Galloway Tangent Club in a private room at a restaurant in Thornhill. It was an honour to be asked to talk to these lovely ladies and I was right to suspect that when I got there, it being a local group of professional and business women, that I would already know many of them. We had a glass of wine, friendly conversation and lots of laughs, and we also had a lovely dinner. I felt my talk went well, as the atmosphere in the room was so relaxed and warm. I rounded off my talk with a short reading from ‘Reaching for the Stars’ and we had a quiz/competition - the winner being the first correct answer drawn by the restaurant owner!

 

On Wednesday, I was asked if I was interested in doing a talk and a writer’s workshop on the afternoon of Sunday 20th October at an Arts and Crafts Weekend being held at a local village Hall. I thought it sounded like another good opportunity to get out and about and to meet people interested in reading and books. So I accepted.

All of this is of course great practice for the Festival of Romance event in Bedford on the weekend of the 8th/9th & 10th of November, which I am attending as an author. I’m speaking at this event on the Saturday morning at the ‘Coffee and Cake’ event. Tickets are on sale now at the Festival website.

 

The rest of this week I’ve been writing and reading, attending online book launches, and following some exciting blogs. It’s a very busy and exciting time to be a writer!!

Haste ye back here next Friday!