POLL

i'm taking some time out from NANO to ask for your help. Love Romances Book Club is holding a poll to find out which character you would like to be.

You can find the details here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LoveRomancesBookClub/

and after you've read them the link to the poll is here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LoveRomancesBookClub/surveys?id=12965560

Of course I'd love it if you voted for my own personal favourite heroine of my stories, and you'd win not only my undying gratitude but could win a prize as well. There are lots of other great chracter bios there and whoever you vote for you'll be entered to win a prize.

Monday's Word - SLIPSHOD

One word no writer should ever hear from readers (or editors) is 'slipshod'. I have to admit my current WIP in progress is distinctly shipshod at the moment, but having written over thirty thousand words in the space of three weeks, is, I hope, some excuse. It will certainly be revised and polished to within an inch of its life before I even think of submitting it!

But where did the term 'slipshod' originate. Well, according to Michael Quinion*:

"In the beginning, around the middle of the sixteenth century,It was simply a shoe that one could easily slip on or off, one that English speakers even then also called a slipper.

A little later in the same century, a person who wore a slip-shoe began to be described - naturally enough - as "slip-shod". Within a few decades, however, it began to take on the negative associations that have remained with it down the generations. A person who was described as slip-shod was wearing shoes that weren't suitable for polite company because they were literally down at heel, shabby, over-loose or untidy.

Our modern meaning of some activity that was lacking in care, badly organised or slovenly came about in the nineteenth century. Writers were the first to suffer its disopprobrium, with critics describing what they felt was "slipshod English", and the wider sense grew out
of this.

We have completely forgotten the connection between "slip-shod" and those comfortable sixteenth-century slip-on shoes, whose shabbiness and unfashionableness has bequeathed the language a useful term."

OK, I'm going to put on my slippers, sit in front of my pc with a mug of tea, and try to catch up on my word count!


*World Wide Words is copyright (c) Michael Quinion 2009. All rights reserved. The Words Web site is at http://www.worldwidewords.org

Christmas comes early to the Roast!

There's a lot of festive fun and frolic going on at the Author Roast and Toast today.

A cosy cabin nestled beneath snow covered mountains, a frozen lake for skating on, Oliver in his festive best, and special guest, Tracey Netzel talking about her lovely Christmas anthology 'Mistletoe Rules'. Add the Chipmunks, a naughty unicorn and a telpathic dog, and the hostesses, Sharon, Mary and myself - and anything could happen - and probably will!

Come on over and join in the fun, leave a comment to be eligible for Stacey's prizes.
Yes - I did say prizes, Stacey is generously offering two of her books as prizes .
http://authorroastandtoast.blogspot.com/

And if you're really in the mood for blogging I'd love you to pop over to Tess Quinn's blog 'Writer's On Writing' where she was kind enough to give me centre stage in a one to one interview.
http://tessquinn.com/writers-on-writing-hywela-lynn/