Looking the stress beast in its cold, dark eyes

I’ve just been reading an article about writer’s stress by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom in February’s Romance Writers Report. ‘We start by telling ourselves we have time to get this book done, and then life gets in the way, as it always does.  We now are looking the stress beast in its cold, dark eyes.’  Ugh, lots of resonances there.  

As Linda points out, a lot of stress is self-imposed, and we choose to over-commit ourselves, and I am certainly guilty of that. In the middle of all the conflicting deadlines, I chose to have my downstairs redecorated, which any fool could have seen was going to cause trouble.  This is what my dining room looked like on Saturday.  I spent most of Sunday moving all the books back into the sitting room, and pulled a muscle in my neck in the process.  Infuriatingly, I can’t blame anyone but myself.  Anyway, the rooms downstairs are more or less in order now, so that’s something. 

I also managed a quick trip to London last week.  Again, not the best idea when deadlines are coming at you like freight trains, but it was a great break.  I finally got a picture of Oh-So-Sensible Secretary in London, too.  I’ve been meaning to take one in Trafalgar Square for ages, but either forget to take a book or run out of time, but here it is in front of the British Library (where I’m fairly sure it won’t be found!)  The library is wonderful inside, though, and not just because of the nice café either!

 

Much more exotic is this photo of The Blind-Date Proposal in Fiji!  Thank you, Nas, very much for sending this. I know the weather wasn’t perfect, but I can practically smell the warmth, and love that palm tree swaying in the hot wind …. A gusty sigh from a sunny but crisp York!