Bronwen

Steak, with mushrooms, potato wedges and barbecue sauce! Might have some other kind of veg too, not decided yet.

Ahhhh you mean just bright lights? My mum used to get those. I didn't know there were other kinds of auras!

I've read websites where it says if you look at someone hard enough you can determine their aura, and it said what all the different colours meant. Never had a migraine myself, although my mum used to get them when she was my age. They sound horrid!

My OH used to get migraines all the time before he met me. Anything could trigger it, and they used to last for ages. Now he hasn't had one in probably over a year if not longer. He's maybe had a couple in the whole time I've known him and they have never been as bad as when he lived down south. It's weird how they've just gone.

Chinese takeaway for dinner tonight, yay!!!

Oooh those new barbecue chicken Streetwise wraps look soooo good

That's a tough one! Biggest joy was when my first book was published and seeing it there in book form was fantastic. I've had a few disappointments, (rejections etc.) but possibly my first publisher's lack of publicity for Escaping Dreams. I've had to work really hard from the start and sometimes it feels like an uphill challenge to get my work out there to the readers, which is one of the most important bits! Hopefully that hard work will pay off though.

Not really, I think it just depends on the story and the length it's worth. Obviously it has to be a certain length, and the usual length of a book is 70,000 - 180,000 words. Mine have been on the lower end of the scale so far but the project I'm working on now will be a bit longer.

Hi Inver for the cover of Escaping Dreams I did suggest the scene actually, from my imagination, complete with the hand sticking up from the ground! I had no idea what it was going to turn out like - knew it was going to look either amazing or awful, and I love the way it came out! I saw it and fell in love with what the publisher had come up with, using my idea! The person that worked on it did a fantastic job, I'm sure you'll agree! For Nightswallow, it was an image I saw and fell in love with. I thought it was perfect for the book, and luckily we managed to get permissions to use it as the cover! I'm so happy with the new cover as the original cover for Nightswallow was much more generic and plain - created by the publisher, who didn't have the resources or time to come up with something as elaborate as Escaping Dreams had.

Hi Chesilbeach Well, the editing process for Escaping Dreams involved (after it was accepted by the publisher) it going off to a proofreader, who left funny little comments in red ink all over my manuscript! That went to me, I agreed or disagreed, made my own little coments and we developed a tiny rappor I don't know if he was the publisher's approved editers or a freelance but I was fairly confident by the end that it the book was suitable to go through the whole publishing process. As for Nightswallow, I'm not sure if you know but it was published in the YouWriteOn Christmas publishing initiative, which means that 10% of publishing profits go to Sightsavers International charity. It gave me a chance to get my second book out there very soon after Escaping Dreams was published and I thought it was a good route to go Suffice to say, it hasn't had quite the same editing process as Escaping Dreams has had. I had a few friends and family proofread it and that's as far as it went. Hope that's answered your question! B.

Hi Chrissy! Hmm, I'm struggling a bit with your question... maybe as I keep writing I'll develop some quirky rituals! I always stay up til some ridiculous hours absorbed in my writing at least once, that's one! I know this isn't a ritual, but for Escaping Dreams I decided it'd be nice to acknowledge every single person who'd been involved in the book, whether it was just talking to me about it or giving me inspiration for a name. Maybe I need to become more eccentric!

Hi Bethany! 1) There are a few things: firstly, sometimes I lack the motivation to get into the right head space of writing something, especially when it is very dark or emotional. The second thing would be the difficulty of getting out there and promoting the book. At book signings for instance, it can be emotionally draining and then there's some stores that are really snobby because they haven't heard of you yet. People's attitudes can be bad towards new writers sometimes. 2) Unexpectedly easy? Well, for one thing I haven't really had any scathing reviews. The amount of people who have said how much they've enjoyed by books or have said positive things really keeps me going when it gets a bit hard. I'm always prepared to hear the worst criticism and so far it's been pleasantly surprising, and that makes all the difference.

Comfort food. Bacon and potato hotpot.

Hi Kell! I do my writing wherever I can! I sometimes sit and work at the table or sometimes at the desk, sometimes sitting in bed! It's not organised at all, I'm so messy! Sometimes I've been to coffee shops too, although I find they are sometimes a bit loud. Still, it's good to get out and work in a different setting. But nothing about me is 'orderly'! I thrive in chaos. Hope that's answered your question!

Hi Gyre, I'm okay thanks, although I had some bad news earlier. Your answer: well, sometimes I can listen to music, I love listening to Tool for example, but mostly I prefer to work without music. It seems to flow better that way. I'm not sure what helps me to focus, I suppose emotions and being really centered in what I'm writing does help, rather than having my mind on other things.

Hi Kate, I'm not sure about inspiration, although there are some authors I greatly admire so maybe it shows a little in my work? I'm not sure. Those writers are Stephen King (my favourite author), Anne Rice, Dean Koontz and Christopher Pike. I get most of my inspiration from dreams; not just normal dreams but particular dreams that stand out as being very graphic, almost movie-like and most of the time rather disturbing too! (wonder what that says about me ) The rest of it is just pure imagination. Although there is one writer who posts on here, her name is June Austin, and one of her ideas from her book 'Genesis of Man' has given me inspiration to write a short story. So thanks June, I'll have to send it to you when it's done!

Binary, you have some posting style! *impressed* Does anyone know why there's not one Stephen King on their list? Not one my friend said that some consider him to be 'low brow'! As if!

I don't understand how someone can just quote something from the bible off the top of their heads

Thank you Gyre, that's a lovely thing to say

Yeah... I think I got criticised a little for having so many characters in Escaping Dreams! But the way the situation was, that's how they had to be - in that close family unit. Protective, I'd call it. It was at times hard to write, but the way things seemed to really come together felt almost magical, in a way. Especially with Sam and Freya towards the end, because she was the reason that kept them all together. Sometimes even I don't know how things are going to turn out exactly in a story, but I think that in the end it worked out just right. Sometimes I can imagine the Cullen brothers, what happened after, and the ways their characters would develop and I think at those moments I'd consider writing a sequel. Only in those moments, though

Wow, I only just noticed this! The character of Night... well basically I had a dream. Chapter 2, to be precise, was where the dream started and I can still remember all the feelings and emotions that Night was experiencing (being dead, and all). It was awful but it really stuck in my mind and I decided to write it down. The travel elements sort of brought out a whole new dimension for her too and I'm not sure where I got that idea from... being a journalist and loving to travel, and all but apart from that in no way is Night similar to myself. The fact that in the dream I was Night, and the fact that I was in her 'apartment' but it didn't feel like that, I suppose I kind of knew she was a traveller. She's a bit of an outsider really. Hope that's answered your question!