Ten for Tuesday: Things I Love

Woo! It's Tuesday, and I'm actually going out for dinner tonight at Somerset House on the South Bank to celebrate my and Mr TR's kissaversary.

So, here are ten things I love!

1. Tumblr. It's my new addiction.

2. Twitter. I've met so many great people in there!

3. Twizzlers. Red ones. Yum!

4. Mr TR. Enough said. :)

5. Newsletters. (Ha! I slipped this one in there just to say, if anyone would like to sign up for my fun-filled newsletter, you can do so here, or on the sidebar. I do love newsletters, though!)

6. Salt and vinegar crisps. My mouth is watering now just thinking about it.

7. My brand new Kindle! Just arrived today!

8. The smell of freshly bought clothing. Pure starchy goodness.

9. Bread. Any kind, anywhere. Just gimme some bread.

10. Raspberries. Mashed up with Chantilly cream and lots of sugar, over a sponge cake.

Gosh, I'm starving now!

What are your loves?

Ten for Tuesday: Debris on My Desk

Interesting, non? Don't you want to hear what's on my desk, at this very moment?

1. Empty coffee mug. Must be retained until the writing day is finished, or all hell will break loose.

2. Two phones. My Samsung Galaxy Europe and an old pink Nokia, because I'm too lazy to update my new number with everyone.

3. Aloe Vera Vaseline Lip Therapy. I can't live without it.

4. Empty water glass. 'Coz I'm thirsty.

5. A hooked-rug coaster featuring a kitty cat design, from Cheticamp, Nova Scotia. My little piece of home.

6. A metallic camel penholder from Egypt. A gift from my husband's cousin when we were in Cairo last year.

7. A paperclip holder moulded from plasticine and lots o' paperclips. A 'gift' from Mr TR. So romantic.

8. A tissue. Because this damn pollen is making my nose run!

9. A guillotine (that's what they call a paper-cutter here. Scary). No idea why.

10. A wrist-rest for my keyboard. I never use it.

What's on your desk?

Ten for Tuesday: Things I Hate About Blogs

As you can tell, this post will be all sweetness and light. Hee!

But before I get to the grump, I want to say thanks to the people who kindly offered to donate books for my epic week of giveaways from March 7-11, in celebration of the paperback launch of The Hating Game! I'll be updating the giveaway list on Friday, so feel free to let me know if you have any books you'd like to add to the giveaway.

You all know I LOVE blogging. But there are some things that make me reach for the wine (again)! I may not get to ten, but here are my top bloggery peeves:

1. If you have more than one blog under your profile, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD make sure your writing one is clearly identified so I don't have to click around aimlessly looking for something writing related.

2. I like funky toolbars and widgets as much as the next computer obsessive, but there are some blogs with so many add-ons that they crash my browser. I'm not joking. It takes me at least five minutes to leave a comment sometimes.

3. LOOONNNNGGGGG extracts of your lovely writing. It might be better than Hemingway, but I really don't have an hour to spend admiring it. (I know that sounds bitchy, I know. I'd like to have an hour to admire it. But I don't.)

4. Pop-up word verification boxes. I hate word verification, but I had to turn it on after spammers started attacking. But those pop-up boxes are the worst, and I can't tell you the number of times I'd already closed the window and moved on before realising... oops! I think the best thing to do is to embed the word verification into the page.

5. Comment links at the top of the post, not the bottom. Now I know this is something that's controlled by the template, but I REALLY hate searching around for the little thing to click to comment! If it's right at the end of the post, that's easy enough...

6. Giant headers. For those of us with Netbooks, this means we have to scroll waaaaay down to reach the post.

7. 'Followers' box half-way down the page. I want to follow you! For goodness sake, don't make me hunt for it!

Hmm, I seem have run out of steam! :)

So tell me, am I being persnickety? What are your bloggery peeves?

Ten for Tuesday: Mr Talli Roland

Since I enjoy snooping and stalking, I also love getting glimpses into people's private lives. So today, I offer you ten things about Mr Talli Roland. Mr Talli Roland would probably die if he knew I was doing this -- thankfully, he does not nor hopefully ever will read this blog. Or my Facebook page. Or Twitter.

Let the games begin!

1. Mr Talli Roland was born in Algeria to Egyptian parents, then moved to Egypt when he was young. He worked in Saudi Arabia for a year or so, nearly getting his head chopped off due to his atheistic beliefs (slight exaggeration, but he did flee the country in a rather unorthodox way). When he was in his early thirties, he moved to England.

2. Mr TR is a medical doctor but during his early practice, he attended the National Film School in Cairo, where he learned to be a film director.

3. Mr TR is a killer cook and can make roast chicken, dolma, and coconut cookies to rival anyone, even his Mama (but don't tell her I said so). He is also an extremely prolific rice cooker and is well known for his 'mountain of rice'.

4. Mr TR wrote and directed a 90-minute feature film called Anaphylaxis recently at the legendary Ealing Studios. The film was shot entirely on green screen and Mr TR painstakingly taught himself special effects and recreated sets. Yes, it took years. Mr TR now has a bad hip from sitting in one chair for so long.

5. Mr TR cannot stand an empty glass sitting on any surface for longer than ten seconds once it touches said surface.

6. Mr TR has also studied philosophy, has met the Queen, and has a brother who is a judge in the Supreme Court of Egypt.

7. Mr TR is a crazy driver. I shut my eyes and hope for the best.

8. Mr TR has a very lovely 17-year-old daughter who is super clever and recently got all manner of A's and A*'s on her GCSEs.

9. Despite having English as his second language, Mr TR thinks his English is better than mine. Mr TR is wrong.

10. Mr TR is the one who encouraged me to think seriously about my writing and the one who kicks me in the butt when I need it!

And finally...

I love Mr TR.

So there you have it! Ten things you never wanted nor needed to know about my husband!

Anyone care to share about their partner?

The Big Reveal

It being Tuesday and all, I thought I'd replace today's Ten for Tuesday with a handy-dandy quiz to help you uncover your ideal reading genre. (Sorry, I tried to embed it, but it keeps crashing! Maybe later...).

Who knows, you may even be surprised! Enjoy!

Ten for Tuesday: Keeping Cozy

I'm going to have to re-name this feature, because there's no way I can make it to ten most days!

Winter has come to the UK. By 'winter', I mean the temperature has fallen below 10 degrees C and there's plenty of rain and wind, along with general gloom. Having grown up in Canada with snow and such, there's no excuse for me to complain of cold. But really, the cold in England gets into your bones and takes up a clammy residence, spreading mould and damp... well, you get the picture.

It doesn't help that I sit in front of an old sash window, which oozes cold air right onto me. Brr. So, in honour of the season, today's not-so-ten for Tuesday is all about staying warm. Here are my top tips!

1. Fingerless gloves. Yeah, baby! Not so sexy, but they keep your hands toasty warm and your fingers free for munching. And typing.

2. Under-desk heater. I shove a heater right up under my desk (not an euphemism for anything, I assure you) and then press my legs against it. Ohhhh ssooooo satisfying.

3. Chocolate-scented blanket. What's this, you ask? So easy to create. Simply choose a plain blanket, melt some chocolate in strategic (or accidental) locations, then wrap yourself up tightly.

4. The sock layering organisational system. If you're like me and you can never keep track of your socks, why not wear them all at once? Your feet will be warm and you'll never lose them again.

5. Mulled wine. Hey, it's almost Christmas! Get in the spirit early and keep your insides cheery by having a cup of mulled wine. You deserve it!

How do you keep warm? Happy Tuesday!

Ten for Tuesday: Literary Hotties

For me, the perfect man can be found in books. Not only can you create them in your mind's eye, but you can close the cover on them whenever you like! Shame the same can't be said for real life partners, who make you do pesky things like wash your dishes straight away...

Anyway. I digress! Without further ado or husband bashing, here are my literary hotties, past and present. I'm telling you now, I'm not going to make it to ten! Memory does not serve me well.

1. Philip, in the Adventure series by Enid Blyton. He was so well-loved by animals and I adored the tuft in the front of his hair. Plus, he was very brave. I do hope it doesn't need to be pointed out that I no longer find Philip as attractive as I did, say, 25 years ago.

2. Boots, in the Bruno and Boots series by Gordon Korman. Bruno was the more audacious of the two, but I had a soft spot in my heart for the more cautious Boots.

3. Todd, in Sweet Valley High. Elizabeth's boyfriend, I mourned his loss when he moved miles away to Vermont and they broke up. Jeffrey was nowhere near as good as Todd!

4. Mr Rochester, in Jane Eyre. A bit of a jerk (okay, a big jerk). But he's blind in the end! Jane must take care of him! Awwww!

5. Colin Firth. Colin Firth, Colin Firth, Colin Firth. Yes, I know he's not in a book. But... Colin Firth!

6. Dermot, in Love Letters by Katie Fforde. A dark and brooding Irish man. Need I say more?

And I'll stop there, mopping up the drool that seems to have accumulated on my keyboard in the creation of this post!

Who's on your list of literary hotties?

Ten for Tuesday: My Favourite Rom Coms

What's not to like about a rom-com film? It's funny; it's entertaining... and on top of it all, there's romance. Sigh!

So here are my favourites.

1. Love Actually (pictured). I could watch this over and over... and I have. With a stellar cast of actors all set against a backdrop of one of my favourite cities (London), it's a winner.

2. Bridget Jones's Diary. Hugh Grant, Colin Firth... need I say more?

3. Notting Hill. Funny, because I live close to Notting Hill, I sometimes run into tourists looking for 'Julia Roberts? Hugh Grant?', as one Spanish couple asked me. But proximity or not, it's a fantastic film.

4. Green Card. An oldie but goodie!

5. About a Boy. Yes, I know. Another Hugh Grant film!

6. Serendipity. Set in New York... a wonderful tale of fate and finding the right one.

7. Pretty Woman. Richard Gere! Yum (or at least, then).

8. The Wedding Singer.

And now I'm bored, so I'm stopping! Really, I could on, but I'll spare you.

What's your favourite rom-com film?

Ten for Tuesday: What I Learned on My Vacation

Happy Tuesday!

First of all, I'm sorry for not getting around to everyone's blogs yesterday! I've been having loads of issues with BL**DY BLOGGER and then I was off to book launch last night, so there wasn't much blogging booty going on yesterday, I'm afraid. But! It's a new day, I'm only marginally hung over, so I expect to be able to blog with the best of them (or at least not the worst) today.

Vacations are a time of reflection, so here's what I learned!

1. I love love LOVE my little Android phone. I love it so much I I'm going to design a special pillow for it so it can sleep serenely beside me.

2. I can't NOT blog. Or Tweet. This is where my Android phone and all its wonderful apps came in handy. I loved having the connection to my online friends!

3. It's not possible to eat too many mussels with garlic butter. I had four buckets and I could have had more. Many more.

4. Coconut cream pie needs to be adopted world-wide. It's awesome!

5. Square-dancing rocks. Especially when it's at a ceilidh, to live fiddle and piano music (a Cape Breton tradition) and even more so when you have no idea what you're doing!

6. There's no place like home. Really.

7. My part of the world is simply GORGEOUS. I forgot just how lovely it is!

8. It's a small world! Upon arriving at the Halifax Airport, who do I run into but the lovely blogger Jan Morrison! Sadly I did not know it was her -- I looked at her, thought she resembled Jan, but then told myself not to be crazy. But it was! Nice to see you in real life, Jan.

9. Jet-lag sucks. But wine helps.

10. I really really love London!

So there you have it! Have a fab Tuesday, everyone!

Ten for Tuesday: My Favourite Places

I'm leaving for my pilgrimage back home to Canada in just under ten days, and it's got me thinking about my favourite places.

1. Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (pictured). It's where I grew up, with all the emotion that has attached to it. But more than that, it's a friendly, warm place with beautiful scenery and plenty of ocean. And some great dark rum.

2. Kensington Church Walk, London. A small walkway off of High Street Kensington where time seems to have stopped.

3. Rynek, Wroclaw, Poland. Beautifully fronted buildings, a City Hall right out of a fairy tale and lots and lots of cafes to people watch.

4. Rue Saint-Denis, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Great independent shops, buzzing restaurants and terraces.

5. Lopud, Croatia. A small island where cars aren't allowed and you have to walk over a hill on a small path through pines to get to the island's beach.

6. Rue Montorgueil, Paris, France. Wandering down this street, you won't know where to stop and eat first! Make sure you go on an empty stomach.

7. Old Town, Valencia, Spain. I couldn't find a link that does this one justice. Wandering around the maze of narrow streets and coming across old churches, fountains and courtyards... magical.

8. Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany. Formerly East Berlin, it's now uber-trendy and full of galleries... and yes, cafés (do you see a trend here?).

9. Eger, Hungary. A small, perfectly formed town about an hour from Budapest, Eger's known for its famous wine and has an area of small wine cellars where you can test the wines for hours on end. What's not to like?

10. Mala Fatra Mountains, Slovakia. A 10-hour hike through waterfalls and gorges convinced me that this mountain range is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. It's serious nature eye-candy.

What are your favourite places?

**Almost up to 130 bloggers now for the my Take On Amazon Blog Splash! THANK YOU!**

Ten for Tuesday: Dream Big

When I was an athlete, my coach encouraged me to write down my top three goals each year. He'd look at them, then tell me to reach even higher. If you don't aim high, you'll never know if you can get there, he'd say.

At the risk of turning this post into lyrics from a 1980s boy band, I'm going to take those lessons learned and apply them to my writing and my life. Today's Ten for Tuesday will be all about my dreams, because I do believe there's nothing wrong with wanting to reach the top -- as long as you don't rely solely on luck to get you there.

1. I want one of my books to be on The Times (or The New York Times) bestsellers list.

2. I'd love one of my books to be in the Top 10 on Amazon for at least a month.

3. I'd like to be able to make a living from my writing so I don't have to rely on my husband's income.

4. I'd like women to write to me and tell me how much they enjoy reading my books!

5. At some point in my novel-writing career, I want to have a swanky, Martini-fuelled book launch in a fab location with all of my friends and family.

6. I want to have a country house (one of those small cottages with a thatched roof) in Castle Combe -- or somewhere with a small tinkling stream in the back garden. Sigh!

7. I want to be able to eat vanilla sponge cake with cream-cheese frosting every day and not gain weight.

8. I'd love my husband's film to be purchased by a major distributor and for him to have a massive debut in the West End and walk the red carpet.

9. I want to have great ideas for new novels every week.

10. I want to be happy, healthy, sane and mobile until... well, until my time is up.

Wow, that didn't take long!

What are your dreams, in life or in writing?

(And on the topic of dreams, here's one that's coming true: the blurb for my debut novel The Hating Game is now up on Amazon!)

Ten for Tuesday: Bring Back the Eighties!

I'm a child of the Eighties and man oh man, did that decade rock the fashion world! Talking to my step-daughter yesterday about the fashions of yesteryear stirred up some long-lost memories of that golden time --- perfect for today's post!

1. Jelly shoes. I loved my baby-blue jelly shoes! The only problem was that the heel wasn't closed off so if you walked on gravel you'd get loads of little pebbles stuck inside. If you've ever worn a pair, you'll know what I mean.

2. Florescent socks. Florescent anything! I had a pair of bright yellow florescent socks. You could see me coming for miles.

3. Shoulder pads. In jumpers, blazers, T-shirts... basically, everything had shoulder pads. They're making a return here in London!

4. Pinstripe jeans. The darker the jeans the better, with a thin pinstripe running through. The height of cool.

5. Stirrup pants! Oh yeah! These make me laugh every time I think about them. I had a baby-blue (yes, I liked baby-blue) pair with a big seam running down the front.

6. Guess Jeans. If you had a pair of these along with a Benetton rugby shirt, I wanted to kill you. I longed for both.

7. Friendship pins. We used to wear these on the laces of our trainers.

8. Banana clip and bangs hairsprayed to within an inch of their life. I think the most important fashion accessory of the 80s was hairspray --the stronger the better. You'd banana clip your hair back, then curl half your bangs (fringe) up and then other half down. Fab!

9. Legwarmers. You can't talk about the 80s without mentioning leg-warmers. I had a pair in -- you guessed it -- baby blue!

10. Crimped hair. Being hair-obsessed, of course I had a crimping iron to make my hair wonderfully crimped. I shudder now just thinking about it!

What hideous fashions have you indulged in?

Ten for Tuesday: How to Tell When It's Time to Get Out More

I think that title is pretty self-explanatory, so here we go:

1. It's 3 p.m. and you still haven't brushed your hair -- and doing so seems like a big effort.

2. The highlight of the day is a five-minute walk to Tesco's and you need to take a nap when you get home again.

3. You've lost the ability to interact and scuttle around the street with your head down, unable to make eye-contact.

4. When you do engage in conversation you can't shut yourself up again and babble on for minutes at a time until you need to breathe.

5. When your other half comes home, you pounce on them like you haven't had human contact for days.

6. You resort to cutting the mould off bread and fashioning snacks from stale leftovers just to avoid leaving the flat.

7. You've become way too familiar with every sound emanating from your neighbours' flats, from barking dogs to flushing toilets.

8. You haven't worn 'proper clothes' for weeks.

9. Your slippers have holes and your high-heels gather dust.

10. Make-up? What's that?

Yikes, that was surprisingly easy to do! Clearly I need to get out more, not that it was ever in doubt.

Happy Tuesday!

Ten for Tuesday: My Favourite British Words

I've always been fascinated by Brit-speak. Even after living here for six years -- and adopting much of the local vocab -- there are words that just jump out at me as being so British. Here are my top ten!

1. Knackered. What a day. I'm knackered! It's so expressive you can't help but love it.

2. Rubbish. Ashley Cole is absolute rubbish. Don't worry if you don't know who Ashley Cole is. Take it from me, he's rubbish.

3. Rubber. Please can you hand me a rubber? I'm not getting fresh; (yay! semi-colon!)don't worry. Over here, it means eraser.

4. Loo. Where's the loo? I'm desperate. It sounds so much prettier than bathroom!

5. Aluminium. No, that's not a typo. It really is a-lu-min-i-um over here.

6. Trousers. What's that in your trousers? I dunno why, but the word makes me snicker. In the UK, 'pants' means underwear.

7. Anti-clockwise. This cracks me up. It's just bizarre to me.

8. Bap. I'll have a bacon bap, please. OR She's got a nice set of baps on her. Yes, this wonderful little word is dual-functional, meaning either bread-rolls or breasts!

9. Biro. I'll need a biro if you want me to write that down. A ball-point pen. For some reason.

10. Boffin. He studied for ten hours last night. What a boffin!

I made it to ten today! Yay! And a massive thanks to the lovely Jen at Unedited for featuring The Hating Game on her blog today!

Any foreign words you particularly like?

Ten for Tuesday: Too Many Tweets Make a...

'Too many twits make a twat', according to our esteemed Prime Minister David Cameron. But as much as I respect the man and his slash-happy policies (harhar), I have to disagree. I don't think it's possible to tweet too much; in fact, if you want to get the most out of Twitter, the more the better.

I'm a firm believer that Twitter can sell books. In my own experience, it's proven true. I've had some wonderful promotional opportunities come my way through Twitter which -- judging from Amazon sales rank -- have had a direct impact on my sales. So... here are my top 10 Twitter tips for beginners!

1. Choose an easy user name -- your own name is best. You want your Twitter name to relate to your 'brand'. So if you write children's books, your Twitter name shouldn't be Porno101.

2. Upload an avatar. A photo of yourself is usually best, but if you're not comfortable with that then make sure it's something that stands out and reflects your brand again.

3. Fill out the profile information and include a link to your blog (rather than your website). The more information you put out there about yourself, the more people will want to follow you. Make sure the information you put relates to the kind of follower you want to attract. In my Twitter profile, I tried to include writer, novel, etc. People may also search by geographic location, so having your city is also important. I've experimented with the blog vs website link several times and I've found by putting your blog as your profile link, you can get more blog followers.

4. Follow others. Twitter is highly interactive -- even more so than blogging. It's not meant to be a one-way conversation. One of my pet peeves on Twitter is when people have 5000 followers but they follow 5. To me, that's just missing out on the fun of Twitter. The more people you follow, usually the more that will follow you. Not only that, but you'll have more of a chance to jump in and join the conversation when you see a topic that interests you. If you're having problems finding someone to follow, find a famous writer on Twitter (Margaret Atwood, for example) or agent (Nathan Bransford) and follow their followers.

5. Don't be afraid to jump in! Twitter is all about interaction. People expect - and want - others to respond to what they're saying. Don't get put off if they don't respond; just keep responding and they'll notice you.

6. Don't use Twitter solely to promote your book. Like anything else, if you only push a product, people will get turned off.

7. The more you Tweet, the more followers you'll get. If you tweet once a week, chances are your followers will grow quite slowly.

8. Retweet, do FollowFriday (where you recommend other people to follow) and, in general, take part. Just like blogging, the more involved you are, the more followers you'll get.

The curse of eight strikes again!

Twitter is not just about what people had for breakfast. It's fun, it's a great way to network and more importantly -- for those of us who want to sell a few books here and there -- it's a fantastic promotional tool that authors really can't afford to ignore!

*climbs down off soapbox* If you want to follow me, click here for my Talli Roland account and here for my Marsha Moore account.

Happy Tuesday! I'd love to hear your tips!

Ten for Tuesday: How to Tell You Need New Clothes

I'm going to a conference in a week and a half and I'm becoming increasingly nervous about one thing. No, it's not the big-name authors I'll be mingling with, nor is it meeting the experts whose workshops I'll be attending.

It's my wardrobe, with one question howling around in my head: what should I wear? It's a desperate state of affairs.

Just how desperate?

1. My wardrobe has shrunk down to one pair of Primark jeans and about 10 black Primark T-shirts, along with three or four summer dresses really not suitable for a conference.

2. My knickers have holes and their elastic waistbands have long since snapped. Yes, I have saggy drawers. Sexy, I know.

3. Eight of the ten black T-shirts have toothpaste stains, and my one renegade white t-shirt has a random pink stain down the side (wine?).

4. My socks are basically worn down to nothing on the bottom. No holes - but the soles are pretty much threadbare!

5. My two pairs of summer sandals - bought at M&S for £10 each two years ago - are cracked and battered looking. It feels like I'm walking on concrete whenever I wear them.

6. My one trusty black cardigan (indispensable in England, I tell you) has a massive hole under the armpit.

7. My bras... well, let's just say you really don't want to know. I will say that their stocks have not been replenished for a good three years or so.

I think I'll end on that high note! Some shopping is in order, wouldn't you agree? Wish me lots of luck, and lots of bargains -- because my pounds certainly don't stretch very far!

Ten for Tuesday: Bag Lady

Last the week, the lovely Sangu tagged me to list the contents of my bag. Since they're as much a mystery to me as anyone else, I thought it'd be interesting to have a root through one of them and see just what the heck is in there! I'm way too lazy to clean out my handbags with any kind of consistency so... here goes:

1. An empty packet of Nurofen (ibuprofen). Why empty? Because, like I said, I'm too lazy to throw it out. This packet will provide a false sense of security when I comb through my bag, frantically looking for my fix in the throes of a migraine. I will curse myself, promise to throw it out, and promptly forget all about it. And so it continues.

2. A copy of my P45 from Inland Revenue... from 2006! Yikes. Clearly I'm not organised, as I had no idea this was in here. Nor do I know why!

3. A random roll of sellotape. Hmmm... this could be from when I was a recruiter and I was doing a session at the London School of Economics, and I needed to tape up signs? That would have been three years ago!

4. A memory stick. No idea what's on this one.

5. A membership card to the now-defunct PrimeTime Video store.

6. A receipt for Mango's in Covent Garden, dated 22/0/07. And on the back, written in red pen, directions to a job interview.

7. A receipt for my British Citizenship Test, dated 22/03/2008. I like to collect receipts, clearly. And crikey, that test cost £34!?

8. A letter from my friend Addie in San Francisco, congratulating me on completing my first novel (back in 2008!).

9. Contract of employment for the above-mentioned job interview. *shudder*

10. Four plasters! I had a lot of blisters from my high-heels in those days...

Wow, that has actually been fairly enlightening. And what I have done to get organised? I've chucked it all back in the bag, of course...

I'd like to tag everyone to do this, as it's too hot right now (yes, hot!) to write more. So have fun, everyone, I'm off to get some wine!

Ten for Tuesday: Honest Scrap

In a fit of efficiency, I just received this award yesterday and I'm going to pass it on today! How's that for non-award-hoarding! Many thanks to the wonderful Neurotic Workaholic, who gave me the Honest Scrap award.

Here are the rules: I have to list 10 facts that aren't common knowledge and pass it on to other bloggers. Being the ego-centric writer that I am, I'm going to make the 10 facts all about me! Just because I can!

1. I dye my hair when I'm bored with my life. In some of the most boring jobs I've had, I've gone from red to brown to blonde and back through the cycle again. The number of times I dye my hair is directly related to my level of boredom.

2. I have a tattoo on my back. It's the Chinese symbol for 'journey'.

3. I love love LOVE bread! I know I go on about cupcakes and the like, but a world without bread is not a world I want to live in.

4. I lived in Poland for two years and I absolutely loved it.

5. I'm originally Canadian and I just became a British citizen last week! God Save the Queen and all that!

6. I once tried to write a YA novel and I failed spectacularly.

7. I used to play the flute in a gypsy orchestra -- it was tons of fun and if I had the time I'd go back and do it again.

8. I am the world's worst sleeper. I can't remember the last time I actually slept through the night -- I'm constantly waking up at all hours.

9. My husband and I met on a blind date through the Internet! *gasp!*

10. I just wrote the first chapter for a new novel!

So there you have it. Gosh, I was struggling there - I should call these the Most Boring Facts! Anyway, I'm going to pass this on to:

Kittie Howard
Fran - hey, how about 10 Tenby facts? :)
Gina Leigh Maxwell
Debs
Sarah Callejo

Happy Tuesday!

Ten for Tuesday: My Favourite Enablers

I'm in the throes of editing, and nowhere are my procrastination enablers more significant than at this stage. So in an effort to embrace them and thereby reduce their lure (I'll let you know if it works!), I thought I'd list them here!

1. Twitter. The duck-and-dive nature of Twitter really makes it ideal for a few prime minutes of procrastination fun. See what's going on around the world, with loads of other procrastinating writers! I have three (yes, three) Twitter accounts just to, you know, maximise the enjoyment.

2. Facebook. Catch up with people you haven't talked to since high school and probably never will, even though you're Facebook friends! I've got two FB accounts - one for writing and one for personal use - and one FB Page for my 24 Hours travel guides, so I can play around for hours!

3. Google Reader. Not blogging - because I know once I delve into that world, I won't come out - but I like to check my Google Reader through the day to see what pops up!

4. Watching people rifle through the rubbish bin outside. This is surprisingly good entertainment! See what treasures lurk under the sandwich wrappers!

5. NovelRank.com. Oh Lordy, how I wish I'd never found out about this website where you can track sales of your books and look at handy-dandy sales charts and figures. I can easily obsess over it, checking it at least three times daily.

6. The Daily Mail online. You can't help but love The Daily Mail, where everything somehow seems to cause cancer and teenage pregnancy. Green tea? Causes cancer. Nick Clegg? Causes cancer. Faulty Tube system? Teenage pregnancy.

7. Staring into the fridge. I think sometimes if I stare long enough, food might actually appear.

8. BonsaiKittens. An oldie but goodie. Just how do they get those kittens into those jars?

9. Looking at my to-do list. This isn't exactly a fun one but is guaranteed to waste at least five minutes. Want a break? Scan the list, do nothing, then go back to work. Mission accomplished!

10. Staring at my husband. He always makes fun of me but I frequently get up out of my chair, walk over to him, stare for a good minute or two, then walk away. Why? I dunno!

Ten for Tuesday: Words I Hate

It's easy to wax lyrical about the lovely English language, but there are some damn ugly words lurking beneath the surface.

Here are my top 10 hated words:

1. Smear. If you're a woman, this word takes on an additional horror (sorry, men), but even without such intrusions it is a pretty awful word. There's something about the combination of 'sm' with 'ear' that just makes me grimace.

2. Schedule. I don't care how you say it, it's a terrible word. Whoever came up with it should be tethered to a desk and made to copy endless secondary school timetables.

3. Confectionery. I mean, really! What a dreadful, bland, corporate name for such a lovely category of food.

4. Sweetheart. I keep getting caught in the 'th' here.

5. Chortle. You want to chortle? How about I throttle?

6. Detritus. No matter how many times I try, I just can't pronounce this properly.

7. Uncouth. Just plain U-G-L-Y! Nothing more need be said.

8. Peripatetic. Defined as 'a person who walks from one place to another'. Duh! Don't most people do this? Do we really need a word for it?

9. Bulge. Blech.

10. Alot. I'm cheating with this one. It's not a word and that's why it's SO annoying - it seems to creep into text everywhere. Begone, alot!

What are your most hated words?