apologies

Huge apologies to the one or two people who will look for my book. Yes it is up and published but Amazon objected to the book being free so it 99c. I promise to add to the book. The whole story of Rachel and David which will be about 20000 will be published early October. This is a terrible shortened version. So if you want a taster buy it otherwise wait for the full version which will be sold at a $1.50. At the moment the story is just 4195 words so it is really just a short version and some details of the story are different in the long version. I just wanted to see how Kindle Publishing worked. I am sorry but its all I could get up in the rush of the past few days and today was a deadline in my head to get something up.

Cheers to you all

I am leaving on a jet plane. Don't know when I'll be back again. Oh how I hate to say goodbye.

Okay I do know when I will be back again. September 21 at 9am in the morning but now you all have that song stuck in your head. Ha!!!

So tomorrow we are off on our USA trip and I am not sure when I will have access to a computer as I am not taking my annoying laptop with me. I will try to update once or twice while I am in the States but I can't promise anything. What I can promise is a wonderful story when I get back and lots of photos.

So love you all and I wish I could take you with me:)

See you on the flip side!

Cover Fun

So my Kindle single is ready to upload. Its a short story but that is the nature of Kindle single. This turned out to be a very good thing as I have had so much to do this week getting everything ready for our trip next week.  The amount to do was made bigger by me cancelling a hotel I didn't like anymore and having to find another place to stay. All very last minute.

Anyway as I said the book is ready but I am having trouble designing a cover for it. Since the book is going to be free I don't want to spend money doing the cover. Hopefully I will get something sorted today or over the weekend so the book should go up on Monday and be available on Wednesday.

So don't judge this book to harshly. Its free and it is no way meant to be a great masterpiece. Its just a way for me to find out how the system works.

I am going to be writing under two different names. The first is Kathleen Duncan and I will publish drama, romance and chic lit type stories under this name. The second will be my actual name Kathleen Logan and I will use this to publish thrillers,crime dramas, fantasy and strangely travel books:)

So the Kindle Single will be Letting Go - Book one of the Failed Love Series by Kathleen Duncan.  Hope you get some entertainment from it.

Law and Order

Apparently the legal series Law and Order will be starting filming a South African version in Cape Town soon. I have always thought of the series as a crime drama not a comedy:) Oh well I really doubt it will do well anyway. We believe a story like that in a country that has a high conviction and arrest rate. In South Africa it will just be another sad joke. Anyway if you are interested here is the link

http://entertainment.iafrica.com/articles/747503.html

Wordless Wednesday

A couple of pics of Ewan and his friend George wearing their harnesses. For Natasha from Raising Men

Tales of a last minute packer

I am hugely sorry for the lack of posts but I am so busy at the moment. We fly to the USA in just nine days and I am hoping to get my book up before that. I am also trying to be really organised this time and not pack an hour before we leave. This is standard me behaviour I always promise to be more organised but it never works. Last year we went to Australia in Febuary for a month. Ewan was eight months old at the time and I had lots of plans about how I was going to be super mommy. Well thats just what they where plans. We had to buy the poor child a coat because all he had was a thin jersey and I had forgotten how bad the weather can be in Melbourne even in summer. Ewan didn't get a luggage allowance on internal flights so I had packed all his clothes, blankets, nappies and bottles in my bag. The brilliant part was on arrival in Sydney I discovered I had pretty much forgotten to pack for me. Yeah. So I had three shirts, two pairs of shorts, one pair of jeans, a costume and a dress for a month long holiday. After paying for flights, hotels and car hire my bank balance was fairy low so I made do with just those clothes. I was utterly sick of those clothes by the time we got home so I haven't worn them since.

This time Ewan does get a luggage allowance so things should turn out a bit better. Today I packed his bag as with the cold spell we are having he won't need any summer clothes till we leave. Tick. Yes I have actually made a list of things to do before we go and a packing list for myself.

So here's to me being organised and actually having some clothes this trip. Just watch the airlines will lose my bag:)

A picnic in the Barrossa. The sparkly evening shirt is so suitable:0

Failed Love

I am busy doing research on two of the stories for my book. I have written three of the books using internet research and my own life experience. I would like to ask your help for these two as I would like the stories to have a personal ring to them. I promise to not use your name or even your exact story as I am just looking for ideas. So if you have ever felt like your current or a previous relationship was or has been affected by any of the following please send me your story.

Mental Illness or Depression

Long Work hours combined with raising a child

Personal changes over time that have changed your feelings towards your partner.

My email address is katinafrica@gmail.com so please send your story by email. Thanks and I really appreciate your help.

 

Writing as a job

Yesterday Andrew and I where talking about my work as a GIS consultant. I work for a company that I cant for legal reasons name and I have worked for them as contractor through another company for almost five years now. At first I really loved the job and it has been a wonderful way to have the freedom to work from home. I have been able to really spend time with my son and I am hugely grateful to them for that. Truth is though that when I started the work came thick and fast and they always paid within a week of me sending work off. This year I have done a total of 165 hours work for them and its now August. There was a gap of nine weeks where we didn't hear a word from them. It sucks in a big way. I was planning to fund our overseas trip myself but Andrew has had to put in a lot of money as there was nothing coming to me. Even when work is sent in they have outsourced their finance department so it can take up to four months for them to pay. I will keep offically working for them until the end of this year but then I think its time to close that door. Its sad in a way but it really is time to move on. So for me that is what has been on my mind the most this week. A new door is opening and its time to jump through.

My collection of five short stories called Failed Love will be up on the Amazon Kindle website on the 16 August so if you have a Kindle please buy it:)) I promise its worth reading. If you dont have a Kindle you can download the app for PC's or smart phones then buy my book.

In parent side of the world news... Ewan is utterly refusing to drink from a straw which is hugely frustrating with our upcoming trip. Straws would make our lives so much easier. So any tips on how to get a very stubborn toddler to try a straw please send them. On the cute side he spends a lot of time "cooking num nums" now which is really sweet. Any container can be the pot but if he is allowed to stir the pot after we have finished cooking in the evening thats just a huge bonus in his day. Maybe we have a budding Jamie Oliver.

So we fly in 19 days now. I am looking forward to the holiday but the thought of 19.5 hours in a plane with a toddler is enough to make me want to run away. The way there is not to bad as we leave at 20:30 so hoping he will sleep to London. We then have 3.5 hours in Heathrow for him to run around and eat breakfast then its a 7 hour flight to New York. I have bought him a compact Winnie the pooh activity set for that flight plus Virgin Atlantic gives kids a backpack filled with toys. Hold thumbs that will be ok. I am not worried about flight in the States as both our flights are short and weeks apart and they occur at nap time. So the big terror is the flight back. We only leave NY at 22:30 and after 6.5 hour flight arrive in Heathrow. That means a sleepy grumpy toddler. We then have a 13 hour layover in London and we can't leave the airport not even to go to a hotel to sleep. There was so much conflicting info but if I had know all this I would have got the damn British visa and had a 2 day stop over in London. So yes the flight home is the flight from hell so we will all be shattered and need a holiday when we get back:)

We are off to Durban tomorrow for the long weekend with my folks. I will try post tomorrow but if I dont have an awesome weekend and if you are South African enjoy Womens Day on Tuesday.

Things I am loving at the moment

Cat did a post on her blog juggling act of life about things she is loving at the moment so in response here is my list:)

1. My sheepskin slippers. Normally I am a barefoot type girl but its freezing in KZN at the moment.

2. Zumba DVDs. I love dancing so this is the perfect work out for me. Plus I don't have to leave the house.

3. Jamie Does... My new cookbook that I got three weeks ago. I love Jamie Oliver and this is one of his best books.

4. Garnier Nutritionist Youthful Radience. The most fantastic moisturizer. Smells amazing and feels great. I am a huge fan:)

So post about what you are loving at the moment or answer in the comments:0