A cover for Zoe!!!

I hope you like it. I'll have an excerpt on my website soon.

Late autumn brings...

Late May means tree daisies flowering in my garden...
I've always been a daisy girl. I wanted to carry them for my wedding (all those years ago), but I didn't stick to my guns. I think they're perfect for a country cottage though, don't you?
I'd show you a picture of them growing outside, but it's been raining all week.

Collage fun...

I still love making collages to support my muse. I don't make one for every M&B, but I'm certainly making them for my longer books. This is the collage I made for Zoe's Muster.

It helped to have all the main characters there on my wall and it also helped to deepen my sense of place for this book. Every time I left my "real world" and came into my office, this collage helped my transition into the world of the book.

So now I'm working on a sequel to Zoe's story and I've made another collage. It took me a while to get it the way I wanted (not in artistic/visual sense, just right for my story). This is how it looked when it was laid out on my dining table before I stuck it down.

Tis the season...

It's autumn again... and at our place that means, among other things, a big crop of pumpkins. Once again, I can't claim any gardening skills to produce these lovely wonders. They come up of their own accord out of the compost heap, and this year they've been given oomph via pig manure.

It just so happened, that some of my friends were also discussing pumpkins and what to do with them (in Australia, we eat them -- we don't just turn them into lanterns or feed them to the pigs) and I remembered that I have the best ever pumpkin recipe, courtesy of Country Style magazine from a few years ago.

Here it is. I promise you, it's divine...

Ricotta gnocchi with pumpkin and blue cheese

500 g pumpkin
½ cup olive oil
500g rictotta cheese
½ cup grated parmesan
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 cup plain flour
1/3 whole nutmeg, finely grated
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 cup cream
200g blue cheese, roughly chopped
Flat leaf parsley, thyme or marjoram leaves, roughly chopped to serve

Preheat oven to 160C . peel pumpkin and cut into 3 equal sized pieces. Grate one piece and set aside. Cut remaining pieces into 5 cm chunks and put in baking dish. Drizzle with half olive oil and bake, turning occasionally for 20 mins until soft.

Meanwhile, combine ricotta, parmesan, eggs, flour and nutmeg in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Mix into dough and then turn onto a lightly floured work surface, divide mixture into four portions. Roll each portion to form a sausage shape about 2 cm in diameter and 15 cm long. Cut into 2 cm lengths and press lightly with a fork on one side to create ridges. Transfer to lightly floured board and repeat with remaining dough.

Cook gnocchi in batches in a large pot of salted water for 4-5 mins or until gnocchi rise to surface. Remove with slotted spoon and transfer to a small baking dish.

Preheat oven to 180C. heat remaining oil in large frying pan over medium heat. And sauté onion and garlic for 2-3 mins till softens. Add grated pumpkin and sauté for 3-4 mins. Add cream and simmer gently for 5 mins, or until sauce thickens. Pour sauce over gnocchi in baking dish.

Dot top of gnocchi with roasted pumpkin pieces and blue cheese. Season with black pepper, cover with foil and bake for 25 mins. Remove foil and bake for a further 5-10 mins or until top is golden and bubbling. Scatter with freshly chopped herbs and serve immediately.

Mt Garnet races...

Last weekend I decided to do some research for my rural romances and we headed out to the Mt Garnet races, which is actually a three day event, although we just went for the one day. I met writing mate Noreen Allen, there. Noreen's been going to these races for years -- in fact she met her husband there and her daughters met their husbands there as well, so you can see it is a Very Important Social Occasion for country folk in these parts. Once upon a time there were balls in Ravenshoe to accompany the races, although that doesn't happen now. 

The huge camping ground next the racecourse was absolutely packed with tents and caravans and established camping shacks. I soon discovered that there are some fabulous rustic dwellings, and that most of the long established families from particular cattle stations have their own designated sites.

Tradition is king out here.

Having once owned one-ninth share in a racehorse, unhappily named Unacceptable, I was keen to make a tour of the stables to check out the hopeful contenders.

Although... to be honest, I don't really know much about racing -- but I did pick the winner of the first race -- this lovely mount. Have to confess, though, that I chose him because I liked the jockeys pink and green silks. LOL.

Of course, high fashion abounded with the usual collection of fabulous hats. 

Even the sartorially splendid boys and girls were lining up to be judged for the Fashions in the Field.

 On the way home, we wandered off the main road to investigate the headwaters of the Herbert River. I do love outback waterways, as anyone who's read my books may have guessed.

And we had the added bonus of spying a flock of emus picking over a newly ploughed paddock. They're incredibly curious birds, and if you wave your hat, they'll come right over to you.

Great fun.

Look out for this guy...

1. FALLING FOR MY MYSTERIOUS is in Australian stores this month. The hero on this cover isn't exactly how I envisaged Jude, but he's still eyecatching -- or at least I hope he is. :) What do you reckon?

2. I've answered questions for Mandy Magro's blog. Mandy's been scheduling great interviews for her Awesome Aussie Authors collection, so you might like to check out her previous posts too, and discover some great new books.

3. The Australian Romance Readers Association is holding a book signing event at the RWAust conference at the Gold Coast in August and registration is now open. Check it out here. http://australianromancereaders.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/book-signing-event-registration-open/

Three lots of news. Oh, and one final piece of news ... my fortieth Mills & Boon has been accepted. It will be called THE CATTLEMAN'S SPECIAL DELIVERY.

And by the end of the night...

The bride was dancing in bare feet.

The ceremony...

Was beautiful... The three little nieces were not flower girls, but they greeted Viki with three roses, which they then carried to the signing table and these were later given to the two mothers and grandmother by the newly married couple ( a lovely surprise).
Vicki looked truly radiant and happy when she arrived with Elliot and of course I got all weepy, but thankfully, I quickly recovered.
There was poetry (ee cummings and an orginal poem written by cousin Carmen Hannay especially for Vicki and Matt). There was music. There were moving vows and a stunning backdrop and a very happy couple, and all in all, everything was perfect.

The big day...

All week we'd been nervous about the weather, but the day arrived fine and just a little cloudy -- perfect for an outdoor wedding up in the mountains. Preparations started early with the usual help from hairdressers and makeup artists (bless them).
Vicki was full of pent up energy and washed her car (would you believe??)
Grandkids Tom and Lucy were to play music at the wedding -- Lucy on cello and Tom on guitar and singing -- rendering a special arrangement of a Nick Drake song. Lovely.
Couldn't believe how beautiful and grownup Lucy looked. Proud Pappy in the background.

And Tom spruced up just fine with a little help from his mum.

Helping Vicki into her dress was such a special moment --she looked so gorgeous.

The wedding week...

The next few days were spent catching up with family and (ours and Matt's) and worrying about the car... shopping and worrying about the car... with parts that kept arriving that were the wrong size.
The wedding was on Friday and the day before was, of course, a busy day, especially as Vicki was doing all her own flowers. I went with her to the flower markets, which was an interesting new experience. This was part of our haul.

Home again, the business of cutting stems under water and de-thorning was all taken very seriously.

Vicki made up vases for the reception, plus her own flowers, as well as corsages for the mothers and grandmother.
She wanted a simple posy of orange roses, and I helped with all the binding which was a lot more complicated than I'd realised, but the result was lovely -- the dots in this photo are water droplets that showed as white in the flash.

On this wedding eve, she also had to take all the items she'd either collected or made to the reception venue at the Powerhouse. It was a big, exciting day.

And our car?
Still not fixed.

Where have I been...?

And where am I now?
It's actually a bit of a saga. The last few weeks have been rather hectic with a deadline, visitors and Easter (including important egg hunt)...

and then the big drive south for daughter Victoria's wedding.
Knowing it was a lo-o-o-ong drive from FNQ, Elliot had our car serviced and we bought two new tyres, then we set off... a night in Townsville first, and then heading south in convoy with son Richard.
We've never travelled in convoy before (apart from our very first trip north many years ago, when we were newly married and moving to Townsville -- when E and I drove in our separate cars. He in a little Austin and me in a VW beetle)
Anyhow, it was just as well we were in convoy this time as we had a breakdown (broken fanbelt) between  Gayndah and Goomeri (IOW, in the middle of nowhere). No, don't believe those stories about fixing a fanbelt with pantyhose. Modern fanbelts are very complicated creatures, connected to power steering and all sorts of things mechanical. Luckily we belong to RACQ and long story short, E had to stay in Wondai while I travelled on to Brisbane with Richard to be in time for Vicki's bridal shower the next day.

This was a lovely event, hosted by daughter Emma, who catered beautifully, helped (a little) by Lauren and me, and with Richard (a former chef) roped in to handle the icing of the cupcakes.

Meanwhile, poor Elliot was still in Wondai. Not sure why he minded, when a friend tells me it's a centre for growing navy beans and the 'baked bean capital" of Australia. :)
On Monday, bride Vicki, terrified her dad might not make it to the wedding, drove out to Wondai to rescue him.

Happy Easter

Fish on Good Friday...

Best Goof Friday dinner ever ... son Richard's seafood paella... cooked over an open fire.

An early Easter wish...

I have three little people plus their parents arriving this evening, so I'm looking forward to a fun weekend with a big Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday. Bought these little guys when I was south a couple of weeks ago, and sister Marg had the bright idea of sitting them in eggshells in the garden as part of the hunt. Cute, huh?

I hope you all have a very safe and happy long weekend.

The book has been sent, my sister and brother-in-law have arrived, so this was sunset at our place...

A new release from Barbara Hannay....

It's April, which is release month for my next book Falling for Mr Mysterious.

Emily and Jude's story received four stars from Romantic Times Book Lovers...

FALLING FOR MR. MYSTERIOUS (4) by Barbara Hannay: After a devastating breakup, Emily Silver goes to Brisbane to cry on her cousin’s shoulder. Her cousin happens to be out of town, but he insists that she stay with his new roommate. Jude Marlowe, a suspense writer, is undergoing treatment for a serious illness, and Emily turns out to be just the diversion he needs. Emily assumes that Jude is her cousin’s lover, and Jude goes along with her assumption since she isn’t in a place to trust another potential lover. This is a funny, heartwarming story with well-rounded, likable characters.

Hope you enjoy this. It was, as always, fun to write. Meanwhile, I have one more day to work on Jess and Reece's story, so it's head down, brain hopefully in gear.

A RITA finalist...

I have very exciting news today. News that started at around eleven o'clock last night. I was sound asleep when the phone rang, and I might have panicked, but I did know it was the day the RITA^® calls would go out. Just the same, I was a bit dopey, not thinking to turn on the light, but stumbling through the dark house and bumping into furniture. When I heard a lovely American voice on the line I knew that one of my books had finalled. Wow. Sat there in the dark, listening and it turned out it was Rancher's Twins: Mom Needed, my book with an illiterate cattleman hero, a story I brainstormed at one of our earlier retreats, so I have wonderful friends to thank for the inspiration.
I'm thrilled that a fellow Harlequin Romance author has been nominated in the same category. Donna Alward is a finalist with her fabulous book How A Cowboy Stole Her Heart. And Aussies Trish Morey and Fiona Lowe and Christina Brooke are also finalists -- all in different categories, so we don't have to compete with each other which is cool.
If you'd like to see the full list of finalists selected by Romance Writers of America^®’  you can see it here.

a wonderful life...

I had every intention of blogging this past week, but I’m afraid travel and a deadline leave little room for extras. I have to confess I’ve had THE BEST week – on a writing retreat with six friends at Coolangatta.

I know I’m truly blessed to have wonderful friends who are fun and generous and wise – and totally switched on when it comes to writing. In these weeks away, we spend a lot of time alone in our own one bedroom apartments (above is the gorgeous view from mine). But we're still writing madly because we all have deadlines. However, we do meet for lunch...

 and a writing related discussion (this was the flashest lunch I had and those chips were the best I've eaten in years).
In the evenings we gather to let our hair down, but the conversation is invariably about writing. The brainstorming sessions are invaluable. I always take away gems that sustain me during the writing of the next book.
This week, we also caught up with wonderful Gold Coast writers, Meredith Webber (on left)...

and Helen Bianchin, (we secretly consider helen to be The Queen of Romance.) Helen shared amazing stories of her life as a young wife in Mareeba when her husband was a share cropping tobacco farmer long before she became a bestselling author for Harlequin Presents.

Now... it’s home again, home again and a week to my deadline, but I’m refreshed and re-inspired and aware of how very lucky I am to have such wonderful friends.

And here's a lovely pic of Trish Morey and Fiona McArthur.

Talent!!!!

I heard this on the radio the other day and thought I just had to share it here  -- Leonard Cohen reciting the lyrics of 'A Thousand Kisses Deep.'

Very inspiring...

A lovely day...

I've just completed another trip around the sun -- (new speak for birthday) and had a lovely day with lots of phone calls and e-messages -- dinner of Thai prawns and Champagne cooked by E. A big thrill was watching the NQ Cowboys beat the Brisbane Broncos.  (Somewhat unexpected) Matty Bowen, a notoriously shy player on camera, was the brilliant double-try scoring Man of the Match and it was his birthday too. So that was fun!!

 I spent the day working on my line edits for Zoe's Muster, my Penguin book, a very different experience from M&B, very enlightening and interesting. My lovely editor talked me through 'Track Changes' -- so great to have an Australian editor, working same hours!!!

Today I'm off to my acapella singing group at Yungaburra, one of the activities I've started in my bid to get out of my writer's cave and become more involved in the community. On Sunday, I'll be catching up with daughter Emma and her family. Emma's running a string workshop in Cairns for the Young Con, so that will be great fun.

Oh, and I've just discovered that Rancher's Twins: Mum Needed is now an audio CD from audilble.com. I'm thrilled about that!