#Monday Coffee

Hi!  I’m over here.  Come, sit next to me and I’ll introduce you to the others.  Oh, here comes Lance.  Let’s shimmy up so that he can sit down too.  What did you choose to drink today?  I’ve gone for a Chocochino and fudge slices.  Would you like one?

There’s Wally! I’ll introduce you to him as soon as he returns from getting his beverage.  He’s a fellow writer that started a blog recently, and is getting into the flow of it.  You really should visit him and say hi – it’s always nice to get support when you’re starting out. He has been chatting about the school year coming to an end, the joys of being inspired by education and taking the time to write.

Speaking of writing, I know quite a few friends have been busy at work, creating wonderful books for the summer.  Colleen has been giving it her all in between making her garden beautiful, finding new words of the week, which you should definitely check out, Teagan and Trent have had to put theirs aside for a while due to work commitments. Trent has his own coffee blog where you can catch up with him and his busy week.

I’ve got some exciting news: after procrastinating for a long time, I’ve decided to sell my wares at our local school fayre.  It gives me one month to try and finish off all my outstanding projects and pull them together.  Now that the house move is done, the sprogs have exams and then it’s half term.  Hopefully, this will give me sufficient time to complete the tasks.

Carrie Lynn Lewis puts it aptly when she describes how one can lose their love of writing through ridiculous little habits.  With her careful checklist, I hope to avoid losing my love of writing.  Take a look at her blog to find out the other bug bears. Now, one lady who already has her hands full when it comes to bug bears is Victo Dolore.  From the uncanny patients to her honest, vivid view of life, Victo wades past the crazy stuff we throw at each other every day! Don’t forget to say hi to her.

My cup is empty through all this meeting and greeting!  Shall we get a refill and maybe some more fudge slices before we catch up with these lovely people?

Monday Coffee

  It’s dinner tonight at our favourite coffe house and everyone has turned up in their finery.  This might just constitute our version of a Christmas Party, but I do believe we will be having a few more of these in the near future!

My table is packed with authors, singers, artists and musicians.  Everyone has something to say and I must admit the noise levels are beyond comparison.  I built a bookshelf today, a beautiful white one with six shelves big enough to fit the majority of the children’s books. It might seem like a small achievement, compared to rebuilding my patio, but I’m so pleased with the end result. Everyone is cheering and congratulating me.  I feel silly even mentioning it – I guess it’s my way of compensating for failing at NaNoWriMo this year.  The Hubble pointed out to me that even at the start, I didn’t have a solid idea of a book and was grasping at straws, desperate for an idea.

I can see Lance raising an eyebrow at me.  He was kind enough to suggest a fantastic story, but I knew he had passion for the story, something I didn’t have. Lance is celebrating St Andrews day and has brought some lovely treats for us to try at this special dinner. Even the loudest person at the table shuts up long enough to sample the treats and we can’t resist going in for seconds.  

Suddenly, Rob breaks out into song and we all join in the chorus of Beautiful by Christina Aguillera. The other tables join in and the place is rocking with the voices of people from around the world. Suzie, Cindy and Jason shush us as Hugh takes the stage to make a speech and announcements about the year gone by and the lovely summer bash.  We are all excited to hear that there might be another summer meet up next year. He makes us laugh with the different signs that have been sent into his blog from his lates post and ends off his speech with a lovely rendition of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.

I hope you’re having as much fun as I am and don’t forget to leave a comment to let me know your favourite part of the evening.

Free book giveaway for Book Tuesday!

To celebrate my Book Tuesday feature of Howard Loring, the intrepid author has kindly donated 11 free pdf copies of his book Tales Of The Elastic Limits!

The first 11 people to email him at the contact details below stand a chance to win a free book.

Here’s a copy of his message…

Well, Eloise De Sousa, I’d like to celebrate your post of my short story (Chapter 11) by giving eleven pdf copies of the book away. First come, first serve; just email me at this address for a file: hloring@precognitionpress.com & I’ll gladly discuss TALES of the ELASTIC LIMIT or the genre in general on your blog if anyone wishes. Thanks

Dont waste time – get your free copy!!

The Serins Starlight Special Party – recap #BeWoW #SerinsShoutOut

A huge thanks to Serins for running a full week of fun and interaction over various media fronts. It’s been awesome and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it. So, whilst I nibble on my piece of Biltong, here’s a recap of the week from Serins. 😀

Monday Coffee

The bell tinkled over the coffee house door, heralding the arrival of the usual crowd.  My eyes searched the faces, some familiar, some new.  I could make out Teagan and Holly and waved madly, beckoning to them to come sit with me.  Mihran’s musical melodies soothed our ears whilst P.S. Bartlett read out a chapter from her new book, Demons and Pearls, The Razor’s Adventures, to a rapturous applause.

As soon as she finished, Mel entertained us with her A to Z blog of the Krakens!  Today is day thirteen and the letter ‘K’. A few more bloggers gave their ‘K’ contributions including Soucerer with his own collection of contributors to the challenge. Each received a wonderful show of support.  I thoroughly enjoyed their different ideas to fill a letter in the alphabet and wondered if I could manage a month of blogs every day.  With a schedule of blogs I already struggle on occasion to meet, it would be quite the challenge.  

We all took a moment to think of Hugh, our wonderful fellow blogger.  Our hearts and prayers go out to him at this sad time.  Cups were raised and a silent moment taken.  It was on that note that most left for the night, out into the mild Monday evening air.  

I pulled my rucksack over my shoulders and strolled across the park, listening to the owls hooting at the moon.  The silence seemed appropriate on the quiet night.

Happy #Wensfriesday!

It’s going to be an arty #Wensfriesday today folks. I’m meeting up with a friend who has taken up the yoke to join me in creating the world of LeBrush for my story, A Tale of Knots. I’m pretty excited to see her sketches and get a chance to talk to a creative person who has her own collection of stories waiting to be released to the world.

Apart from my weekly coffee dates with you lovely folks, I don’t have access to many writers in the physical sense and it can be pretty lonely at times when all I want to do is go crazy and dream up different worlds with someone else. Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with you here, but I do crave flesh and blood and an immediate reaction that I can see and not imagine when I discuss different topics. Well, I hold out on the hope that I will get to meet some of you in person one day and share that cup of coffee with you and a lovely long chat…and some cake!

Speaking of cake and all things sweet, I have to make a Blackforest Trifle for a special couple who are renewing their vows this weekend. There will be around sixty guests attending and I have to make sure there will be a big enough trifle to go around! Not a problem…I might make two!

Now numbers remind me that this is a very special #Wensfriesday for another reason – it is my Godson’s sixth birthday today and I will get to see him later for afternoon tea. He is a fantastic footballer and absolutely loves the game. I guess that is soccer to some of you. ☺️

Of course, we can’t discuss our midweek break without mentioning the sweetie of the day. Last week was hazelnut chocolate and Kinder surprises. This week might be something to share, like a slab of Dairy Milk chocolate. I don’t think the children will mind if I steal a square before they come home from school!

Have a lovely midweek break everyone and don’t forget to tell me what you’re having as your special #Wensfriesday treat. xxx

Coffee Anyone?

Trent and I sat in the corner, sipping rich french roast whilst discussing beers. He was pretty excited about the music cd he was producing with a collection of his work. I waved Mihran over and introduced the two so that they could compare music styles and absolute genius!

First Anniversary!

Tap! Tap! The mic squeaks as I check to see if it’s working. Some guests turn to see what’s happening on stage and why the music has stopped. I take a deep breath and step closer to the thin pole with microphone attached…

“Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming to my first anniversary blog party.

365 days ago I signed up for for blog page and couldn’t think of a better name than Thoughts By Mello-Elo. I had stumbled across the WordPress site through Kindlemojo’s Books and Bacon, a website dedicated to promoting novice authors like myself. I didn’t know what to make of this site and felt like a tiny row boat drifting through unchartered waters. It was only months later when I joined Writing 101 that I discovered the wonderful advantages of being a part of this amazing site.

I have met inspirational artists from all around the world who have managed to make me laugh, cry, shake my fists in anger at injustices and dance like there’s no tomorrow! It is all thanks to you that I stand here today a stronger, more confident writer. It is with you I celebrate my successes and look forward to my dreams slowly but surely coming true.

I’ll keep this short as I’m getting rather emotional and soppy but before I end my speech I would like to say, thank you! Thank you for being who you are and creating blogs that inform, support, amuse, confuse and amaze me. Even though I know Colleen from Silver Threading’s would prefer a different word, the best way to describe you all is AWESOME! Thank you!”

Speech over I join the guests and get a chance to mingle. Mentions of the future encourage me to list dreams of what I’d like to happen this year. More books, illustrations, maybe audio books and a book signing are on my bucket list. I ask what’s on your list? We wish each other good luck and toast to another year together. Group photos and silly selfies are rampant as the drinks flow and inhibitions are lost.

I see you standing across the room smiling and I raise my glass to you. Yes you. With a nod to you and an imaginary clink of glasses, I wish you a successful year ahead. I will hopefully see you next year with a few items ticked off my list and yours.

Salut!

Monday Coffee Time

The chilly evening air whips open coat tails and loose scarves as the door to the coffee house seems to be opening and closing every two minutes. For a Monday night, the place is pretty full and the regulars have taken their seats near RyanLanz on mismatched overstuffed chairs close to the shelved brick walls filled with books. My hazelnut hot chocolate courses through my cold veins as I sip it and go over my terrible author bio on a new site.

If We Were Having Coffee

The bell tinkles over the glass door to the coffee house and I rush in from the rain, welcomed by the homely smell of roasted coffee beans and freshly baked confectionaries. I’m here with a mission.