A Kindred Soul.

Last week I met a little boy from Iraq who’s in my eleven-year-old daughter’s class at school. Now, normally I don’t go for the Sheik-types, but this kid was ADORABLE. In the interest of not hearing an outraged and embarrassed ‘Oh Muuum!’ from my daughter, I’ll call this little cutie, ‘Bob’. Walking toward the field where the annual cross-country race was about to take place, Bob and I had our first conversation. It went something like this:
Bob: How many laps of the field do you think we have to do?
Me: 2 or 3, I think.
Bob: That many? (Dramatically flings arms wide) I’ll die if I have to run that far! I don’t wanna die.
Me: You’ll be fine, Bob.
Bob: But people die all the time when they’re running. 3 whole laps! I’m going to pass out and then I’ll die.
Me: No you won’t. Young people don’t die running, only old people. You’ll be fine.
Bob: (Ten brownie points to the kid for not pointing out that I’m old—oldish) Well, what about the really little kids? They can’t run that far.
Me: Probably not, so they’ll run as far as they can.
Bob: And then what? They’ll fall down and die?
Me: (Really trying not to collapse in very immature giggles) No, Bob. Then they’ll just continue to walk.
Bob: Oh. (Looks up) It’s really hot today. I might get sunburned.
Me: Hmmm. Maybe.
Bob: I hope I don’t get sunburned. I might get skin cancer. How do you get skin cancer?
I was a total goner by this point…
My husband is always telling me I must enjoy worrying since I seem to do it so much. No wonder I felt a connection with this kid. And he is so going to turn up as a character in one of my books!


Tracey


What I’m reading this week: Dead Radiance – T. G Ayer, a very talented New Zealand YA author. Ayer has swept me away into her world of Valkyries and so far I’m enjoying the ride—Whoo-hoo!


What I’m watching this week: The Fugitive. Another oldie, but goodie. Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones are brilliant together. Classic line: Kimble: I didn’t kill my wife! Gerard: I. Don’t. Care.


This week’s favorite quote: I'm not afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens. Woody Allen.


Hot guy of the week: Sorry I can’t post a picture of ‘Bob’, so Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes will have to do instead. Zombie Killer, seriously hot bod and a man in uniform (not to mention the hat, I looove the hat). If there’s ever a Zombie Apocalypse, Rick’s my man.

Friday I-Wish-I-Were-There (Queenstown, NZ)

Welcome to my Friday I-Wish-I-Were-There Blog.
Today I’m taking you south of my home-city, Wellington, to Queenstown, in the South Island of New Zealand. Queenstown is one of New Zealand’s most picturesque tourist meccas. Surrounded by snowcapped mountain ranges and on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, the scenery is enough to make you forget to breathe.

Queenstown Highlights:
Ice-skating with my husband and kids. Despite my innate un-coordination, I didn’t fall on my butt, so that's a bonus.
Queenstown Gondola. Spectacular views over Queenstown going up the incredibly steep Gondola ride and from the top viewing platforms. I've probably seen the view a hundred times in magazines/postcards etc, but the real thing is absolutely stunning.
Bungee jumping. Four words for you, my friend: I. Don’t. Think. So.

Para-gliding. See above about bungee jumping.
Shopping. Ahhhhh. My body shape is much more suited for this activity.
Coronet Peak ski fields. They weren’t open for the season when we went, but the view from up there was just unbelievably beautiful. It’s incredible to watch the full moon come up over the mountains!

Maybe some day I’ll set a book in Queenstown—perhaps with a devilishly handsome bungee jumper? I’ll keep you posted...
Have a great weekend, everyone!

Tracey

A Pollyanna Day

This week I introduced my eleven-year-old daughter to Disney’s classic movie, ‘Pollyanna’. It’s been years since I first watched it, but I was still sentimental enough to shed a few tears at the end. Pollyanna’s ‘Glad Game’ is commendable, especially as it’s so easy to take life for granted when you get caught up in everyday busyness. I thought about the Glad Game today and here’s a short list of my ‘Glads’.

I can be glad I have too many books on my shelves, when I think about countries where books are a luxury most can’t afford.

I can be glad the roses in my garden are still blooming, even though winter is only weeks away.

I can be glad my daughter has the opportunity to learn the piano, when I get pleasure from hearing her practise.

I can be glad I’m healthy and that my family is healthy, when I see a friend fighting cancer.

And lastly, I can be glad two beautiful doves have decided to make a home on our roof and that each morning they’re reminders of two important ideals in my life: peace and hope.

Tracey.

Friday I-Wish-I-Were-There... (Tombstone, Arizona)

Welcome to my Friday I-Wish-I-Were-There Blog.

One reason I enjoy reading so much is the opportunity to live vicariously in whatever world the author takes me to. From small town America, to the high-rises of New York city or the gorgeous coastlines of my own country, I love to explore a new environment through a character’s eyes. So on Fridays my blogs will be about some of the places I’ve visited, and I’d love to hear about the places you wish you could escape to, come the end of a busy week!

Today I’m wishing myself back to January of this year when we visited the town to tough to die – Tombstone, Arizona.

* Firing genuine Colt .44 handguns like the cowboys used, but loaded with paint balls, not bullets!

* Tombstone trolley tour. I loved our tour-guide’s 'Lawmaker’ western outfit of black jeans, long-sleeved white shirt, black vest, black cravat and black hat. Mmmm, sexy.

* Learning about the area’s colourful history. I couldn’t resist buying a couple of books about the town’s “Soiled Doves”. You can guess what that euphemism means…

* Allen Street’s original Birdcage theatre. Complete with bullet holes in the ceiling and the gambling table where Doc Holiday played cards.

* Boothill Cemetery. And the famous grave marker that reads: Here lies Lester Moore four slugs from a 44, no Les, no more.

* The endless blue of the Arizona sky and the wicked sharp, but strangely beautiful, Crucifixion thorn.

* The OK Corral. At the corner of Freemont street and 3rd Ave. The event is so cloaked in legend that it’s hard to know what is truth and what is myth, but the fact was three men died there, and without those deaths Tombstone wouldn’t be what it is today.

I can almost hear the swish of the Lady’s long skirts on the wooden side-walks and the click of Wyatt Earp’s boot heels… There’s something hot about a guy in a long black duster holding a shotgun… (his mustache, not so much).

If you’ve ever been to Tombstone, I’d love to hear about it… 

Tracey

Welcome to my very first blog! :-)

If the first sentence of the first paragraph of the first chapter is excruciating to write, why did I think writing my first blog entry would be a piece of cake? Go figure. Since I’m a newbie blog writer, go easy on me. I promise not to waffle on.

So firstly, welcome. Great start, Trace, you’re repeating yourself already. No really. I’m glad you’re willing to give me a few moments of your valuable time.

I’ve been thinking about time these last few days. It’s been an eventful year for me so far. Two months ago my mother passed away unexpectedly and my world was tipped on its ear. Mum hadn’t been in the best of health for a long time, but it was still a shock to become half an orphan at forty years old. Time ticking past while keeping a bedside vigil is an experience I’m likely to remember for many years to come. And the time since that day seems to exist in a Twilight zone of being eons ago, and only yesterday, simultaneously.

There’s never enough time spent with those we love, is there? Just one more week with my family travelling around the U.S.A in our fifth-wheel caravan. Just one more day playing ‘Barbie's’ with my daughter who’s just decided she’s too old to play dolls with her mum. Just one more hour spent with my now teenage son when he was a gorgeous four-year-old who would beg me to play toy cars with him for just ‘five minutes longer, mummy’. Just one more minute to get a talcum-power-and-lavender-scented hug from my mum, something I didn’t do on the day before she died.

Time is fleeting, so let every second spent with someone you love, count.

Tracey.

What I’m reading this week: Dearly Departed – Lia Habel. A young adult steampunk/zombie book – a rollicking good read so far.

What I’m watching this week: The Deep. A classic movie, and who knew Nick Nolte was kinda cute so many years ago…

This week’s favorite quote: “The only absolute, foolproof, unbreakable rule, for which you’ll never find an exception, is never be boring on the page.” Karl Iglesias, from ‘Writing for Emotional Impact’.