Hair up and Hair down...

A hell of a lot has happened since the last time I entered the hostile enviroment of this blog...yes I say hostile.... I have never been a diary writer, and all I feel when I click in to bore you with whats going on in my life is pressure, pressure, pressure, be interesting, be fascinating, be everything you are not...as you can tell I hate writing about myself as I can't help the chorus in my head shouting;

 'Sit down, shut up, don't be so narcissistic, who the hell wants to read about you, IDIOT!'  

Yeah, that's my constant internal monologue and every voice seems to be my parents.  Anyway, THINGS have happened since my last splurge of banality.  
  1. My father turned 80 years old and I helped plan the massive undertaking that was his party but I couldn't actually go to it as...
  2. I had radioactive iodine therapy for my thyroid and couldnt be around humans, especially children and old people, which was the bulk of the guest list...I did notice the doctors were quite laissez-faireas with my husbands health and didn't mind him being around me all the time, which he was, even though I was terrified to touch him.  I have to say you don't realise how much you touch your partner until you can't. or how much you really, really, really want to all the time.
  3. I met, (kinda sort of as it was on the net) my favourite, all time writer who I have been reading since I was pregnant with my son Nathan Henare Astwood, who is about to turn 33 years old on July 10, yes, 33 years.  Her name is Carole Mortimer and as I said, she is my favourite all time writer.  I read one of her books, 'Forbidden Surrender' every year, and I have five ratty, dog eared, falling to bits, copies of it and a PDF copy of the book.  She is the writer that inspires me the most because I become her Protagonist and feel my way through the heartache, misunderstands and ultimately the triumph.  She has a new series out called Alpha, and if you are a sexy romance reader they are on amazon Kindle and most awesome of all, cheap as chips.  https://www.facebook.com/CaroleMortimerAuthor
  4. I made my brother buy them all for me at one go, thank you Johnny xxx
  5. I also made a complete nerdy fan twat of myself and bawled my eyes out all the way through an email to her telling her how much I loved and admired her work (yes I was pitiful)  and she wrote the lovliest email back which I one again cried all the way through (yes yes I really am that pitiful)  She is just lovely and truely the sort of woman who would be my mate if she didnt live so far away and I wasn't quite so weird, unsociable and hobbit-like.  Contacting her reminded me of my childhood dreams (most of which I have to say I have fulfilled) and she inspired me to segue (which is pronouced seg-way, so why isn't it spelt seg-way. my battle with the English language continues)  back to them so....
  6. Now I am now a bona-fide romance writer yeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy and I will be publishing my first romance really soon.  

As you can see by the pictures (I always say that in case someone is actually reading this-I strongly doubt it) I am feeling heaps and heaps better.  Am off all meds except sleeping pills which Ive been on for more than 20 years and am weaning myself off through self hypnosis, through meditation, sounds naff but I'm being a totally serious.  
No more weight gain, no more random crazy inarticulate thoughts, no more aching pain in my body and no more hot pounding sweats.  

I am so grateful and happy to feel better than I have for more than 20 years and am more creative than ever.  
I have: 
  1. Begun a new Romance imprint for my Publishing House called "HineAtua" .
  2. Compiled a short story and poetry collections called "Globes of mirrored glass" 
  3. Written 72000 words of the final part of the 'Heart of the Tapu Stone" trilogy
  4. Had a poem accepted in the 4th Floor Literary Magazine (I have been trying to get into for years)
  5. Sent off a bunch of short stories to "PikiHuia" short stories (not holding my breath there)
  6. Been working on an illustrated book with an amazing Artist called Ruth Robertson-Taylor  http://cargocollective.com/FleurRuth/ who is as talented as she is lovely and thats saying something, because she is truely divine and my friend.  She is doing all the illustrations which I would love to share but I am not going to, I will allow you to be blown away by her work at the Launch
Well thats about all thats been floating around in my head hopeing to escape.  Once again though, I gotta say, life is so wonderful and I am so happy, and I have learned that the secret of happiness is to be Grateful, and I am so so so Grateful.  

Lots of Love Oliviaxxxx