There Should Have Been Eight Out Soon!

 

As we count down to the release of There Should Have Been Eight (out tomorrow!!) here’s an image of an endless sand/beach road in New Zealand (speed limit to the left).

My thrillers are all inspired by the breathtaking NZ landscape. So many stunning and lonely vistas! Hands up if you enjoy books with a dramatic sense of place?!

Tongariro National Park

 

Photos from a short trip to the Tongariro National Park after I turned in Primal Mirror. This part of the park is a (freezing) alpine desert with endless vistas. Isn’t it breathtaking?

Gardens and Cats

 

Roger’s Garden Center is wiiiiild! I mean it’s literally a wilderness where gumboots are required when it rains. But best place ever for serious gardeners. But I digress. Look at this cat I saw there last time (Roger’s cat?) What do you think our fluffy overlord is plotting? 

Bookshelf Selfie

 

I took this pic the other day when I wasn’t in deadline pjs. Yes, that is Santa on the shelf. Yes, I only realized after looking at this photo. Oh well, it’s only six months to Christmas. 

Just wrote a conversation between Illium and Elena. It’s so good to be back in this world. 

Now back to the keyboard I go!

Spot the Seals

 

Can you spot the seals? Yes, there is more than one in this pic I took near Kaikoura, NZ. 

Adventures in the South Island

Photos from some recent adventures in New Zealand’s South Island! 

Dahlia Patch

More dahlias blooming. The garden pic is of an area I’m slowly turning into a dahlia patch - aim is to have it crazy with blooms. Might take a couple of years but stage one is complete!

Summer Adventures

 

1. A visit to the Art Deco capital of the world, Napier.

2. Getting wonderfully close to lush native forests.

3. Discovering a remote East Coast beach.

4. An encounter with misty rain on the road.

5. Lunch stop in an alpine wonderland.

I’ve come back so relaxed and roaring to write. I hope you managed to have a break too, whether short or long, whether on the road or snuggled up in a staycation.

These pauses where we go with the flow and take a moment, they’re so important to feed our bodies, minds, and souls.

BlackSea Sighting

 

Throwback to when Nalini and I saw a seal pup on a rainy day walk a few months ago. Possibly a member of BlackSea???

Have you spotted any wildlife where you live? 

~Ashwini

Soil Therapy

Obsessed with my foxgloves this year! Which I accidentally matched to my roses. 

Do you garden? Indoor or outdoor? What flowers do you love?

Places To Go...

Going through my photos and I thought I'd share this one of Ashwini and me looking out over Neko Harbour in Antarctica. It's one of my favorite photos from the trip!

Antarctica was a dream trip for me, a place I've wanted to visit for a long time. What's your dream trip? Where would you go if you could pack a suitcase and head out today?

New Zealand

Repost from my Instagram for those of you not on IG.

New Zealand really has the most astonishingly beautiful scenery. It still startles me sometimes.

Signed Copies & Lower North Island

I was on book tour in the Lower North Island of New Zealand last week. It was a lovely trip, with some amazing scenery! I thought I'd share some shots today.

But first, these are the bookstores that have signed copies of my books. I'm sure they'd be happy to post them out across New Zealand!

Paper Plus Johnsonville
Paper Plus Coastlands
Paper Plus Palmerston North
Paper Plus Masterton

Whitcoulls Cuba St, (Wellington)
Whitcoulls Lambton Quay (Wellington)

Thank you to everyone who came to my events and to the booksellers and librarians who hosted me. You made it such a wonderful trip.

~

It was a gorgeous day when we flew down to Wellington (I was travelling with Ruby, from Hachette, my NZ publisher).

I was lucky enough to have the window seat, and I was so glad for that when we passed over Mount Taranaki. The view was incredible - I took the following photo out the window.

I think that was my favorite view of the entire trip - though passing through the Manawatu Gorge comes a close second!

But before we get to that, let me show you my signing chair at the Porirua Library. Isn't it amazing?! It was lovely and comfortable too!

We passed through some beautiful country on the trip. I took the shot below from the car - the wind turbines in the distance were going at full speed, it was so windy.

The Manawatu Gorge was incredible! This photo doesn't do it justice. The big double-cab truck in the distance gives you some idea of the scale of the gorge.

I hope you enjoyed the little trip through part of New Zealand! 

Japan: Handmade Udon Noodles

While I lived in Japan, I once got to help make udon noodles. Here's a pic from that day. (Makes me miss my quiet little town with its tea plantations and rice fields). :-)

Packages Ahoy

Ashwini's been busy packaging up and posting the books from last week's giveaway. They should be hitting mailboxes over the next couple of weeks, depending on your location.

We'll have more giveaways, so don't worry if you missed out this time. :-)

I hope you're all having a great weekend!

Almost There :-)

Leaving Hong Kong tonight. Had such a great trip, loved meeting so many of you, but am ready to get back home and at work on Psy/Changeling #14 plus the copy edits for ARCHANGEL'S SHADOWS!! :-)

Hong Kong & Thank You!

Waving from Hong Kong! We have a short stay here to break up the long flight home (would've been 24+ hours in the air otherwise!!).

While I haven't been able to respond to all your messages and comments during my travels, I am reading each and every one. Thank you all for the lovely words about SHIELD OF WINTER and the Psy/Changeling series. You are amazing. xoxo