The Calm Before The Storm. Again.

Hello all, Rachel surfacing here briefly, slightly dizzy and bemused as I’m in between books, writing them that is! Surrounded by post-deadline piles of paper, dust and pen lids I've been having a little think about all the things that I should be doing with my time right now, but not actually getting very far.

I've recently sent off my latest Entangled manuscript, A Sicilian Engagement, and I’m waiting to hear what my editor thinks of it (bites lip in clichéd romance heroine-type way). Even though this book is already contracted, the wait is still as nerve-wracking as submitting a manuscript to a publisher cold, except worse in a way because I can’t just shrug my shoulders and walk away. If it’s not up to scratch I will have to fix it, not just shove it in a cyber-drawer and drink comfort wine until the nasty rejection becomes a memory. That’s being a ‘contracted author’ for you, big girls’ stuff, no messing about!

I do thank my lucky stars each day that I have those contracts and an editor keen to receive more proposals from me. I have plenty of work which is fantastic in the current economic climate and not something that I would ever take for granted, but I’m also a firm believer in the restorative power of rest. Rest for the body and rest for the mind.

This past year has taught me that being self-employed and working from home makes it very difficult to switch off. You can’t just clock out and finish for the day like I used to be able to in an accounts office and part of me doesn't want to because I love my new job so much. But the well does need refilling from time to time and creativity dries up when you’re staring at a computer screen or notebook most of your waking hours and do nothing else …

So, as we start a long bank holiday weekend here in the UK, I’m giving myself permission to log off and live for a few days before getting back to work next Tuesday. On the agenda is Iron Man 3 (yes, okay,it’s a screen, but it’s a big one and Mr Downey is very restorative) and dinner for two in a harbor restaurant while Nanny takes charge of the kids.  The sun has finally come out of hiding so I may even venture out into the garden – possibly with a book.  And I still have this beautiful indulgence to slather with beeswax and polish:

Did I mention all the laundry and cleaning that’s built up while I've been writing like a maniac on a deadline?  No, I didn't, did I? Good!

Do you set aside a time to unwind? What do you do to relax and indulge?

There’s a bottle of champagne languishing in the boiler cupboard now I come to think about it … so if any of you have some summery cocktail recipes I’d love to have them. And perhaps some nibbles to go with them. Why not? It’s the weekend!

Have an amazing one. :0)