The Loch

#5forFriday: 'Night Games,' Blondie, and Morris Dancers

A quick #5forFriday this week as I'm in the middle of writing the first draft of The Allure of Attraction, the third book in my Matchmaker of Edinburgh series. 1. I'm loving the iTV mystery The Loch. It reminds me of Broadchurch, just set in the Highlands and without a very pasty David Tennant (a shame I know). I'm not sure when it's out in the U.S., but it's a good one to keep an eye out for.

2. I blew through Heartthrobs: A History of Women and Desire by Carolyn Dyhouse this week. Dyhouse looks at the men who have been deemed desirable throughout the early 20th century in movies, romance novels, and more. If you're interested in history, gender, and sexuality, it's a fun read.

3. I run around Hyde Park, and I've recently been seeing lots of signs for the British Summer Time concert series which kicks off in the concert tonight. While Phil Collins is the first headliner, Blondie's got second billing so I've been listening to Heart of Glass, The Tide is High, Call Me, and Sunday Girl all afternoon.

4. Alexis Anne's new book Night Games is now out! She's writing a lot about baseball these days and while I know it's not specifically to make me happy it does have that very nice side effect.

5. On Wednesday night we were randomly visited by Morris Dancers. Well, they visited the pub across the way. It made for an...unexpected night.

#5forFriday: New Shows, Jazz, and Wonder Woman

Another week's gone by and I'm feeling more settled than ever into London. Here's a look at five of my favorite things from last week: 1) A brand-new book from a good friend! When I met fantasy author Nigel Henry two years ago he was just wrapping up his Demons of Sedona series and starting to think about writing this kick-ass monster fighting high school girl named Ria. Well, I'm happy to say that Ria's Web of Lies is now out at digital retailers everywhere and looks fantastic! I've got this one loaded up on my iPad, and I'll be diving in this weekend.

2) This week I handed in the developmental edits on my book The Look of Love which is due out in October. After a couple back-to-back deadlines, it'll be nice to have a little free time to work on book 3 in the Matchmaker of Edinburgh series, The Allure of Attraction, before the craziness of RWA Nationals kicks off in late July.

3) I managed to unintentionally sync my move to the U.K. with the start of several new shows airing here on iTV. This week alone I've watched the first episodes of The Loch, Fearless, and Riviera (plus plenty of the half hour soap Emmerdale). It's been a great switch off for my brain after long days of editing and rewriting.

4) I've been listening to a lot of jazz as I work this year and this week I've been on a Lester Young kick. Give his dreamy version of "I Can't Get Started" a listen:

5) I'm finally seeing Wonder Woman this weekend! I'll be heading up to Oxford for a visit with my sister and her Scottish fiancé, and we're all excited to pile into the theater and watch it (a week after everyone else, but we're just helping keep the box office healthy).