It Started With A Christmas Tree - A Lizzie Fuller Christmas Novella

It's up and running.  My new novella It Started With A Christmas Tree - A Lizzie Fuller Christmas Novella!  And it's available for a free download this Friday, Saturday and sunday.  Happy reading everyone.  I hope you enjoy it! :)

http://www.amazon.com/Started-Christmas-Tree-Lizzie-Novella-ebook/dp/B00H8XPCRS/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1386827265&sr=1-3&keywords=beth+prentice

It Started With A Christmas Tree - A Lizzie fuller Christmas Novella

Just got my first draft of 'It Started With A Christmas Tree - A Lizzie Fuller Christmas Novella' back from the editor. Apparently I've still got a some learning to do when it comes to this spelling/grammar thing  Thank God for editors 

It Started With Theo

I have a new novel being released mid November and thought I'd give you an excerpt from chapter one. Hope you like it :)

It Started With Theo
Chapter One, part one

Meet Theo. He’s about ten inches tall, white with big brown spots, extremely hairy and when he looks in the mirror, he sees The Rock. He’s my neighbours’ dog. Well, technically, he’s now my dog. This morning Betty, my seventy-year-old neighbour, asked me to take him to the animal shelter for her. You see, her family’s forcing her to move into a retirement home and she can’t take Theo with her. That’s a real shame. I, of course, said I’d take him. I pretty much do whatever people ask me. I need to stand up and value myself more according to my counselor, but that’s a whole other story. But honestly, this didn’t really make any sense to me. I’d never met Betty’s family. In all the time that I had lived across the road from her, not once had I seen anyone visit her. In fact, I’d never even heard Betty talk about them. So as you can imagine, it was a surprise to me that not only was she going to move like they wanted, she was also going to give up her beloved little dog. I sighed and promised myself that when I was elderly, I was not going to do what my children told me to do (Who was I kidding? I may as well pick out my nursing home now). So me, being the weak willed person that I am, agreed to help her. Only when I got there, I sat in the car and looked at the entrance gates. I could hear the noise of hundreds of dogs calling out to each other, saying who the hell knows what, as I watched two volunteer workers walking some of the bigger dogs, tongues hanging out and a brightness in their eyes, down the dusty laneway that ran beside the shelter. I felt the crack in my heart as I watched a man drop his faithful friend at the reception counter and leave, without even saying goodbye, the dog longingly trying to follow him. I looked at Theo and my eyes filled with tears. “You know, you’re really cute and I’m sure you’ll find a good home very quickly.” I think I was trying to convince myself more than him. He looked up at me, his brown eyes as huge as saucers, ears pinned back. That was such a low blow. My heart was already breaking, I did not need him to pull out all the stops and look cuter than ever. “Don’t look at me like that. This really is for the best.” I reached out and rubbed his furry little head. Wow, he is so soft. I watched, as he turned his little brown face towards my palm and snuggled into it. Humph. He really knew how to play this game didn’t he? I ran my thumb over his little Chihuahua nose and thought about the day he was having. The home he knew had just been ripped away from him, along with the person who he loved most in the world. And to make his day even worse, he would have to spend the night in solitary confinement and surrounded by strangers. I thought about the last year that I had lived opposite Betty and had never once seen Theo bark or snap. Before meeting him, I had thought all Chihuahua’s were snappy, nasty little creatures. I was wrong. This one in particular was adorable. I felt the tear run down my cheek and drip off my chin. I couldn’t do it. I did not have it in my heart to hand him over to complete strangers, thinking he’d been abandoned by all those that loved him. Sure, Betty had already organized for me to hand Theo to a lady named Lucy but surely she wouldn’t care that I had kept him. And I’m sure Lucy is far too busy to follow up on a dog that doesn’t get handed in. In fact, they’d probably all be extremely happy that Theo had already found a new home. “Okay, Okay! You win. I hope you’re happy with yourself,” I said, wiping my chin with my free hand. The wagging of his tail told me that he understood what I was saying perfectly well and if I’m not mistaken that is a very big smile on his little face. Putting the car into gear, I turned it around and headed home. Little did I know, but that decision would turn out to be the best and worst decision of my life.

It Started With Theo

A sneak peek at the cover of my new novel It Started With Theo due for release mid November! Let me know what you think :)

Beth Prentice official Facebook page

I now have an official Beth Prentice Facebook page.  Please follow the link and click like.  I need all the help I can get :)
https://www.facebook.com/bethprentice69

New link for It Started With A House

Hi everyone, I've just found a way to get a great link to my novel It Started With A House.  It will redirect you to the correct Amazon site for your country!  http://bookShow.me/B008L2KNEW

Free book this Friday

For anyone interested in a free copy of my book 'It Started With A House' it's available this Friday 21st June 2013 on Kindle.  It's available on any Amazon site and can be found either by title or by copy and pasting the ASIN:B008L2KNEW into the search field! Keep in mind that the free giveaway is this Friday US time. Happy reading everyone!

Lizzie has moved!

Well, I've decided to get a bit more organised so I've created a separate blog for Lizzie's diaries, that way if anything exciting happens in my world, I can still keep you updated on this blog without confusing anyone to what is real and what is fiction :) so if you're following Lizzie you will find her at her new home at http://lizziefullersdiary.blogspot.com.au.  I hope she get lots of followers :)

Lizzie's diary

Wednesday 12^th June 2013

I was so excited today.  My new iPad cover arrived in the mail.  Of course I was being cheap and bought it from ebay rather than pay full price in the shop, so the wait seemed endless.  Yes my life is that sad that I’m excited about an iPad cover.  Progress on the house has been slowed down because Riley had to actually go back to work (he said he enjoyed my payments very much but apparently you cannot live on love alone) but today had been really wet so Riley had decided to work at the house.  I too was supposed to be working.  When I made the decision to go freelance I didn’t really have much to lose – I’d already quit my job.  But thankfully this was paying quite nicely.  It also meant that on days like today when Riley was working from home I got to sit back and admire his work.  Even though we’ve been together for a few months now I still have to pinch myself that he’s actually mine.  And he’s still as sexy as ever.  God, when he looks at me with those eyes I nearly melt. And don’t even get me started on his smile – I’ve been working really hard on my immunity to it still.  I’m a bit concerned that if I can’t I might be brain dead by the time I’m 33.  Sigh.

Anyway, back on track –  As Riley opened the door to our parcel post lady I will admit shock had been my first reaction.  Running down the side of her face and neck was a red liquid that looked a lot like blood. OMG! What kind of a neighbourhood did I live in that the post lady arrives nearly bleeding to death?   Riley ran to the kitchen to get a towel to help her and I ran grab my phone ready to call an ambulance when on closer inspection I realized it was her new hair colour that was running from the rain. Now her hair colour does change quite frequently but today’s colour was quite shocking.  Lets just say the town’s fire truck has some competition in the colour department.  I hope I didn’t embarrass the poor lady but when I may have asked if Google earth could see her, a very scary thing happened.  Her face turned the same colour as her hair.  Add to that her high visibility work shirt and I almost needed to put my sunglasses on.  Lets just say I think our parcels may not be getting the same quality of care as they usually do.  Then again, I’ll just ask Riley to answer the door next time without his shirt on.  That should get us back in her good books.

The Lizzie Diaries

I was recently doing some research on promoting my novel when an idea came to me that I thought would be quite fun.  I'd had a few people ask if there was ever going to be a sequel to my book - It Started With A House, and the thought had crossed my mind.  But in the mean time I thought it would be fun to create The Lizzie Diaries.  If you've read the book and liked the characters you can catch up with them daily,  here on my post.  I hope you enjoy reading about Lizzie as much as I enjoy writing her story.

Lizzie's diary - 11^th June 2013

Recently Grandma Mabel had a fall.  Now I must tell you that she’s ok, but Mum decided maybe it was time that Grandma should go into a nursing home.  I will admit that when I first heard about this plan I was scared and sad but then Mum convinced me that I should accompany them on their tour of the local nursing home and see for myself what a wonderful time Grandma would have living there. So this morning I kissed Riley goodbye (okay, it was slightly more than a kiss but you get my point, right?), jumped in my Mini and headed over to Mum’s.  I must say it appeared that Grandma Mabel didn’t share Mum’s enthusiasm for this tour as when I walked into the kitchen the look on her face was anything but happy, but there she was dressed in her Sunday best complete with her purple patent handbag (she only brought that out for special occasions so obviously Mum had warned her to be on her best behaviour). I felt a slight crack in my heart as we all got into Mum’s car and headed to the Allora Lodge Nursing Facility.  I’d been there once before so I had an idea of what to expect and I wasn’t disappointed.  Walking in we found the same room of Bingo players as last time that I was here.  Today our tour guide was a lovely lady by the name of Jessica who was obviously very well trained in making this place sound attractive because by the time our tour was over even I was ready to pack up and move in.  The idea of three meals a day cooked and delivered to your door, along with a fridge full of chocolate and the promise of a glass of wine every evening made this place a lot more appealing than the bingo tournament held in the dining room every Tuesday and Thursday morning.  Even though, I did notice Grandma smile when that piece of information was announced.  Well anyway, all went well with our visit and I did see Mum’s smile get bigger the more we looked around.  That was until we lost Grandma Mabel.  I mean this place was full of nursing staff and attendants, how could we lose her!  Mum of course blamed me.  Apparently it had been my job to keep an eye on Grandma but hey, I don’t remember getting that memo. The lovely Jessica assured us that she couldn’t have gone too far and suggested that Mum maybe visit the nurses station for some oxygen whilst she engaged the help of a lovely gentleman to help our search.  Of course we found Grandma eventually.  Our first thought was that she was probably playing bingo, as this was her second favourite pastime.  I was the one who remembered what Grandma’s absolute favourite pastime was but Jessica was a bit bewildered when I asked her if there were any attractive elderly gentlemen who were residents here.  It was the lucky (or more likely the unlucky) Benjamin Browning who was the recipient of Grandma’s favour today but I reckon I saw the sparkle in his eye as Grandma showed him her scars from her knee replacement.  Mum decided after this that maybe Grandma wasn’t ready for the nursing home just yet and suggested a quick stop for a pub lunch on the way home.  I’m almost sure that this stop was for the food.

Goodbye my faithful friend

Today I said goodbye to an old friend.  For the last four and a half years she has been a very special part of my life, spending many hours of every day together, being my companion as we navigated over many, many kilometres.

Yes, it’s my car.  Now I know that there are many of you that think cars are just machines that do not have feelings and of course, I know you’re right.  But that special place in my heart will argue with you.  She has been such a huge part of my family’s life, taking us to places we have never been, keeping us safe on our travels and holding us tight, allowing us to go about our daily life easily and comfortably, that she now feels like one of the family. So many memories are contained inside her, the laughter, the tears and the tantrums (mostly on my part, I will admit) but she been there consistently, keeping us moving.  Her boot has been filled with many of our possessions.  When we moved house, she happily moved all that she possibly could, her back seat crammed full of all that we held dearest (the kids, the dogs and the TV). She has even been there for our family holidays.  In fact, without her, we never would have even got there. She has been piled high with suitcases, pillows and everything else a family needs to vacation.  She has allowed us our weekend visits to see family and she has been there for my husband when he needed her for work, travelling the often rough roads of Queensland  (Ok, the Bruce highway around Gladstone is probably the roughest road she has ever seen, but I think that is one of the roughest road in Queensland, don’t you?).  She even stayed strong when the kids learnt to drive in her, never once complaining about her, sometimes, rough treatment.

Not all of her adventures were good ones though.  She’s had some tough times.  Like the time that I reversed down our driveway and didn’t see the tree that was approximately two metres in diameter and about fifty feet tall.  She forgave me when I wiped off her side mirror and scraped her front guard.  She did not hold any resentment what so ever.  In fact, once she was all fixed and looking beautiful again, she continued to do everything I asked of her without the slightest hiccup.

There was even the awful night when I got that phone call all us parents dread.  My son had had an accident in her.  And it wasn’t a small one either.  Yes it wasn’t his fault but the damage that time almost ended her life.  But she did all I could ever ask her to do.  On that stormy, wet night, she kept him safe.  What more could I ask of her?  Luckily, she happily lived to see another day and more adventures.

But like all of us, age has caught up with her and she can no longer consistently do the job that we need her to do.  So it is with tears in my eyes and weight in my heart that I stand here on my driveway, waving goodbye to my faithful friend, only happy in the knowledge that someone new will love and cherish her as much as I have and that she will become that special part of their family.

And tomorrow, I look forward to meeting my new friend.

Excerpt - It Started With A House

I looked over at her thinking how sweet she looked in her purple calf-length polyester dress, complete with matching purple hair. Just as my heart was melting, she lifted her left bottom cheek and a distinctive noise coming from her rear end was followed up by a seriously bad odor. Grandma continued to eat, a completely innocent look on her face as if nothing happened. A second later the odor hit and I saw her wrinkle her nose.

“Who let Polly out of prison?” she asked. 

   --- It Started With A House

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008L2KNEW/ref=r_soa_w_ps

It's Back!!

It's Back!!  It Started With A House is now improved, edited and back on Amazon.  If your interested its available for a free download tonight and tomorrow.  Hope you enjoy it!
http://www.amazon.com/It-Started-With-House-ebook/dp/B008L2KNEW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365296776&sr=8-1&keywords=beth+prentice

Thank you very much to the lovely Juanita Kees of kees2create.com.au.  If you ever need any proofreading/editing done this lady was absolutely fantastic to work with.  I highly recommend her!

Hi everyone
If you're looking for a good book to read here is a great site to find something.

http://awesomeromancenovelsblogspot.com.au

Check it out!  It's worth the look :)

Time flies

A while I wrote to you about how the mother bird puts her beak up her little ones behind and pushes them from the nest and I may have mentioned that I envied her courage.  Well, maybe I should rephrase that.  You see my little fledgling has decided that it is time for him to fly solo.  And the opportunity that he has been given means that he is flying a long way away from this tree.  Well, may I say that this doesn’t feel exactly as I had imagined.  In fact, if I’m completely honest – it’s horrible.  I can’t even think about it without wanting to cry.  Of course I’m happy for him.  It’s a great opportunity for him and one that he would have been crazy to turn down.  I also want him to succeed in life and follow his passions and his dreams and of course, I know that one day he would fly and be free, but lets face it – this isn’t about him, is it?  It’s about poor old mum!  I’m not ready for my babies to be grown up and totally independent.  Yes, I am very proud of him and the young man he has grown into but where did my baby go?  It honestly felt like yesterday that I brought him home from hospital (well actually it was only yesterday that I brought him home from hospital but that was because he fell off his motorbike).  Sigh.  Time just goes by so quickly.  And even though I tried really hard not to, I still blinked.  And in that blink 18 years passed as quickly as that.  Life moves to the next chapter whether we are ready for it or not and I guess I’ll just have to hang on and enjoy the ride and know that no matter what – I’ll love him, I’ll miss him and I’ll count the days til he comes home again and be grateful that I still have one little baby bird still safely tucked into this nest.  So my beautiful boy, know that I am extremely proud to be your Mum and that I wish you all the success and happiness you deserve but remember  - I know where you will be living so if you don’t come home to visit me then I’ll be coming to visit you J