Happy Mother’s Day to all the mum’s out there. We celebrated Mother’s Day yesterday with an afternoon tea. It was noisy and fun.

It’s been a week since Romeo crossed the rainbow bridge. Not the best week, to be honest. The whole week was fraught with stress, frustration, destruction, illness, and sadness. It was hard to navigate. Especially the part that involved the only quilt mum ever designed and made for me (also the last thing she made before she died), red wine, and a badly behaved dog (not mine, obviously).

The last thing I did for Romeo was let his trainer know he’d passed and how much he meant to us. He was our world. I got a lovely reply this morning.

I’m hoping that the proofs for Snakebyte and Whispers in the Water will arrive this week. I already know there are some screwy parts in Whispers – some of the poem lines were a bit out of whack. I’ve sorted them, but will double check the proof, in case I missed something on screen. That’s the great thing about physical proofs, much easier to spot oddities and then the book will be re-released! And once again will only be available via Writers Plot Bookshop (online or in store), if anyone from beyond NZ or Aussie wants a physical copy then get in touch and we’ll let you know the postage costs.

Today I’m spending the day in bed. The youngest two have given me an extra gift – their germs. I am beyond excited by this. You can imagine. 🙂 And to think they were blaming their illness on the sore throat I developed two weeks ago (probably from the plane). I don’t think so kids, this is a whole new thing. ActorKid had Monday and Friday off school because of it. The Hostile Assistant was miserable most of the week.

I don’t feel much like writing at the moment. Although earlier in the week I did toy with an alternate ending for Terrorbyte. (That’s right, I did.) And it’s kinda become something that I want to explore. If you think about it, a different ending would completely change the direction of Ellie’s life … it’s kinda like a do-over. What if Mac didn’t take his vest off? I think it really is worth investigating. So I am. Stay tuned! 🙂

This morning was shitty. Really shitty. I knew yesterday Romeo would leave us this weekend, and I knew he needed to go. And, he did. A year ago I prepared myself (so I thought) to lose him, and he hung in there. He helped us through Christmas. He loved the girls while I was away. He waited. He waited so long.

This morning I talked to the ghost of my brother and asked him to come get Romeo. He’d been here for eight years, loving us, being giving us his all. Being the most amazing hound ever. It was time.

But I still wasn’t ready.

It’s not about me. It’s about a dog who gave us everything. When he came to us I had a long chat to him and I said, “You are here to be loved. It is my job to keep you safe, it is your job to have fun. I’m in charge, you will always be safe.”

And he was.

Always.

No matter what. Romeo was safe and loved and protected.

That was my job.

Our walks, when he was well, brought me absolute joy. He was always on the same page as me, knew exactly what I wanted when I wanted it. Romeo was spectacular. And I’ve always had great dogs. But he was special. So special.

He knew what the kids needed and provided it immediately. He heard, he listened, he understood beyond the words. He loved us with his whole heart. Always.

Run well my friend. Run well.

Bit strange being on my own this morning. Only one us should have to be at work by 7am and that one is not me. 🙂
And then I realized that this time next week I’ll be home. Back in the cold. 😦
Talk about a sucky realization. So, I’m cheering myself up knowing I have an entire week left with my Knight and that Joshy (youngest son) will be home for a holiday not long after I am.
Also, I cleverly planned a tequila night with my tribe for the Saturday as a distraction. But wait there’s more … I have a slow-cooker waiting for me at home, and as I haven’t cooked for a glorious fucking month (bliss!!) I’m actually looking forward to using it.
This has been a creatively productive holiday with the completion of #cryptobyte to the point where I’m fairly happy and it’s out with beta readers for the second time. I’ve begun the next book. (We’ll talk more about that at some stage.) Got some other bits and pieces done for Cryptobyte as well. Ready to talk covers with my cover designer.

Cryptobyte:

“Truck hijackings, missing families, stolen chemicals, distinctive photographs, cryptic text messages, and a friend with a curious dilemma.

Life is never straightforward for FBI Special Agent Ellie Iverson and the Delta teams. Juggling twin toddlers and a new position as Special Agent in Charge of Delta, Ellie answers a request for help from a Missouri Police Officer which calls into play her extraordinary skill set and arrant determination to find the truth and protect the vulnerable.”

Here’s a lovely pic of the cutest little guy …

Or daughter, whatever. 🙂 So, what’s new? Well, Qubyte is now available from http://www.writersplot.org.nz as a paperback. The launch was fun and occurred at Upper Hutt Central Library on March 22nd. If you were there, thank you for coming if not you can view the video on my Facebook page just search for @cat.connor. There are a couple of signed books available from Writers Plot – the rest are unsigned but I’m happy to sign yours when I’m back from my trip.

That’s right, if you’ve been paying attention on Facebook then you’ll know I’m not in New Zealand at the moment.

I am having a marvelous time with My Knight in Western Australia.

Other news? Cryptobyte is back with notes from my beta readers. So, that’s a step closer to a release date! Next it will fly off to my glorious editor. Was an icky story to write but not too icky as long as I didn’t dwell on it. You’ll see.

Other other news? I started writing the 12th byte. Don’t get too giggly to quick, its completion is a long way off. Not even sure what it’s about yet. It starts with an IED. So, you know, it has promise.

Meanwhile … I have coffee to drink and somewhere to be. 🙂 Take care out there.

How magnificent is this? Margot is fabulous and she got us all together to make a really fun video. 🙂