The 1000th post on A Hopeful Romantic completely took me by surprise, so I’m celebrating 1003 posts as an after-thought. I’d planned to rent a big hall in London, hell I’d even thought I might rent one in New York and Los Angeles as well. I’d planned to have a band, Champaign fountains, fireworks, dancing. Oh I had a really huge soirée in mind.
I’d planned to wear a midnight blue off the shoulder number made of shimmery, silky fabric, that if it didn’t make me exactly look like a fairy princess, certainly would have made me look like a very wicked witch with some very naughty magic in mind. And Raymond, well I’d planned for him to wear a kilt for the occasion and some serious bad-boy boots. He would have looked SO scary-hot.
It would have been the party of the century, I’m sure. But instead the 1000th post sneaked up on me and bit me in the butt when I wasn’t looking.
Since I’m too late to throw a big party, I thought I’d hit the highlights in pictures instead.
The Initiation of Ms Holly Started it all almost exactly five years ago. I was bursting with pride at the success of my lovely First Born.
The lovely Lucy Felthouse advised me that if I had a book, I should have a website and a blog for pimping
purposes and well, just so I could make myself known to the great big world of readers and writers out there. She designed my website and blog and helped me figure out just what the hell I was doing. And here she is, looking lovely and lusty at the launch of The Initiation of Ms Holly in Sh! Women’s Store! Thanks EP!
There were launch parties and readings and events in London and Las Vegas and Scarborough and Cardiff, to name just a few.
Soon Holly wasn’t alone. Her family grew and grew to include 11 novels, 6 novellas and countless short stories.
I got to be on telly!
I decided I’d have twice the fun, twice the Romance and Grace Marshall was born and so were the Executive Decision novels.
I wrote about walking
I wrote about gardening.
I shared my travels.
I won ETO’s Best Erotic Author Award 2014!
I posted about writing and the creative process and my experiences as a writer.
I became a Brit Babe.
I made fabulous friends and had some amazing people on my blog.
I shared the experience of collaborating with the lovely Moorita Encantada writing Medusa: The Eye of the Beholder a burlesque play.
I wrote my first ever M/M and my first ever vampire story for the fabulous box set, Brit Boys on Boys
I explored the online serial, first with Demon Interrupted, a Lakeland Witches novella.
Now with something totally different in my ongoing online series In The Flesh.
For 1003 blog posts I’ve been sharing my writing adventure and inviting other writers and artists and interesting people to do likewise. For 1003 posts I’ve been celebrating the written word, which is and always has been the passion of my life. For every picture, every memory shared, there are a thousand that I wish I could. It’s been an amazing 1003 posts! I can hardly wait to see what the next 1003 bring.
Thanks to all of the lovely people who have been my guests throughout those 1003 blogs and to all the lovely people who read and follow A Hopeful Romantic and especially to those who follow my blog because they enjoy my books. You’re all fabulous, and I hope to see you at the BIG soiree when I celebrate the 2003rd post. (If somebody would just, please, remind me at about post 1950 so I can hire the band and the fireworks blokes :-))
Wow, what a ride! And how glorious to see it all spread out like that. Where are the ruins? (I mean in the photos … where are those from?)
It has been an amazing journey, Shar! Can’t wait for the next 1003. The ruins were Ostia Antica just outside Rome. Temple of Hercules.