Category: My world

Thank you so much to the lovely Nicky Wells for passing on this award. My first reaction was “Me?” because the last year has been a rollercoaster one and other projects kept me away from ‘blogging’ here for well over six months.  People thought I had disappeared into cyberspace (which was true), but what was heartening was that when I picked up the reins again, ‘hey presto’ some lovely faces were still there and still smiling back at me. But also some delightful new ones and every single day I’m thrilled to meet interesting people – whether readers, authors, or reviewers. So, what does receiving this award mean, I asked?

The rules of the award are:
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award (done)
2. Share seven things about yourself (see below)
3. Send it onto fifteen other bloggers you appreciate and let them know you have awarded it to them (see below)

 So…here I go, seven things about myself because Nicky Wells said it was required:

1)  I met my husband when I was 16 years old and we fell in love as our eyes met across a crowded room – yes, I am serious and we celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary on 25 March 2012.  An old romantic? Yes, of course, and that’s why I write romantic stories…..

2) Like Nicky, I can’t swim and fear the water. I went to a strict ‘all girls’ school in the UK  and those who couldn’t swim were pushed in at the start of each swimming lesson. Cruel I know, and today parents would be suing the school I’m sure, but then it was sink or swim (laugh)….literally! However, I even panicked on a trip to Venice (sooooo much water, but I did it) and was stuck on a Seacat ferry once, circling to get into dock as there was a problem docking, and they had to restrain me. I’d been talked into doing the crossing as it was ‘quicker’!!!

3) Like Nicky (again, we share a lot of strange things….) I am a very enthusiastic person, but my excuse is that I am a Gemini and (just between you and me) borderline obsessive compulsive. I like to think I’ve stayed the right side of that thin line – not sure my husband would agree!

4) From the age of about 8 years old until 16 years old I was a passionate ballroom dancer. I was teaching by the age of 15 and had my first semi-professional partner.  I gained a large number of medals and one cup. Then I met husband Lawrence, who has two left feet, and love won the day! See – romance ISN’T dead! At the time my father wasn’t too pleased a) he didn’t like Lawrence (but ended up loving him dearly over the years) and b) it had cost my father a small fortune in lessons and exam fees, and any future I had was gone in an instant! My favourite dance was the Pasa Doble – so sexy – really!

5) I am terrified of dragonflies after one was caught in my long hair as a young child. I had been smelling honeysuckle and didn’t notice it in amongst the blossoms, it really feaked me out and now they sense my fear and have even dive-bombed me.  At one house in which we lived I couldn’t hang out the washing in summer, as there was a river at the bottom of our garden and they would make a bee-line for me.

6) In the 1980’s my family and I spent time in the UK and California with Richard Thomas – it was after his ‘Walton’s Mountain, John Boy days’. A fantastic man and we had some fun times both sides of the atlantic, but visiting Disney together (two large families) and watching him besieged with autograph hunting fans wasn’t fun. At one point we thought we’d lost one of the children …. imagine the headlines – or no, don’t!

7) When I was 11 years old I used to write episodes of ‘The Man From Uncle’, hand-written and lovingly done.

And without further ado, I am honoured to pass The Versatile Blogger Award on to the following blogs:

Shaz Goodwin; Lou Graham; Patricia Sands; Sue Uden; Mandy Baggot; Stephanie Keyes; Kim Nash; Nikki Bywater; Kay Wilkinson; Cara Donovan; Lindsay Gentles; Rea Sinfield; Susan Livingston, Laura Seaton; Ananda; Jontybabe; Lindsay Healy; Anjana Vasan 

Anticipating the start of a new year is always a bit daunting… especially if the ‘old’ year you are seeing out was a rollercoaster year – births, deaths and everything else life could possibly throw at you!  But in many ways I always feel that ‘difficult’ years often mean that I look forward with eagerness to what a brand new year might bring!

          (Artwork kindly supplied by Multi-Tech Productions Inc.)

So on the 31 December I will be saying ‘goodbye’ to 2011 and the sadness attached to it, and I will be welcoming 2012 with a big ‘hug’.

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions as such, but I do have a ‘wish’ list – and my lists are always impossibly long!  Hey, I’m a Gemini – and we tend to believe EVERYTHING and ANYTHING is possible.

In the Spring I hope to get back to marketing my debut novel Touched By The Light and consider releasing Being A Sceptic Is Oh So Easy in paperback.  When I wrote the latter it was simply a collection of my psychic experiences and personal thoughts on things like deja vu, coincidences and ‘gut feelings’.  It was also my first venture on Kindle, so I regarded it very much as a tester.  However, so many readers have contacted me to say they identified with it, and have then gone on to tell me their own experiences, that it’s become rather special to me.  So, yes, I would like to see it in print.  I love Kindle and wouldn’t be without it, but there is something special about holding a book in your hands….

I’m also hoping to bring out two new novels in 2012 – The Quintessential Gemini and The Restaurant, and I’ll be posting some extracts early next year if you want to find out more!

As for the project in which I’m involved over at loveahappyending.com, well that was one of the very GOOD things that happened in 2011 and something that helped me get through the rough times.  Well, that and the loving hugs of three adorable grandchildren…  

With a wonderful loveahappyending.com event planned for 16 June 2011 – a Summer Audience of Readers and Authors being held in Tetbury, Gloucestershire in the UK, it’s going to be an exciting year all round!

There is a saying ‘life is what you make it’.  Fate doesn’t always make the path we travel easy, but then that’s the purpose of life on this plane – it’s where we come to learn at various stages in our existence, so we can grow….

So as 2011 draws to a close, I have one final, and rather special ‘psychic moment’ to share.  My Uncle died, aged 92, on 23 October 2011 and for the last 8 years my husband and I had been supporting him so he could remain at home.  The end was not very pleasant – ‘harrowing’ actually.  Since he passed I’ve been asking for a sign, a form of comfort as it wasn’t the gentle ending I wanted for him; it was deeply distressing to be there holding his hand whilst he endured those final weeks.  The message didn’t come directly to me, but low and behold, a family member who went to see a psychic recently came back with a message for me.  It was unmistakeably from him, he worked on Concord and the odds of that coming up are quite slim I should imagine.  Short and sweet (as was his style) – he’s’ OK’ and wanted to say ‘thanks’.

That’s all I was looking for, I now know the end didn’t really matter…

So wishing everyone a very happy and healthy New Year – let’s make 2012 the best it can be, taking the rough with the smooth and making sure we grab every single second of happiness that comes our way!

best regards, Linn

It’s the season to be jolly….. and to add one more item to that long shopping list – make a donation!

Over at loveahappyending.com there are three days to go in their Christmas fund-raiser – win 26 books by some fabulous new authors and one original painting by author and artist, Kit Domino.  One winner takes all!

 So for the price of a small stocking filler YOU could be that winner.   And if you are wondering…. yes, there’s a signed copy of ‘Touched By The Light’ ready and waiting to go into the post for that lucky person!

Crohn’s and Colitis UK is a wonderful charity; bowel disease is an awful thing to live with, partly because much of the suffering is done in private.  It’s a delicate subject at the best of times and many young people suffer for months, sometimes years, before being diagnosed.

So if you are one of the lucky ones and are looking forward to a healthy New Year, please spare just a few pounds and enter that competition before it closes on the 19 December 2011.  Christmas is the time for giving, and what more thoughtful ‘gift’ than a small donation to a charity that does so much to help suffers of this dreadful group of diseases.

Wishing you all a very happy holiday, and a wonderful New Year!

Foreward by author Pauline Barclay: “The Sunshine Award is about saying ‘thank you’ to members of loveahappyending.com. Every member works in some way to promote this exciting new venture, and because of this it was decided it would be fun to create an award to highlight the activities of the people behind the scenes who make loveahappyending.com successful.

 The August Award has been  given to author Linn B Halton.   loveahappyending.com is her brain child and Linn has worked relentlessly to make sure everything that happens behind the scenes runs as smoothly as silk – from the design and daily updating of the website, to the setting up of Twitter and Facebook. This is just a snapshot of what Linn is doing, but as she is already giving me a scary look I’ll stop there.  So please can I ask you to put your hands together for our fabby August winner, the lovely Linn…………..”

As the first recipient of the Sunshine Award, handsomely delivered by the lovely Pauline Barclay, as with all traditional award ‘ceremonies’ there are a few people I would like to thank:-

My mother and father, my husb…… – well actually, the people I really DO want to thank are all the wonderful people at loveahappyending.com who have helped shape this new website and brought it to life.

So a big ‘thank you’ to our lovely authors:-

Kit Domino, Janice Horton, Stephanie Keyes, Nicola May, Vickie Adair, Joanna Lambert, Jessica Strassner, Tricia Jones, Harry Leslie Smith, Kristina Mercier, Stephen Penner, Mandy Baggot, Richard F Holmes, Lavada Dee, Lauren Howell, Lun Kikogne, Sue Uden, Kathryn Brown, Sue Watson, Sue Johnson, Anna Bell, Chris Longmuir, Pauline Barclay, Janet Beasley & Patricia Sands

and our fabulous Associate Readers:-

Shaz Goodwin, Kim Nash, Louise Graham, Melanie Robertson-King, Sue Fortin, Nikki Bywater, Lindsay Gentles, Rea Sinfield, Kay Wilkinson, Cara Donovan, Dorothy Bush, Laura Seaton, Sarah Taylor & Susan Livingstone

All of these people have contributed their time, talents and skills to get this exciting, new interactive project out there via social media.  They bring interesting articles to the website blog, support each other – some of our Associates also write, so there’s a lot of interaction – and really believe that reader power has a voice!  We are now moving on – so media beware, we will be knocking on your door to talk to you about our project!

As the first recipient of this award (and because that therefore makes it extra special) I would like to take a liberty ….. I’ve decided it’s more like a bar of chocolate than a sculpture and because without all of you (and I mean YOU, our visitors too!) I wouldn’t be in a position to receive this lovely award, I would like to ‘share it’ and give a piece to each and every one of you!

Whether you are a visitor and come and read our daily blog, a group member who Tweets or posts on Facebook, a website Editor or a contributor (and I’m including our lovely guest Publishers here too) – you all deserve to share in my prize.  

When the result of our first internal vote was announced, it put the biggest smile on my face!  And whilst I’m a firm believer that there is no ‘I’ in team -my fellow loveahappyenders have made my day and for that I’m very grateful!  It is a joy to be a part of this project – at the moment we have more ideas than time …. but we are not running out of steam and the future beckons.

So if you have some time and want to be involved – whether it’s website administration (behind the scenes), as an Associate Reader, or you are a writer who could also take on an Editor’s hat, then please get in touch.  There is a waiting list of authors to join our website, but because of the spread of genre, age group of author and target audience, plus geographical split, it’s a case of waiting for a suitable vacancy to arise.  However, because we regard our Editors as being instrumental in taking forward our project, if you have experience within the industry and want to get involved as an Editor and writer we will look at everyone who comes forward on an individual basis.

As the saying goes – ALL for ONE and ONE for ALL!  Have a great day – read a book!

*****COMPETITION NOW CLOSED – PLEASE VISIT LOVEAHAPPYENDING.COM WHERE THE WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED

BY 17 JULY 2011 – THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENTRIES*****

Welcome – to the loveahappyending.com Launch Day Giveaway

As one of the featured authors on this new website, I am delighted to offer 3 signed hardback copies of ‘Touched By The Light’

AND each winner will be featured in the loveahappyending.com Review Chair…

The Rules are simple:

1.  You can enter any time between 29 June 2011 and 3 July 2011.
2.  To win a copy of my book please leave a comment below, simply stating why you would like to be a winner and leaving a contact Email address.  If you would like a chance to win books by other loveahappyending.com new Authors, please click through to the website for their links:-

3.  Winners will be picked by the individual Authors themselves, there are no ‘right’ answers – this is fun and ‘luck of the draw’.

4.  You need to provide an Email address and by entering, give permission for us to contact you to notify you if you have won; winners will then be contacted again within 3 months to be interviewed for the loveahappyending.com blog.  Your Email addresses will not be passed on or used for any other purpose.  All winners will be notified by 17 July 2011.

So “good luck” avid readers and thank you for entering, loveahappyending.com is all about READER POWER!

If you win, who will interview you for your review?

Getting involved in loveahappyending.com has taken over my life for a short while leading up the Launch Day on 29 June 2011 (sorry about that! I have turned into this PR mad person!).  However, I do also have a ‘much-loved’ writer’s hat of my own and I will soon be back to ‘living my dream’ and writing full time.

In the meantime some wonderful people have taken their precious time to talk about ‘me’, and as a new Author that is more meaningful than the words imply.  Selling books isn’t easy; getting your name ‘out there’ isn’t easy and then there are the reviews.  You write in good faith, believing you have done the best you can and that ‘your baby’ will thrill the readers.  But it’s not as simple as that, how do you get those wonderful READERS to know your book even exists?

So a big ‘warm hug’ to the wonderful Kathryn Brown, fellow Author on loveahappyending.com and still basking in the glory of the fantastic feedback from her own novel ‘Discovery At Rosehill‘!  She took time out to write this wonderful review of my debut novel ‘Touched by The Light‘:

http://authorsonshow.com/kathryn/

A big ‘thank you’ also to the well-known and very  talented ‘sceptical medium’:

Lorraine Goodrich http://bitly5z1ezq.blogspot.com/ for her article featuring ‘Being A Sceptic Is Oh So Easy‘ today:

http://authorsonshow.com/linn/

This wasn’t a book I wrote expecting to get reviews, as it isn’t fiction, it’s simply a true story of why I believe in life after death.  So anyone who takes an interest tends to either have had similar experiences or has lost loved ones and can sympathise with the emotions expressed within this story.  So for someone like Lorraine to take an interest, I was both surprised and delighted!

The fact that both of these wonderful ladies are involved with the website ‘Authors on Show‘ is no coincidence and is a brilliant example of how authors support each other.  There are many new Authors out there who deserve to be read and I am humbled that my fellow authors take time out to read and write about my work.

And you know what the really great thing is?  I have two new authors who I intend to read …. as soon as loveahappyending.com is Launched and the excitement subsides JUST a little – however, I suspect the enthusiasm is going to be riding high for quite a while, so I will be reading in whatever spare time I get.

Who needs TV?  Not me …. I’ve got interesting authors to read and my life has never been so exciting!  So to anyone out there feeling there’s ‘something missing’ – come and join us, reading is a way of escaping – a way of becoming a part of a writer’s imagination and you just need to let them lead you along their path…….. it’s fun!