Author Archives: paulainauckland

Siiiiiinging in the rain…..

Posted in league by

No, no-one has miraculously come up with tix to the musical for me (I hear the performance at the Civic is very cool). No, this is going to be me at Saturday sport today. Can’t believe the council hasn’t closed the fields to juniors after last night’s deluge.

let-me-in-right-meow

Plus my singing sounds like a cat in the shower. Not cool.

REVIEW Slave to Sensation

Posted in books by

If you’re a guy, tune out…now.

178476

the first edition cover

STS is the first book in the Psy-Changeling paranormal romance series by Nalini Singh. It was one of the first paras I read, way way way back in 2008 when I was working with the Fiction buyer at the then major book chain here in NZ, and set the standard as to what I expect –clever hot guys, clever powerful women, family ties, punctuation & depth. I’m not going to go in-depth on the book as I really think you’ll enjoy it without my spoilers!

this was the cover of my print versions - lining up the cover guys always made them look odd!

this was the cover of my print versions – lining up the cover guys always made them look odd!

If I owned a print version still, it would be on my Keeper shelf. That’s the one marked “family-do-not-touch-even-if-I’m-dead”. As it is, it lies on both my eReaders and is regularly re-read, as I like to do before each new title comes out. Nothing like a binge! I would like to note that I was very generous and gave away my print versions to someone who had lost their stash & have regretted it ever since!

new slave

the new cover

Synopsis: Dive into a world torn apart by a powerful race with phenomenal powers of the mind—and none of the heart…

In a world that denies emotions, where the ruling Psy punish any sign of desire, Sascha Duncan must conceal the feelings that brand her as flawed. To reveal them would be to sentence herself to the horror of “rehabilitation”— the complete psychic erasure of everything she ever was….

Both human and animal, Lucas Hunter is a Changeling hungry for the very sensations the Psy disdain. After centuries of uneasy co-existence, these two races are now on the verge of war over the brutal murders of several Changeling women. Lucas is determined to find the Psy killer who butchered his packmate, and Sascha is his ticket into their closely guarded society. But he soon discovers that this ice-cold Psy is very capable of passion—and that the animal in him is fascinated by her. Caught between their conflicting worlds, Lucas and Sascha must remain bound to their identities—or sacrifice everything for a taste of darkest temptation…

  • There’s a prize draw to celebrate the launch of the new cover, which is open until May 31st (NZ Time). You could win one of 5 Psy-Changeling Prize Packs for 5 winners, open internationally!

One Prize Pack =

– 1 Penguin tote bag

– Books 1-5 in Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series, including the newly repackaged Slave to Sensation!

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/984c05ae22/?

Followers will recognize the name – I reviewed one of Nalini’s contempory romances recently AND LOVED IT: https://sewscrapmuse.wordpress.com/2015/03/12/review-rock-hard-by-nalini-singh/

Excerpt link

Link to free Psy-Changeling Short Stories

And lastly, if you need incentives to sign up to her eNewsletter, Nalini bribes with free stories on the newsletters first: http://www.nalinisingh.com

Hi Five for Friday!

Posted in High Five For Friday by

LISTENING: Elise’s podcasts. Link via your iTunes account or her website, http://eliseblaha.typepad.com/

READING: Bite’s recipes. Nom nom, especially this one: http://www.bite.co.nz/recipe/2746/Hummingbird-cake/ Especially helpful is the easy print option.

PINNING: Not-quite-subversive cross stitch pieces. Still apt for me.

CRAFTING: The last few stitches Jacqui’s Round Robin section & planning my NZ XS RR.

ANTICIPATING: a sleep-in tomorrow – I don’t have to be at any league ground until 10am! Decadent 🙂

High Five

This is something that is not new, it’s been around for a while but I think this is something I’ll benefit with, as it emphasises being grateful & joyful. I also think that it’s something that will benefit others, so I’m going to open this up to you too. If you have an awesome week, or something to share, please send me an email at paulainauckland AT gmail DOT com with the subject header “High 5” (include your blog/twitter handle for followers & a brief intro), or link up on the Friday post via the comments. There are five themes so plenty of scope to change something out to suit you!

WIP Wednesday is a finish!

Posted in conversion details, Nora Corbett, stitching patterns by

Yay! Yes, if you’re familiar with this pattern you’ll see that I chose not to stitch some portions of the design (like the background) & I’ve converted all the Crescent Colours to DMC, and then changed out the Mill Hill beads. But that is my usual M.O.!
image

I also only half – stitched the wings, and only in the bottom direction. That’s to give it texture. I was going to stitch the top arm in Kreinik #4 032 for a shiny look but it didn’t look quite right.

image

This is off to the framer on Thursday. Should be back in time for the MIL’s birthday in June!

EDITED TO INCLUDE CONVERSION:

Letters from Nora – C conversion
Crescent Colours/Classic Colorworks DMC
Cobbled Peach 819
La Tierra 840
Cloud blanc
Vintage Violet 553/793
Hickory Sticks 898
Whatley Woodlands 420
Deep Fennel 3817
Heatherleigh 3756
Eves Leaves 745
Bejewelled 502
Ye Old Gold 680
Old Blue Jeans 3799
Lettuce Leaf 3813
WING Cloud B5200
Backstitch skin (1 strand) 3031
Backstitch other (1 strand) 3799

EXTRA An Invitation to YOU

Posted in High Five For Friday by

h54f initialI was listening to a podcast this week and I had a brain-fart. Now, I know this is something that is not new, it’s been around for a while but I think this is something I’ll benefit with, as it emphasises being grateful & joyful. I also think that it’s something that will benefit others, so I’m going to open this up to you too. If you have an awesome week, or something to share, please send me an email at paulainauckland AT gmail DOT com with the subject header “High 5” (include your blog/twitter handle for followers & a brief intro), or link up on the Friday post via the comments. There are five themes so plenty of scope to change something out to suit you.

I really do want to see what makes you grateful & joyful so please join me.