Spring Iz Sprung...

by Anna Campbell

Well, at least it has in Australia! It's been lovely and warm and I've had a couple of swims in the pool. Bliss!

But before I extol the beauties of the change of season in South East Queensland, let me get to the important part of today's blog. I got the advance reader copies of TEMPT THE DEVIL a little while ago and I'd love one to go to a good home - and as you know, a good home means a BANDITA BUDDY! So someone who leaves a comment here today is in the draw for a sneak peek at my January 09 release.

The birds have been enormously noisy and, sure sign of warmer weather, the bearded dragons have started to come out. Here's a couple of pictures I took of one in the bushes outside my office. They're amazing-looking beasts, aren't they? Like miniature dinosaurs. I love them. They're this wonderfully benign presence around the place.

The grevilleas have started flowering like crazy. Which means the parrots make so much noise trying to get at the nectar, sometimes it's hard to hear myself think.

As a lot of you know, I only recently finished a book which is always a very strange moment in my life. I should be dancing and shouting and carrying on. But it's actually a little like mourning.

It takes me a year to write a book and time before that when the characters and the story are taking shape in my mind. So it's hard to say goodbye to those people with whom I've lived on such intimate terms for so long. New people are moving in as I wave bye-bye and they'll end up being as dear and as compelling as the characters who lived in my head for the last twelve months. But right now, I don't feel like it.

So it's lovely to have all this natural beauty around me while I go through my withdrawal! And I've really enjoyed the quiet contemplative times swimming in the pool, feeling the sun on my back and listening to the birds squabble. Well, sort of quiet!

This is a photo I took last year of the flowering gum tree in my garden. Isn't it gorgeous? The color is even more vibrant in real life - it really burns your retinas. Those naughty parrots love the flowers and the blossoms never last very long, sadly. So I'm very proud of this shot which I managed to catch before the blooms were torn-up history all over the grass underneath the tree.

And speaking of the lorikeets, here's a picture of the noisy, troublesome little beggars. Aren't they amazing-looking too? More colors that burn your retinas! We have a couple of varieties of parrot that hang around the house but these guys are the naughty teenagers of the neighborhood! There's a park up the road where thousands of them congregate and I swear it's louder than a 747 taking off! I love them - they're full of personality and they don't take nonsense from anyone.

Anyway, enough of the nature watch! You've got a book to win! The prize will be randomly drawn from today's comments.

What are the signs of the changing seasons where you live? I'm sure my Northern Hemisphere friends are green with envy at the thought of swimming in the sun right now! Do you have any native birds or animals around your house that seem like the soul of the place? I'd love to hear about the locals at your place!

Oh, and if you'd like another chance to win an ARC of TEMPT THE DEVIL, don't forget I'm also giving one away in my website contest this month. All you need to do is read the excerpt and answer a simple question. GOOD LUCK!Source URL: http://extravagancedeplumes.blogspot.com/2008/10/spring-iz-sprung.html
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