AUTHOR'S CORNER;

THE 5000 CALORIE DIET!

Now for those of you who are familiar with reading my blogs, you would have noticed that I very seldom write seriously deep ones, which differs much from my actual novel writing. I tend to be very contemporary in my novels and bring up all sorts of women fuelled emotions and scenarios that quite frankly leave my own hair on edge!  And whilst it is always easy to write a blog as my funny, more humorous side comes out, it is not always so easy to knuckle down to a more meaningful novel which leaves my readers in somewhat deep contemplation!  So it is always with great pleasure when my curse of the 'dreaded writer's block' is lifted and I can once again return to writing that wonderfully emotionally challenging novel.

Okay, so I've got good news and I've got bad news!  The good news is I'm in full flow of writing again; my creative juices are bubbling away and I am churning out thoughts faster than I can write them!  I'm  so inspired, I'm even dressing in character (yes, yes, I do that) and my heroin has pleasantly surprised me on more than one occasion this week!  I have actually lost weight over Christmas and my complexion is glowing after the restful holidays!  What is the bad news Sam, I hear you ask.  In layman's terms....FOOD!

And I'm not talking about the healthy kind either!  You see in the days of old, (I mean really old days) where cigarettes were not harmful and nor were children in danger of secondary smoke, and you were not considered a bad parent for smoking the odd fag, food was easy to avoid when one was in the throws of creativeness!  All one had to do was reach across the desk for that cigarette box and that lighter and away you went; creating to your heart's content, occasionally stopping for a puff and a think!

Nowadays, of course, smokers are demons and doctors and nurses treat one with contempt if they should learn of your habit.  And a lot of us have given up, kicked the habit and turned to comfort eating instead!  telling ourselves that we are being responsible, caring and may even live a year or two longer than what we would have had we continued to smoke. And what do we do to help flow the creative juices when we are blocked?  Instead of reaching for a cigarette to stick in our mouths we stick food in there instead!

The best way to lose weight- writer's block!

The best way to gain weight- writing well!

After dousing myself with a hundred cups of coffee, I find that my beating heart and my dizzy head is crying out for something that will give me energy!  I reluctantly reach for an apple, a carrot, a banana....but it's never enough....I need CARBS!   And as soon as I relent and give into that one slice of bread, my body screams and shouts and cries out for MORE!!!  

I give myself excuses, I tell myself that I must obviously need it if I crave it so much, and congratulate myself on previously losing weight! And of course there are those times when I tell myself that I need 'energy' food to think.

And think.....

     And think......

I'm thinking of a plot!!

And before I know it, I've given up my resolve of a diet and I find myself in full eating swing! Yikes!!

And before I know it, that weight that I have worked so hard to banish, comes back with force and I am left wondering what on earth is going on?

All my hard work goes out the window; the one consolation I have, is that I am writing a really good book!

And though I am always proud when I have finished a novel, and happy when I am invited to do a book signing, by the time that happens I never quite look my best! Well how could I, when I've just spent a year stuffing my face?

And whilst I can laugh it off and refer to myself as curvy,

My mirror will seriously disagree!

So the solution?  Do I forsake health for beauty?  Or do I forsake slenderness for novels?   All I can say is... thank heavens for my electronic cigarette!  I can puff on it in between reaching for the crisps, cakes and cola!