• 11:53 Appearing late due to work getting in the way. Don't you hate it when that happens! Anyway, cookie baking coming right up. #nzcookie #
• 11:54 Chip's 2009 Bad Poetry Contest - Win a Lava Lamp! bit.ly/8C4Un #
• 12:00 @vavroom Oh goody, then my baking today can get on the way tomorrow and still be on time! #nzcookie #
• 12:09 @vavroom maybe I could even reuse your packaging, if I open it carefully! #nzcookie #
• 12:10 Not that I have a shortage of used bubble envelopes. They are taking over my office! #
• 13:49 @LewisBostock don't say that! I'm seeing it tomorrow! #
• 13:57 @vavroom I get a lot of books in the mail and have resisted binning the bubble bags so far - they're perfectly all right & I'll use em 1day! #
• 13:59 The cookie dough has been sculpted and is setting in the fridge prior to slicing and baking. You'll see when I post the video. #nzcookie #
• 14:02 RT @egtalbot those who say it can't be done are usually interrupted by others doing it - James Baldwin #
• 16:04 @Spacegirlnz is that good or bad? #trek #
• 16:05 @kalena ooo that's good to know. Only 29 more hours till my turn :) #trek #
• 16:06 cookies are baked and cooling! definitely better than the last lot. pics/vid upcoming. Sometime. #nzcookie #
• 16:50 @Spacegirlnz coolness! I'm counting the hours! #
• 16:57 right let's see if I can get that cookie baking video done before I go out! hmm not sure how realistic that is...watch this space! #nzcookie #
• 17:09 twitpic.com/4pdtu - Two layers of dough make the pattern for this chocolate shortbread twirl. #nzcookie #
• 17:11 twitpic.com/4pdx0 - Both variations rolled up, ready to go in the fridge and chill. #nzcookie #
• 17:12 twitpic.com/4pdy6 - Slicing cookies from the rolled dough! #nzcookie #
• 17:12 twitpic.com/4pdyy - Ready to bake! #nzcookie #
• 17:13 twitpic.com/4pe01 - Ovenload of twirly chocolate shortbread! #nzcookie #
• 18:19 Movie nearly done, have to finish it later on though. Off to dinner now! #nzcookie #
• 22:20 Okay, I finished the baking video for the Cookie Swap - that was fun! It's uploading now. I'll post a link when it gets done. #nzcookie #

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• 10:38 twitpic.com/4mjwh - My cool shirt from the awesome @CustomTees and my first proof copy of my new book with the new cover! #
• 10:39 Okay I am going to go shopping now, hope the rain's gonna stop for a bit. Just got another five pages of translation to do-there goes today! #
• 14:38 It sure is a long way to Northcote when you're walking. But the op shop there is the baddest in town and the Asian foodcourt's pretty primo. #
• 14:40 @toxaq @elpie @cookieswap I have all ingredients ready but some urgent paying work came in today - I will bake cookies tomorrow! #nzcookie #
• 14:41 @toxaq Great! I'm a chocolate fiend as well, remember that when it's your turn to bake :) #nzcookie #
• 14:42 @damnfinebooks No, why succumb to overinflated panic? They don't make towns like Northcote any more these days. The $2 shop is legendary too #
• 15:02 @angew poor you! I just got back from my walk not too long ago. I was lucky not to get wet! Poured down before & after. #
• 15:03 @SarahSumpolec and here's me wondering why everything seems so normal even though that new Trek movie's coming out. I mean, how??? #
• 15:23 @terrimain yay! go you! #
• 16:33 @terrimain yes I know - I did 3500 words on Saturday using Write or Die. It's kinda intimidating the more I do it, but it certainly works! #
• 16:34 Right. Just got a chicken on to roast - something I've never done before, but Google knows everything. Now for that work I have to do. #
• 16:38 RT @onejan84 RT @JasonBraud: "The highest form of ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about." Dr. Wayne W. Dyer #
• 17:29 RT: @AlastairJNZ: Who gains most when major newspaper threatens legal action against lone blogger? tr.im/kBBO #
• 17:48 @Coachforyou Man nennt uns Verfolger?? Das kommt mir irgendwie etwas ominös vor... ist das der gängige Gebrauch? Ich verließ D vor Twitter. #

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• 10:48 @BelieversPress Yes I saw that, good going! Funny I can't get to your site again. Something odd going on there. Have a great day! #
• 12:04 Um... not sure what to do right now... my to-do list is so long. Really want to go for a walk, it's so gorgeous out. Won't change the list. #
• 12:06 At last count I have 18 articles to write by June; the Space Pilgrims video needs redone; three critiques; one rewrite; a tax return; ... #
• 12:08 ...plus some sewing and sundry online tasks. Oh yeah and I wanted to redo my website. Review 9+ books. Bake stuff. &out every night this wk! #
• 12:09 @vavroom Would be nice. But that's a form of insanity that somehow only works on the weekend. Not when there's other stuff to keep tabs on! #
• 12:10 I forgot! I have a two-page translation to get done today. I'll knock it off in an hour or so. Paid work comes first, so here goes. #
• 12:13 @vavroom @damnfinebooks German to English, as always. It's what I do for dough. #
• 13:10 @lifeledlearning I have the outlines already. What do I do, write while walking? lol. It keeps raining a bit, but maybe I'll go out now. #
• 13:28 Ooo I just got 3 books in the mail: my proof of Legendary Space Pilgrims, Amy Deardon's A Lever Long Enough, & Robert Elmer's Beyond Corista #
• 13:43 ok I am going out for that walk, Steve is taking over the living room to shoot his video anyway. Birds of a feather huh! Well, seeya later! #
• 15:22 @CustomTees got the shirts - awesome, thank you! Um...they're BIG. The sizing is weird. But that's okay. They look great. #
• 15:26 @anadav @toxaq would you like your #nzcookie s with chocolate or dates? I'll be shopping soon. No raisins/sultanas/currants for me please! #
• 15:28 Well I didn't go for a walk, but will be walking to church later on. I did however tidy up and m now about to do some bodhran practice :) #
• 15:49 I feel a blog coming on. But what...? Not sure. Cookies, book cover design, old shoes, galley proofs come to mind but are not all compatible #
• 19:27 New blog post on book cover design at Splashdown Books: tinyurl.com/dbm2s3 #
• 19:28 @lifeledlearning Okay, I did (see previous tweet) but you're talking like you think I actually know something about it? lol. Hope so. #
• 19:29 RT: @mattNZ: good entrepreneurial therapy tinyurl.com/dhyz3r #

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• 10:21 @angeldominguez Yep I'm currently going through the TNG series again - love it!! And I've had my tickets for weeks for the new movie on Fri! #
• 10:28 Good morning all...yawn...you may have noticed my absence yesterday, not for religious reasons, but lovely to leave the PC off a whole day! #
• 11:00 @angeldominguez I have been enjoying the current spate of new reviews for all the old Trek movies. Lots of excitement going round! #
• 14:57 Been for a long bushwalk, posted four book reviews, did a banner graphic for a German friend, now to tinker with @frederation 's book cover! #
• 16:12 @lifeledlearning Um...not writing today. No way I can keep that pace every day! Got some critiques and publishing work to get on with. #
• 17:04 @lifeledlearning Your blog post on story structure was great, but if that was me, writing it would have been procrastination! #
• 17:07 @icarusforde yeah I really like that one too! Always did wonder who "she" was though... #
• 17:23 @icarusforde it does indeed! #
• 17:24 @lifeledlearning oh dear oh dear oh dear. Well if it works I'm happy for you. As long as you know the line where "too much blogging" begins! #
• 17:26 @lifeledlearning and I thought you said you wanted to veg? If blogging long complex articles = resting, what must your working look like? #
• 17:52 @sandycathcart Cat's procrastinatory literary blog: tinyurl.com/d9bon7 #
• 18:14 @icarusforde you bet! I grew up on @LifeFM so why stop now? I did like the music better in their first year. Shows my age! #
• 18:15 @lifeledlearning that's okay...as long as you have a wall to accommodate it! #
• 18:39 @icarusforde I remember my bro used to win so much stuff they actually asked him not to call back for a while! Homeschooling has advantages! #
• 19:39 Off for the evening to watch Trek and read. Thanks to @lifeledlearning @icarusforde @angeldominguez for great talk today! #

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Review: Higher Hope by Robert Whitlow

In the best tradition of legal fiction, Robert Whitlow has created an unusual, startling contribution to the legal drama genre. If you like John Grisham but have a hankering for more spirituality plus a little touch of romance, then you will enjoy this book very much.

Tami Taylor is a law student from a strict Biblical upbringing which may seem a bit extreme in the beginning, but as the story progresses it becomes plain that this comes from a true and sincere faith. This is the Bible Belt of course, an unfamiliar setting for me, so I found it interesting how just about every character in the story is a churchgoer and very many are committed Christians. I'd be inclined to disbelieve this if I hadn't been to the area myself[I'll never forget my brief visit there, when my friend's mother leaned over to the people at the next table in a fast-food joint and asked them to pray for her grandson, and they were happy to do so]!

The scene is set for an intriguing case assigned to Tami's law firm where she is a summer intern. A local preacher is accused of defaming a businessman with nutty prophecies she claims come straight from God. The lawyers think the case is clear, but Tami's sensitivity to spiritual things tells her the old lady might not be as crazy as everyone says. While she and her colleagues search for evidence to establish their plaintiff's position, Tami struggles with her conscience after an unusual encounter with the preacher lady, while relationship issues within the company unsettle its internal dynamics. Tami's own family, and the lady she boards with, provide a level of connectedness throughout the story, even in the climactic courthouse showdown.

There's a constant sense that God is in control, even when it comes to greedy clients and cynical lawyers. This is the truth that Tami comes to grasp through the course of events, and the reader is swept up inside this comforting belief, leaving behind a sinccere real-life expectation that God's intervention is never far away.

• 09:47 Yesterday was an abjecct failure where writing is concerned, but I did get that long walk. Today...hmm, let's hope things really happen! #
• 10:14 @macaronique try switching to goats and see what happens! #
• 10:28 Anyone out there want to hold me to my writing goal today? It'll work better if I know you'll be asking how it goes... #
• 10:32 Write or Die is certainly brilliant, but I find it increasingly difficult to press start and just do it. Guess I know about the hard work! #
• 10:38 @NadVega Cool! It's a novel, GODSPEED, sequel to Faith Awakened (2007), sci-fi dystopia. Total length 60k; at 15k now; goal today: 3-5k. #
• 10:38 Something is wrong when I'd rather blog about writing a novel than actually write the novel. #
• 10:40 RT: @envirotainment: a doco on New Zild Englush tr.im/kfvt I ♥ NZ (via @gnat) #
• 10:57 @BelieversPress Yes I am using Write or Die lab.drwicked.com/writeordie.html but it's quite terrifying! lol #
• 10:58 @macaronique much appreciated! I look forward to your bleats! #
• 10:59 RT: @wendywings: People new to twitter PLEASE put up an avatar and some sort of bio if you expect people to follow you. It WILL help. #
• 11:14 @lifeledlearning Yes, but I already spend way too much time on marketing. Don't give me any excuses! #
• 11:15 Okay, @NadVega has promised to tell the whole world if I don't write a decent amount of my novel today. There is hope! #
• 11:20 Maybe I could try writing a novel scene IN the blog? Naah...not realistic, I know. Better get to work. 3...2...1... #
• 11:26 @onejan84 thanks for the RT. You have a WIP on the go just now? #
• 11:27 @PixieVonDust Godspeed is actually my 4th novel. You'd think I knew how to do it by now... #
• 11:28 @macaronique I never thought about the schwa thing, but yes, you're right. One of those arbitrary spelling situations we must live with. #
• 11:28 The person on Twitter that I've known the longest is @macaronique - 15 years or so! Just thought you might like to know that. #
• 11:29 Yes I am still procrastinating. God help me! #
• 11:34 Did you know that in my whole valley only five trees are going red. The rest are evergreens. Yes yes I know...writing now. #
• 11:36 Okay so my first task is to get my novel's heroine thrown in jail. I'm on it. #
• 11:37 @vavroom no no, this is helping, I now have five tweeps hassling me to get it done...this is good! whatever you do don't tell me to give up! #
• 12:09 Thanks guys - just wrote 515 words in 26 minutes. Pressing on. #
• 12:14 @vavroom lol no use taking a break before getting started. But I'm started now, thank goodness. #
• 12:15 @astonwest Well I do know how it happens...it's just churning out words that is so irritating, yet tantalising at the same time! #
• 12:15 @tjmlvs_christ thanks for your support! #
• 12:16 @NadVega Not quite but she IS in handcuffs and the inciting incident has occurred. Keeping going. #
• 12:23 @samnzed Let me know when your pic upload works? I want to replace mine but under the circumstances waiting might be a good idea, lol #
• 12:59 Another 660 words in the last 30 minutes. Total so far: 1175. Not a bad start. #
• 13:00 @samnzed hmm mine is an animation and over 400kb. Still well under the limit of 700. Should I try? #
• 13:05 @samnzed well now they are telling me animations aren't supported. Yeah right. I'm jealous of @justinflitter !! #
• 13:10 I am going to a Ceilidh this evening in Devonport! devonportdirectory.co.nz/ www.flickr.com/photos/devonportseasonalceilidh/ #
• 13:16 @NadVega yay! thank you so much, this is really helping! #
• 13:45 Lunch: my homemade grain bread with spring onion cream cheese, lettuce & mayo; followed by some feijoas and fabulous golden kiwifruit! Yum! #
• 13:47 People are lighting their fires for the first time; I can smell the woodsmoke wafting through the cracks. Birdnest in our chimney, so no go! #
• 13:50 @vavroom Eww! Not when their tweets echo down through the hearth... I'll have to make em move out eventually. #
• 14:19 @LewisBostock Irish tweetup? Pick me! Where & when are you thinking? #
• 14:20 525 words in 25 minutes. Total for today now 1700. #
• 14:32 @ProudKiwi @LewisBostock Sounds good! Lewis will you pick me up again? That would rock. @wendywings Thank you! I'd forgotten about that. #
• 14:44 @LewisBostock Ah, sure. We can take the bus if we have to! After all it is in town this time. #
• 14:44 RT: @ProudKiwi: Irish-themed tweet-up Wed 10 June, 7pm at Forde's Bar, Anzac Ave, CBD, Auckland, NZ. #
• 14:46 @NadVega Translating is slower, 300 to 500 words per hour. Stories happen fast when it's straight out of my head! Not unhappy but need more! #
• 14:47 @onejan84 Yes I understand. Well I hope you can move your novels along again soon! What are they about? #
• 14:53 Here we go again. Maybe rainy days are good for writing, no wonder I got so much done in Ireland! I'm past halfway to my goal for today :) #
• 15:28 680 words in the last 30 minutes. Total today: 2380. WIP total: 17500 or so. Let's "go round again!" #
• 15:51 @NadVega oh wow yeah well you have a good sleep, it's not yet 4pm here, will catch up with you later on! Thanks muchly for your help!! #
• 15:58 @vavroom well you wouldn't want to drop a regular book in the water either, now would you? Oh I can't wait till we get our spa up & running. #
• 16:00 Flattie went out & left spooky music running in office. Sounds like DVD menu from the way it repeats. Not bad for writing ambience actually. #
• 16:37 541 words in the last 30 minutes. Total today: 2921. WIP at 18100. Can I crack 20,000 today I wonder? #
• 16:47 Well I have 2 hours till I get picked up for the ceilidh. 2000 words in 2 hours is very doable, but can I do it? haha. Worth a try. #
• 16:58 So the good guys have to break the heroine out of jail now. Wondering how to write that without it seeming too easy. Any tips? #
• 17:27 @yomcat hmm maybe dynamite...it's a near future hard SF so not really mind control or zombies. Um. #
• 17:52 This scene might vaguely resemble one in Star Trek V where Scotty busts into the brig to get Kirk, Spock and Bones out. I loved that scene! #
• 18:32 3508 words today! WIP is 18650. Thx to my tweeps for support: @NadVega @janetursel @onejan84 @yomcat @vavroom @wendywings @ProudKiwi #
• 18:34 Thanks also to @tjmlvs_christ @astonwest @lifeledlearning @BelieversPress @PixieVonDust ! Off to the Devonport Ceilidh now. Dancing time! #

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• 09:50 RT @jasonmitchener My 20,000th follower will receive two of my art prints free. tinyurl.com/jasonsart #
• 10:17 #nzcookieswap is going a lot slower than I thought. Reckon I better eat the batch I made last week and make fresh ones when the time comes. #
• 10:28 #nzcookieswap Besides, they'd be better the second time - think more chocolate! Plus this time I can take pics of the process for the blog. #
• 10:53 @amiemccarron you and me could always do an extra private cookie swap :) #nzcookieswap #
• 10:56 Aims for today: Write 2000 words. Walk 2 hours. After that, we'll just see what happens! #
• 11:52 @amiemccarron Guess that means you'll have to ask hubby what he thinks! What cookie flavours does he do? #
• 12:00 Whew, that was a close call! Couldn't find my document for new novel GODSPEED, it showed up in trash, apparently I binned it on Monday, WTH? #
• 15:56 RT @tweetmeme 9 Reasons Why You Aren't Being Followed on Twitter tinyurl.com/cxa8ql #
• 16:09 #followfriday @theskypirate @damnfinebooks @vye @triciagoyer @PureNewZealand @ChristnBookVids @wendywings @michaelpococky @jasonmitchener #
• 16:12 #followfriday @twcp @frankcreed @frederation @karinafabian @JRobinsonAuthor @povbootcamp @creativeworkout @samnzed @amiemccarron @Brandilyn #
• 20:06 #followfriday You're all very welcome. I should do this more often. Thanks for the great conversations! #

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