A Day in the Life of.....
Coleen Kwan has been a bookworm all her life. At school English was her favorite subject, but for some reason she decided on a career in IT. After many years of programming, she wondered what else there was in life — and discovered writing. She loves writing contemporary romance and steampunk romance.
Coleen lives in Sydney, Australia with her partner and two children. When she isn’t writing she enjoys avoiding housework, eating chocolate, and watching The Office.
Links
Website: www.coleenkwan.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ColeenKwan
Facebook: www.facebook.com/coleenkwan.authorpage
A Day in the Life of… Coleen Kwan
7:30am — That’s the time my alarm is set to, but often I wake up early. Our bedroom faces east, and the ratty old wooden blinds don’t block out the early morning sunshine very well. The older I get, the more difficult sleep becomes, so I doze for a while until the radio alarm goes off. I roll out of bed and stumble to the bathroom. I’m extremely myopic, so everything is a blur until I get my contact lenses in. Then the world comes into focus, and I trot back upstairs to rouse my two teenage kids.
8am — While I’m making porridge, emptying the dishwasher, and cutting sandwiches, my son drags himself into the kitchen and slumps over his cereal. My daughter won’t put in an appearance until much later, and she skips breakfast in favor of perfecting her makeup.
9am — Somehow the two teenagers are successfully packed off to school. It’s time for me and my partner to go for our morning walk. We try to take a fifty minute walk every day as it’s about the only exercise we get. We have different routes to suite our mood. I find walking is great for meditating over any writing hiccups I have. Maybe it’s the extra oxygen that’s conducive to creativity.
10am — I’m at my desk with a cup of tea, and I should be doing the most important work of a writer, which is to WRITE, but instead I’m diverted by endless emails. Why do I belong to so many Yahoo groups, and why do I feel compelled to read all these digest emails? Then it’s on to Twitter to check up on my lists and do a few retweets. Oh, and what’s the latest Amazon rankings for my books? (Checking rankings must be the most futile of my tasks, but I can’t seem to stop.)
11am — At last I’ve dealt with all the distractions and can get down to some solid writing. Sometimes the words flow out effortlessly, sometimes it’s like pulling teeth, but I persevere because I’ve found if I tough it out eventually the writing does start to flow.
12pm — Just as the writing is progressing nicely, my stomach starts to rumble. So I grab a quick lunch, usually sandwich and another cup of tea, and try to soldier on.
3:30pm — The kids start to roll in, and the noise becomes too distracting. I quiz them about school, homework, clothes.
5pm — I can’t do much writing after five, unless I really force myself. So I use this time to do a bit of promo work or social media.
7pm — My partner and I take turns cooking dinner. He cooks things like potato bake, steak, fish and chips, while I make spaghetti bolognaise, chicken curry, or lamb shank soup. Dinner is the only meal we all eat together, and I’m sorry to say we eat in front of the TV. I’ve tried moving the meal to the kitchen table, but television wins out every time.
8pm — My favorite TV shows at the moment are The Big Bang Theory, Doctor Who, and The Office. We’re also working our way through season two of Game of Thrones. If there’s nothing worth watching I try to whittle down my TBR pile on my ereader. At various times during the evening I also nag my children to have showers, finish their homework, and clean up the kitchen.
11pm — Switch on the dishwasher and then it’s bedtime, my favorite part of the day!
Thanks for having me on the blog today!
Serial bachelor. Celebrity author. Her perfect forever?
When famous author Luke Maguire decides to write his next novel in the small town of Burronga, Australia, he's sure he can ignore the fiery redhead next door. Not only has he just been burned from a high-profile breakup, but he's never been one to set down roots. No, he'll finish his novel and leave Burronga. And soon.
Tyler Jones just wants to run her business with her best friend, Ally, and take care of her three-year-old daughter, Chloe. She's never needed help from anyone, especially not a man, and the brooding, rugged writer next door can't tempt her. Not in the least.
Only Tyler and Luke can't stay away from each other. So they set rules. No staying overnight, no future plans, no sappy good-byes when Luke inevitably quits town. But the chemistry between them is too strong to contain in a rulebook. Are Luke and Tyler ready to risk their lives of independence for something more?
Entangled Publishing http://bit.ly/XH0aOD
Thanks for having me on the blog today :)
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