Oscar madness: Yes, I'm crazy, but I only have 12 movies to go...

I suck at math, so my figures might be slightly off, but as of today, I have seen 45 of the 57 films nominated for the 86th Academy Awards, which air March 2 on ABC. That means I only have 12 more to go...

And I don't think I will make it to 57.

I might be able to squeeze in a few more this weekend, but honestly, some of these films are impossible to find. *Sigh* Still. Here's my rundown and predictions for this year's movies. I'm chronicling it here for posterity's sake. And possibly as proof that I belong in a padded room because I realize no one cares what my picks are at all. Actually, the common response is, "Um, how in the heck did you see so many nominations? Do you have a lifetime pass with your local theater chain?!?" Kind of. I get free screening passes thanks to both my job and GoFoBo (anyone can sign up, nationwide, for free screenings. Check it out). Plus, Netflix has some of these. iTunes has some. Vimeo has some. You just have to search for them. Usually, I watch these movies and think "That was nominated? Why?!?" This year, I'm awed by how great the field is. 

Anyway. My overall favorite film was the short documentary The Lady in No. 6: Music Saved My Life, followed by Philomena. Folks, I wish everyone would watch The Lady in No. 6: Music Saved My Life. It. Is. Amazing. I adored it so much. It conveys such a profound message. If it doesn't win, I will be so mad!

That said, here are my individual picks...

>Best Picture (seen them all!)
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

Who I think should win: It's a toss up between 12 Years a Slave, Philomena and Nebraska.

Who I think WILL win: This is a tough category, all films are great, but I think either Gravity or 12 Years a Slave will surprise people and take this one. American Hustle is a strong contender, too.


>Best Actor in a Leading Role (seen them all!)
Christian Bale (American Hustle)
Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Who I think should win: Everyone, but I think Dern or DiCaprio are my favorites.

Who I think WILL win: Leonardo DiCaprio

>Best Actress in a Leading Role (seen them all!)
Amy Adams (American Hustle)
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Judi Dench (Philomena)
Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)

Who I think should win: Sandra Bullock or Judi Dench. Honestly, Bullock was better in Gravity than she was in The Blind Side, for which she won an Oscar.

Who I think WILL win: Cate Blanchett

>Best Actor in a Supporting Role (seen them all!)
Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)
Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)
Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Who I think should win: Jared Leto

Who I think WILL win: Jared Leto — he really nailed this role

>Best Actress in a Supporting Role (seen them all!)
Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)
Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)
Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)
June Squibb (Nebraska)

Who I think should win: Lupita Nyong'o

Who I think WILL win: Jennifer Lawrence

>Best Animated Feature (seen 4 of these)
The Croods (Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco, Kristine Belson)
Despicable Me 2 (Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin, Chris Meledandri)
Ernest & Celestine (Benjamin Renner, Didier Brunner)
Frozen (Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho)
The Wind Rises (Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki)

Who I think should win: Frozen

Who I think WILL win: (I haven't seen The Wind Rises, but...) Frozen

>Best Cinematography (seen them all!)
The Grandmaster (Philippe Le Sourd)
Gravity (Emmanuel Lubezki)
Inside Llewyn Davis (Bruno Delbonnel)
Nebraska (Phedon Papamichael)
Prisoners (Roger A. Deakins)

Who I think should win: Gravity
Who I think WILL win: Gravity

>Best Costume Design (seen 4 of these)
American Hustle (Michael Wilkinson)
The Grandmaster (William Chang Suk Ping)
The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin)
The Invisible Woman (Michael O'Connor)
12 Years a Slave (Patricia Norris)

Who I think should win: American Hustle

Who I think WILL win: The Great Gatsby

>Best Directing (seen them all!)
American Hustle (David O. Russell)
Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón)
Nebraska (Alexander Payne)
12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen)
The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese)

Who I think should win: Martin Scorsese

Who I think WILL win: It's a toss up between Russell, Scorsese and Cuarón

>Best Documentary Feature (seen them all!)
The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge Sørensen)
Cutie and the Boxer (Zachary Heinzerling, Lydia Dean Pilcher)
Dirty Wars (Richard Rowley, Jeremy Scahill)
The Square (Jehane Noujaim, Karim Amer)
20 Feet from Stardom (Nominees to be determined)

Who I think should win: Dirty Wars

Who I think WILL win: The Act of Killing

>Best Documentary Short (seen 3 of these)
CaveDigger (Jeffrey Karoff)
Facing Fear (Jason Cohen)
Karama Has No Walls (Sara Ishaq)
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life (Malcolm Clarke, Nicholas Reed)
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall (Edgar Barens)

Who I think should win: The Lady in No. 6: Music Saved My Life
Who I think WILL win: (I haven't seen Facing Fear or Prison Terminal, but...) The Lady in No. 6: Music Saved My Life

>Best Film Editing (seen them all!)
American Hustle (Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers, Alan Baumgarten)
Captain Phillips (Christopher Rouse)
Dallas Buyers Club (John Mac McMurphy, Martin Pensa)
Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger)
12 Years a Slave (Joe Walker)

Who I think should win: American Hustle
Who I think WILL win: Gravity

>Best Foreign Language Film (only seen 1)
The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)
The Great Beauty (Italy)
The Hunt (Denmark)
The Missing Picture (Cambodia)
Omar (Palestine)

Who I think should win: The Hunt (It's the only one I've seen!)
Who I think WILL win: I hear great things about The Great Beauty, so I'm picking that one

>Best Makeup and Hairstyling (seen 2 of these)
Dallas Buyers Club (Adruitha Lee, Robin Mathews)
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (Stephen Prouty)
The Lone Ranger (Joel Harlow, Gloria Pasqua-Casny)

Who I think should win: I haven't seen Bad Grandpa, but...Bad Grandpa
Who I think WILL win: Dallas Buyers Club

>Best Original Score (seen 4 of these)
The Book Thief (John Williams)
Gravity (Steven Price)
Her (William Butler, Owen Pallett)
Philomena (Alexandre Desplat)
Saving Mr. Banks (Thomas Newman)

Who I think should win: I haven't seen The Book Thief, but...Saving Mr. Banks

Who I think WILL win: The Book Thief

>Best Original Song (seen 3 of these)
Happy (Despicable Me 2)
Let It Go (Frozen)
The Moon Song (Her)
Ordinary Love (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)

Who I think should win: Let It Go
Who I think WILL win: Ordinary Love

> Best Production Design (seen them all!)
American Hustle (Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler)
Gravity (Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin, Joanne Woollard)
The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn)
Her (K.K. Barrett, Gene Serdena)
12 Years a Slave (Adam Stockhausen, Alice Baker)

Who I think should win: All of them, but I'll pick 12 Years a Slave

Who I think WILL win: American Hustle

>Best Animated Short Film (seen them all!)
Feral (Daniel Sousa, Dan Golden)
Get a Horse! (Lauren MacMullan, Dorothy McKim)
Mr. Hublot (Laurent Witz, Alexandre Espigares)
Possessions (Shuhei Morita)
Room on the Broom (Max Lang, Jan Lachauer)

Who I think should win: Room on the Broom (It has Agent Scully's voice in it!)
Who I think WILL win: Get a Horse! or Mr. Hublot

>Best Live Action Short Film (seen them all!)
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me) (Esteban Crespo)
Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything) (Xavier Legrand, Alexandre Gavras)
Helium (Anders Walter, Kim Magnusson)
Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?) (Selma Vilhunen, Kirsikka Saari)
The Voorman Problem (Mark Gill, Baldwin Li)

Who I think should win: Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything) 

Who I think WILL win: Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me)

>Best Sound Editing (seen 3 of these)
All Is Lost (Steve Boeddeker, Richard Hymns)
Captain Phillips (Oliver Tarney)
Gravity (Glenn Freemantle)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Brent Burge, Chris Ward)
Lone Survivor (Wylie Stateman)

Who I think should win: I haven't seen All Is Lost or The Hobbit, but...Lone Survivor
Who I think WILL win: All Is Lost (I'm sure Redford has plenty of friends in the Academy)

>Best Sound Mixing (seen 4 of these)
Captain Phillips (Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, Chris Munro)
Gravity (Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick, Tony Johnson)
Inside Llewyn Davis (Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff, Peter F. Kurland)
Lone Survivor (Andy Koyama, Beau Borders, David Brownlow)

Who I think should win: Inside Llewyn Davis

Who I think WILL win: Inside Llewyn Davis

>Best Visual Effects (seen 4 of these)
Gravity (Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, Neil Corbould)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds)
Iron Man 3 (Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash, Dan Sudick)
The Lone Ranger (Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams, John Frazier)
Star Trek Into Darkness (Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton)

Who I think should win: Gravity

Who I think WILL win: Gravity

>Best Adapted Screenplay (seen 4 of these)
Before Midnight (Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke)
Captain Phillips (Billy Ray)
Philomena (Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope)
12 Years a Slave (John Ridley)
The Wolf of Wall Street (Terence Winter)

Who I think should win: Philomena

Who I think WILL win: The Wolf of Wall Street

>Best Original Screenplay (seen them all!)
American Hustle (Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell)
Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen)
Dallas Buyers Club (Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack)
Her (Spike Jonze)
Nebraska (Bob Nelson)

Who I think should win: Nebraska

Who I think WILL win: Her

Fun Friday Q&A with author Lisa Fox

Today I'm happy to put new author and super cool human being Lisa Fox in the hot seat with my mind-delving Q&A. She has one of the best bios I've seen yet, and I think we could probably be besties based on it. Just sayin'. (smiles and waves at Lisa) Her story One Kiss was chosen by the editors at HarperImpulse as their Winter Wonderland Winner and was published last month to great reviews (not that I'm stalking my new bestie or anything...) Let's get to know her better, shall we?

Angela: Welcome to my blog, Lisa!

Lisa: Thanks so much for having me over!

Angela: Describe yourself in 5 words or less.

Lisa: Adventurous, sarcastic, control-freak, book-lover, cookie monster.

Angela: Cookie monster! OMG, I love you already. So I'm a total geek, and I have to know: Are you a member of any fandoms (TV/film/books)? If so, which ones?

Lisa: I don’t really pay much attention to current pop culture (I’m honestly too busy killing things on my PlayStation to do much else) but I will forever be a HUGE X-Files fan.

The X-Files

Angela: Not to brag or anything, but I was in the official X-Files Fan Club way back when. I'm not even kidding (and I probably shouldn't admit that in public, should I? D'oh!). Pictures of David Duchovny as Fox Mulder were all over my dorm room. One of the biggest thrills of my life was meeting Gillian Anderson.

Lisa: AHHH you got to meet Scully!!! That's awesome. I got to touch David Duchovny once outside of the theater where he was doing a show in New York. I had to work very hard not to scream in his face. Ha!


Angela: OMG! I would have passed out. Lucky you! (besties, I'm tellin' ya) ...Anyway. Describe your ideal man or woman.

Lisa: Hugh Jackman.

Angela: (High fives Lisa) Celebrity crush?

Lisa: Hmmmmmm… Hugh Jackman.

Angela: You can invite five people to dinner, living or dead. Who would you invite?

Lisa: Five people? I’m not really all that much of a people-person. That’s a lot of people. I wouldn’t have to cook for all of them, would I? I’m an awful cook. Could I have the event catered instead?

Angela: We're on the same page, Lisa. Don't worry. I've determined the only way to get myself invited to everyone's dinner is to be the hostess and cook it myself (translation: we're ordering pizza or Chinese).

Lisa: I guess they’d all have to somewhat get along too, wouldn’t they? You wouldn’t, for example, want Caesar and Brutus at the same party. Or maybe you would. I guess it would depend upon what kind of party you were throwing. I think I’d prefer mine to be on the quiet side though.

So, I guess if I had to host this thing, and there was plenty of wine and no dishes for me to deal with after or any ambulances to call, I’d invite: Stephen King, Charles Bukowski, Haruki Murakami, Bruce Campbell, Pedro Almodóvar.

Angela: I'm not sure it would be too quiet with Bruce Campbell there, but still. Awesome choices. Thanks for letting me grill you today, Lisa.

You can learn more about Lisa at her website, www.lisafoxromance.com/. Be sure to read her novella, One Kiss, which is now available.

Sometimes one kiss can change everything.

New Year's Eve is supposed to be a night for celebration and new beginnings. For best friends Kat and Dean, it is a nightmare filled with disastrous dates and enraged ex-girlfriends!

Lucky for them, they've got each other to help laugh off the embarrassing, and downright inappropriate, moments. But then midnight rolls around and neither of them have anyone to kiss…

There's no doubt this is a night they will always remember.

The real question is whether it will be a night they want to forget…

Thanks for helping me save a life, or two!

It's been a rough week, y'all. I found out some distressing news about my father's health, I feel like I've been tossed into a meat grinder at the day job this week, and I finally got my new computer (cause my old one decided to imitate Linda Blair from "The Exorcist") and haven't had time to play with it yet (the horror!).

Seriously. I thought being snowed in last week for Snowmageddon was bad. Nope. Turns out it was a piece of cake.

Aladdin — saved!

Anyway. I realize I've failed to update folks on the donations I've made to my local shelter since the last report I gave. Good news! I've paid the sponsor fees on two more animals — a dog and a cat — who have gone to rescue and been pulled from the euthanasia list thanks to me and those of you kind enough to buy one of my books. The great thing about it is, when I clicked to send the funds to sponsor Aladdin today, my mood lifted and I realized how trivial most things stressing me out actually are. I suppose saving a life will do that to a person.

Unfortunately, I learned that sponsoring an animal isn't always enough. The rescue willing to take Aladdin, get him healthy, and home him is in another state. Transport was needed to get him from our shelter to them, and no one was able or willing to volunteer. Thankfully I found out, so I'll be driving Aladdin to his new location this Friday. It was that, or see the lil fellow put to sleep. I've never transported an animal for rescue before, so I'm nervous about it. It should be an adventure! Either way, he's saved, thanks to us.

So, together we saved an at-risk dog (I asked the money to go toward whichever dog needed it the most and would benefit), and Aladdin, this 3-year-old cat a rescue friend asked if I could help pay the fees for so a group could pull him. I was happy to do it, and like I said, it made me feel better after this horrible week I'm having.

I just wish I could afford to save more. Think how happy we'd all feel then!

Written Fireside: On Valentine’s Part Three

Click here to read part one by Lori Connelly or part two by Lynn Marie Hulsman of Written Fireside: On Valentine's, a round robin story from several authors.

Part Three

By Angela Campbell

The stranger reached and brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes. “Nice hair. Blue is my favorite color.” His expression grew concerned as his own cobalt blue gaze raked over her face. “Are you hurt?”

Cat blinked, not having to fight so hard to stay conscious now. Hurt? Only her pride. She moved to push herself up, yelped at the pain in her right arm and tumbled back again. On second thought, maybe more than her pride. That thump behind her skull had turned into a full-fledged marching band stomping on her brain. She groaned and pushed Mongo away with her good arm as her dog's tongue took another swipe at her face.

“Easy.” Jed’s hands were gentle as they explored her arm and tilted her face for inspection. “What’s your name?”

“Catherine.”

“Catherine, I’m going to carry you to my cabin. I have a first aid kit. All right?”

She pursed her lips, wanting to tell him no thank you. She could walk on her own. Dizziness threatened to turn her stomach, putting an end to that idea.

So much for an empowering experience. She hadn’t been here an hour and already needed help. Fantastic.

Cat managed a nod, and Jed lifted her gracefully into his arms. As he walked, she skimmed his handsome features. Dark brown hair curled around his ears, and stubble lined a strong, square jaw. Something about him seemed familiar, but how?

Minutes later, he lowered her to a sofa and she became aware of her surroundings. Familiar surroundings. This wasn’t his cabin. This was the cabin that belonged to Makayla’s parents. This was her cabin for the weekend!

“How did you get inside?” A frisson of fear ran down her spine.

“Excuse me?” He froze where he had been rummaging through a cabinet.

“This is my cabin. Well, not mine exactly. It belongs to my friend’s family. I’m staying here for the weekend.”

He turned and considered her. Something warm and exciting sparked in her belly as their gazes met and held.

“You’re Makayla’s friend. I thought you looked familiar.”

“You know Makayla?”

A small smile played at his lips as he handed her two painkillers and a glass of water. “I’m friends with Danny. He told me I could stay here this weekend. Dropped me off a couple of hours ago.”

Danny! Makayla’s brother.

“Didn’t he know I was going to be here?” she squeaked.

“Guess not.” Neither did he seem bothered by the idea. Gently, he felt along her arm again. “I don’t think it’s broken, but we should probably get you to a doctor. Where’s your car?”

“I don’t have it. Makayla dropped me off.”

He pulled out his phone and frowned. “No signal. You?”

She gestured to the backpack she’d been carrying. He retrieved her phone from the front pouch and held it up for her to see. The faceplate was shattered. Her phone was useless--just like she was.

She gasped. “What are we going to do?” ___________________________________________________

Read Part Four next week, Feb. 25, on Zara Stonely's blog here. In the meantime, check out one of her books! Visit her website.

Fun Friday Q&A with author Georgia Hill

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day! Today I'm very happy to have as my guest another new friend from the UK, the fabulous author Georgia Hill. Georgia has written a wonderful romantic series for Harper Impulse that revolves around the ballroom (mostly - wink wink). Her first novella in the series, Say It With Sequins: The Rumba, is now available, and I suggest you snatch it up, although I have to admit that, being an American, I've never seen an episode of Strictly Come Dancing, which I understand is one of the inspirations for it. I've seen Dancing With the Stars plenty though, and this book is better!

Now, let's get to know Georgia a little better ...

Angela: Describe yourself in 5 words or less.

Merlin

Georgia: Imaginative, humorous, overly-dramatic, loyal, worrier.

Angela: A writer who's overly-dramatic?! Surely not! Tell me: Are you a member of any fandoms (TV/film/books)? If so, which ones?

Georgia: I was a huge fan of the BBC TV series Merlin and belonged to the pro-boards dedicated to it for a while. The one I’ve belonged to longest is another pro-board: C19. It sprang up, in the beginning, as homage to actor Richard Armitage. Now it’s a place to discuss not only his work but also books, hobbies, food – anything! Some of us, who met in cyber-space, now get together in person regularly and I’ve made some lasting friendships from it! Not only that but it was the catalyst for my first attempts at writing fiction, so I owe a lot to it.

Angela: I keep hearing about Richard Armitage. (Note to self: Must. Learn. More). Describe your ideal man or woman.

Georgia: What a great question! I like tall men, usually dark-haired and pale-eyed but the most important qualities must be intelligence and humour. Also, he won’t get far with me unless he’s a dog-lover! A good voice and a practical streak is a must, too. I’m not into anything metro-sexual. Well, you did ask what my idea of a perfect man is!

Angela: Don't worry! You had me in total agreement at "tall" and "dog-lover." Celebrity crush?

Georgia: Oh dear, this changes all the time – I’m very fickle! For a long time it was Colin Firth, then Richard Armitage. Then I ‘went blonde’ and got into Bradley James, who starred as King Arthur in Merlin and is embarrassingly young; not proud of that one. Tom Mison is another (Sleepy Hollow) and I love Tom Riley (Da Vinci’s Demons) too. Not having access to the TV stations these two programmes appear on is very frustrating! Box sets, here I come.

Angela: I only recently got BBC America, which is home to several shows I adore, so I understand exactly! Okay, last question. You can invite five people to dinner, living or dead. Who would you invite?

Georgia: Jane Austen – I’d like to know what makes her tick. Ricky Wilson – lead singer of Brit band The Kaiser Chiefs and currently appearing as a judge on the BBC’s talent show, The Voice; he seems such a good bloke (nice eyes too!). Miranda Hart, English actor and comedian, because she’s funny and bright and would be good company. Len Goodman, head judge from Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing with the Stars – having based a series of novellas on the show, I’d love to know the gossip! All-round genius Stephan Fry would complete the table. Think it would be quite a lively affair. Jane Austen might be a bit bemused though.

Angela: I'm totally sneaking into this dinner, by the way. Thank you, Georgia, for visiting with me today!

You can learn more about Georgia Hill at her website: www.georgiahill.co.uk. Please do check out her novella.

Slip on some dance shoes and step up to love!
Who Dares Dances is a reality TV show with a difference. Not only do contestants have to learn to dance, they also face a series of bizarre challenges.
Julia Cooper signs up in a bid to revive her flagging acting career. But when she meets dare-devil TV presenter Harri Morgan the attraction is instant – and hot!
Forced to perform a sexy rumba together, the sequins really start to fly. Will they score the perfect ten, or is their romance destined to be a dance disaster?
- See more at: http://www.harperimpulseromance.com/books/say-it-with-sequins#sthash.uzP1Hc1H.dpuf

Say It With Sequins: The Rumba

Slip on some dance shoes and step up to love!

Who Dares Dances is a reality TV show with a difference. Not only do contestants have to learn to dance, they also face a series of bizarre challenges.

Julia Cooper signs up in a bid to revive her flagging acting career. But when she meets dare-devil TV presenter Harri Morgan the attraction is instant – and hot!

Forced to perform a sexy rumba together, the sequins really start to fly. Will they score the perfect ten, or is their romance destined to be a dance disaster?

Fun Friday Q&A with author Wendy Lou Jones!

Wendy Lou Jones

Today I'm thrilled to host one of my newer author friends from across the pond, author Wendy Lou Jones, whose book "The Songbird and the Soldier" from Harper Impulse is a perfect treat for fans of Nicholas Sparks. I adore British things and people, so I thought it would be fun to put Wendy through the Q&A wringer so we can all get to know her better.

Without further ado...

Angela: Welcome to my blog, Wendy! Describe yourself in 5 words or less.

Wendy: Oh, cruel! Let me think… Honest, determined, stubborn and caring.

Angela: Can I add funny to that — because you're pretty funny on Facebook. Just sayin'. Next question. I'm a big geek, so I have to ask: Are you a member of any fandoms (TV/film/books)?

Wendy: I’ve not heard the word ‘fandom’ before, so I don’t think so. But I am a fan of Richard Armitage, does that count?

Angela: Of course! I'm a card-carrying member of the fandom of Henry Cavill, but that's another matter. Er, describe your ideal man or woman.

Wendy: He’d have to be noble, kind, honest, hard working, black-haired, blue-eyed, lean, muscular, (melting in a puddle on the floor here) good sense of humour, um… not hugely mad about sport and have selective blindness to all my faults. I’m pretty easy going really. ;-)

Angela: I think I already know, but celebrity crush?

Richard Armitage (yummy!)

Wendy: Richard Armitage (a British treasure who has done a flit to the States and is currently to be found bearded-up in The Hobbit!)

Angela: I might have a new British actor to crush on now, thank you very much! Okay. You can invite five people to dinner, living or dead. Who would you invite?

Wendy: Now I thought long and hard about this one and I thought about my dad. He died a few years ago and I thought what an opportunity that would be. But then I realised, in the end, I’d have to say goodbye again, so… maybe not. Okay. Do I have to cook? Because if I do, I’m not going to play this game anyway. (You may have noticed ‘Domestic Goddess’ was not on my list of words I used to described myself!) But if they’re happy to have chips from the chippy, um…

Aforementioned heart throb, Richard Armitage (are you sensing a theme running through here?), Michael MacIntyre (comedian – very funny), Steve Irwin (Australian crocodile conservationist – loved him), Bernard Cribbins (actor - was ‘big when I was little’ in children’s stories, TV and CD and still working today – love to listen to his voice) and better have another girl, what about… Tilda Swinton (actress who played the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – hopefully she would teach me two-handed sword fighting, after the chips had gone down, of course.)

Angela: What about me?! You wouldn't invite me to this dinner so I can get to know Richard Armitage better?! Okay, I'm the hostess and I'm cooking, er, ordering pizza. There, I'm in.

Thanks for visiting, Wendy. Here's more info about your awesome book:

THE SONGBIRD AND THE SOLDIER

 An emotional, intense love story. Perfect for fans of Nicholas Sparks.

Where do you turn when the first casualty of love is the truth? 

Sometimes it's when you least expect it that something wonderful happens, but for Andy Garrington the timing couldn't have been worse. Being sent half way round the world to Afghanistan, Andy is prepared for a fight, but what he doesn't expect is the most important battle of his life to carry on at home. For Samantha Litton, running into her childhood crush at the pub one evening seems like good fortune. But when he is called away to war and she is left behind, things don't seem quite so clear and Sam has to determine who is telling her the truth and who is playing her for a fool, when all seems fair in love and war.

Buy links: Amazon UK | Amazon US

Learn more about Wendy at her website: www.wendyloujones.weebly.com