Amnesiac Ex, Unforgettable Vow by Robyn Grady

 The last woman Samuel Bishop expected to have in his arms was his ex-wife. Left with amnesia from an accident, Laura had no memory of their bitter divorce. In her mind, she and the business tycoon were still newlyweds. With her ready to pick up where she thought their scorching-hot marriage had left off, he couldn't turn her down.


But soon Bishop realized he was playing with fire. He wanted to reclaim the wedded bliss "this" Laura had shown him, but what would happen when her memory returned?

And what would happen if it didn't?

Mass Market Paperback, 192 pages

Published January 4th 2011 by Silhouette Books (first published December 21st 2010) 

 

ISBN  0373730764 (ISBN13: 9780373730766)

Let me start off by saying I Love Robyn's books.  They are always a fantastic read and you lose yourself in the characters and their plights.  The same can be said for this book. From the moment I started on Page 1 I found it very hard to put down.

I sensed the turmoil Sam Bishop felt. His need to do the right thing and not take advantage of his ex-wife's memory loss, but he couldn't fight the feelings that hadn't really died between them. 

The fact that all his clothes still hung in the closet of a house he hadn't lived in for many months and Laura still had his wedding ring, told me that even though they were divorced Laura still loved her husband.


It was a chance for them to start over and it didn't have the predictable ending when her memory returned, they parted once again, but then found their way back to each other.


As I said I loved every minute of it, and would definitely recommend it.

This review has been written as part of WInk Girl’s commitment to the 2012 Australian Women Writers Challenge. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Australian-Women-Writers/176862202396763
http://www.australianwomenwriters.com/p/australian-women-writers-book-challenge_25.html

Finding direction

I suffer from that paralysing combination of over-commitment and perfectionism so I struggle with motivation.

I don’t have any magic bullets for the problem of flagging motivation but I do know that my own thoughts drive my emotions and that negative emotions undermine my good intentions. The secret seems to be to regard all tasks as neutral and avoid emotional overlays or implications. Another observation of what works is to start small and achievable and build on the positive energy.

For me it’s an ongoing struggle…Fortunately, I have great critique partners to help me back on track.

How motivated are you?

If you always do what you’ve always done you’ll always get what you’ve always got.

I don’t know when I first heard that saying and I don’t know where it’s from but it’s true. We all have friends who are happy to complain about the same thing for years. We all know people who want to write a novel, one day when they have time...

When I was going a Bob Mater workshop I learned another interesting thing about motivation. Only 5% of people are self-motivated.

So when referring back that first quote, 95% of people will keep doing the same thing even though they get the same results until someone or something forces them to change.

Three questions:

Where do you want to be?

How are you going to get there?

What are you waiting for?

Motivation!! Umm what did you say?

One! Two! Three! Push it! Push it! Up that hill! One More Set! Go! Go! Go!!

So are you motivated? Maybe? Yeah - no, not so much.  What works for one person may never work for another.  Having a person yelling at you at 5am may get you motivated to do another set of push ups, or sit ups. If you're part of a 'get fit boot camp' or a member of a gym or you have a personal trainer, you do have someone screaming in your ear to do it 'one more time'.

A writer leads a very insular life. Often we are caught up in the worlds and the scenarios we create that sometimes we forget the outside world.  And when we are in the zone everything is flowing and we feel invincible.

But sometimes all it will take will be one thing and wham that motivation and dedication you had is gone and it takes you a little while to get back into the zone.

For a writer, we don't have the personal trainer on our shoulder, but what we do have is a wonderful community of friends who know exactly what we're going through. Whether it be multi-published authors or your brand new critique partner, a chat with them and your motivation is back.

The trick is to accept the highs and low of motivation and don't beat yourself up when you don't seem to be as motivated as the next person. You will get there because as a writer, giving up is not an option.

How can you go on a journey if you don’t take a step?

I’m a goal-orientated person.  One way I saved for Europe was to imagine each item I picked up at the shops that I wanted to buy as a hot chocolate in Italy or a subway ride in Paris.  It made it easier to put off what I wanted now for the bigger picture.

Same goes for writing when I’m on holidays – if I write 500 words I get a chapter of a book, 1000 words and an episode of my favourite TV show.

Motivation for writing when I’m busy with work and life… well that’s a whole other story.  For me procrastination comes into play; the house hasn’t been cleaned in ages, the dishes need to be washed, boy those weeds are getting higher and the rent inspection is getting closer, etc.

If you’re like me, here’s a thought: while you are cleaning, washing, etc, think about your characters.  What would they do to procrastinate or how would they react to low motivation?  Would they go shopping?  Bench press another 100 kgs?  Practise their archery just one more time?  And what would happen if they kept doing that and didn’t go on that quest or enter that dark alley or really tell their billionaire boss what they really thought about them?  What would happen in their lives?  In the lives of those around them?  Would the hot boss remain a playboy and have an empty life?  Would the hero stay home and not meet the maiden in distress (and we know what happens to the maiden dangling off the cliff – no hero = no saving, hence certain death)?

Really think about the ramifications.  It’s not that you don’t have a story if your hero stays home, it is just a different one.

While you’re thinking about all the possibilities of a world where the heroine doesn’t realize she’s brave enough – write some of them down.  Write it now so you won’t forget.

Wait a minute… did you just write something?

Excuse me for a moment, while I go and take my own advice.