I just…
I still…
I can’t…
Seriously, how could she?
(Part of this used to be my outgoing voicemail message.)
And this one. Swooooon…
* b e t r a y a l *
Category: Bridget Jones
* b e t r a y a l *
I just…
I still…
I can’t…
Seriously, how could she?
(Part of this used to be my outgoing voicemail message.)
And this one. Swooooon…
Mad about Bridget
I don’t know about you, but I won’t be able to sleep a wink until this book comes out!
Mad about Bridget
I don’t know about you, but I won’t be able to sleep a wink until this book comes out!
B is for Buggary Broccoli!
….as well as bloody, blimey and bullocks.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I love British profanity. For some reason, I think it’s more clever and humorous (or rather, “humourous”) than our American stand-bys.
Example: In THIS British novel, the main character has a swear box at her office, causing her to get creative. And with the MC’s profound hatred of vegetables, the book is riddled with strangely-addictive phrases like “Oh, brussels sprouts!” “TURNIPS!” and, my personal favorite, “Buggary broccoli!”
brought to you by:
B is for Buggary Broccoli!
….as well as bloody, blimey and bullocks.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I love British profanity. For some reason, I think it’s more clever and humorous (or rather, “humourous”) than our American stand-bys.
Example: In THIS British novel, the main character has a swear box at her office, causing her to get creative. And with the MC’s profound hatred of vegetables, the book is riddled with strangely-addictive phrases like “Oh, brussels sprouts!” “TURNIPS!” and, my personal favorite, “Buggary broccoli!”
brought to you by:
Writing Inspirations – chick lit
Why I love chick lit
“I’m surprised you’re not married, Flora.”
“Oh?”
“You’re lovely and you can cook. What more can a man ask for?”
“It’s not what more a man can ask for, Charles, but what a girl can ask for. These days women are not prepared to settle for mediocre. There has to be a good reason to give up her freedom and independence.”
–Katie Fforde, Flora’s Lot
“It made me aware that I didn’t have a man and made me wonder if perhaps there isn’t something missing in my life.”
“Oh? What?”
“Love, companionship, that sort of thing…..And I may be quite wrong. A lot of women are totally satisfied and happy being single these days. But I thought I might have a boyfriend for a while and see if I like it.”
–Katie Fforde, Second Thyme Around
“But the trouble with falling in love was that it was involuntary, and no matter how well you knew it was a bad idea, if it was going to happen, it happened, and you couldn’t prevent it, however much you wanted to.”
–Katie Fforde, Practically Perfect
“There are some things I don’t understand about Jess and never will. No wedding dress. No flowers. No photo album. No champagne. The only thing she got out of her wedding was a husband. (I mean, obviously the husband is the main point when you get married. Absolutely. That goes without saying. But still, not even a new pair of shoes?)”
–Sophie Kinsella, Mini Shopaholic
“It was more to do with the way she had taken control of her own future. She had seized it, given it a good shake, and forced new things to happen. Poppy was fearless, impulsive, and determined to make the most of every moment. She seldom bothered to worry about what might happen if she got something wrong.”
–Jill Mansell, Perfect Timing
“Rejection was bad enough on its own. To be buck-naked and rejected was the complete pits.”
–Jill Mansell, Perfect Timing
“I can’t help feeling as if there’s something missing in my life. But I don’t know what it is. And the harder I look, the more I can’t find it because there’s just too much pressure and not enough time… I’ve bottled all this stuff up for so long that now its as if I’ve lifted off a lid and it’s all pouring out. It’s like I’m always playing catch-up. I rush through my life exhausted and anxious and worried all the time. Not to mention hungry.”
–Alexandra Potter, The Two Lives of Charlotte Merryweather
“Age and experience haven’t made me this wise old master; it’s made me this anxious, strung-out thirtysomething who worries about everything. Whose life is completely out of balance. Whose forgetting how to have fun. And who spends her life reading self-help books trying to find herself when she was here under her nose all along.”
–Alexandra Potter, The Two Lives of Charlotte Merryweather
“I love television. I mean, I do other things, it’s not like I just sit on my own and watch TV all day long, but there’s really nothing better than curling up on the sofa with a good take-away and “Friends” or “Cheers” or something.”
–Gemma Townsly, When In Rome
“…Like when I go to the doctor, I’m always convinced the doctor thinks I’m wasting her time. The moment I sit down I forget what my symptoms are, and end up apologizing and leaving, only to remember that I’m almost dying of food poisoning.”
–Gemma Townsly, When in Rome
“He just wasn’t……The One. It’s a funny business isn’t it? You can lineup ten thousand men and know immediately that nine hundred and ninety of them aren’t your type. so then you’re left with ten who are possibles and you have to narrow it down by a process of elimination, And it can all be going really well, you can think someone’s perfect in every way, then they do or say one tiny thing that makes you realize you could never have a relationship with them.”
–Jill Mansell, Rumor Has It
“You shouldn’t call a handbag a purse. A purse was what people used to carry coins in the sixteen hundreds…..A bag, on the other hand, is meant to be seen.”
–Candace Bushnell, The Carrie Diaries
“How can you relax in front of someone who doesn’t think you’re enough?”
–Kim Grenenfelder, There’s Cake In My Future
“Man, I hate writing. I mean, you know, I love being paid to be a writer. I love reading what I’ve written. I love telling people at parties that I’m a writer. I just don’t so much like the writing part. As a matte of fact, lately, I hate all of it. Seriously, why do people ever want to become writers?”
–Kim Grenenfelder, There’s Cake In My Future
“I knew that one day my life would be entirely different; full of feelings and friends and laughter and color and with an almost entirely new cast to the one currently peopling it. I was wholly certain that someday there would be another man and more children and a different job and a proper home. I had no idea how I would get from the small, bare life I was now living to the full, colorful one I envisioned. All I knew was that it would happen. But right now it was a long way away, happening to a different Lily, and I was in no rush for it.”
–Marian Keyes, The Other Side of the Story
Writing Inspirations – chick lit
Why I love chick lit
“I’m surprised you’re not married, Flora.”
“Oh?”
“You’re lovely and you can cook. What more can a man ask for?”
“It’s not what more a man can ask for, Charles, but what a girl can ask for. These days women are not prepared to settle for mediocre. There has to be a good reason to give up her freedom and independence.”
–Katie Fforde, Flora’s Lot
“It made me aware that I didn’t have a man and made me wonder if perhaps there isn’t something missing in my life.”
“Oh? What?”
“Love, companionship, that sort of thing…..And I may be quite wrong. A lot of women are totally satisfied and happy being single these days. But I thought I might have a boyfriend for a while and see if I like it.”
–Katie Fforde, Second Thyme Around
“But the trouble with falling in love was that it was involuntary, and no matter how well you knew it was a bad idea, if it was going to happen, it happened, and you couldn’t prevent it, however much you wanted to.”
–Katie Fforde, Practically Perfect
“There are some things I don’t understand about Jess and never will. No wedding dress. No flowers. No photo album. No champagne. The only thing she got out of her wedding was a husband. (I mean, obviously the husband is the main point when you get married. Absolutely. That goes without saying. But still, not even a new pair of shoes?)”
–Sophie Kinsella, Mini Shopaholic
“It was more to do with the way she had taken control of her own future. She had seized it, given it a good shake, and forced new things to happen. Poppy was fearless, impulsive, and determined to make the most of every moment. She seldom bothered to worry about what might happen if she got something wrong.”
–Jill Mansell, Perfect Timing
“Rejection was bad enough on its own. To be buck-naked and rejected was the complete pits.”
–Jill Mansell, Perfect Timing
“I can’t help feeling as if there’s something missing in my life. But I don’t know what it is. And the harder I look, the more I can’t find it because there’s just too much pressure and not enough time… I’ve bottled all this stuff up for so long that now its as if I’ve lifted off a lid and it’s all pouring out. It’s like I’m always playing catch-up. I rush through my life exhausted and anxious and worried all the time. Not to mention hungry.”
–Alexandra Potter, The Two Lives of Charlotte Merryweather
“Age and experience haven’t made me this wise old master; it’s made me this anxious, strung-out thirtysomething who worries about everything. Whose life is completely out of balance. Whose forgetting how to have fun. And who spends her life reading self-help books trying to find herself when she was here under her nose all along.”
–Alexandra Potter, The Two Lives of Charlotte Merryweather
“I love television. I mean, I do other things, it’s not like I just sit on my own and watch TV all day long, but there’s really nothing better than curling up on the sofa with a good take-away and “Friends” or “Cheers” or something.”
–Gemma Townsly, When In Rome
“…Like when I go to the doctor, I’m always convinced the doctor thinks I’m wasting her time. The moment I sit down I forget what my symptoms are, and end up apologizing and leaving, only to remember that I’m almost dying of food poisoning.”
–Gemma Townsly, When in Rome
“He just wasn’t……The One. It’s a funny business isn’t it? You can lineup ten thousand men and know immediately that nine hundred and ninety of them aren’t your type. so then you’re left with ten who are possibles and you have to narrow it down by a process of elimination, And it can all be going really well, you can think someone’s perfect in every way, then they do or say one tiny thing that makes you realize you could never have a relationship with them.”
–Jill Mansell, Rumor Has It
“You shouldn’t call a handbag a purse. A purse was what people used to carry coins in the sixteen hundreds…..A bag, on the other hand, is meant to be seen.”
–Candace Bushnell, The Carrie Diaries
“How can you relax in front of someone who doesn’t think you’re enough?”
–Kim Grenenfelder, There’s Cake In My Future
“Man, I hate writing. I mean, you know, I love being paid to be a writer. I love reading what I’ve written. I love telling people at parties that I’m a writer. I just don’t so much like the writing part. As a matte of fact, lately, I hate all of it. Seriously, why do people ever want to become writers?”
–Kim Grenenfelder, There’s Cake In My Future
“I knew that one day my life would be entirely different; full of feelings and friends and laughter and color and with an almost entirely new cast to the one currently peopling it. I was wholly certain that someday there would be another man and more children and a different job and a proper home. I had no idea how I would get from the small, bare life I was now living to the full, colorful one I envisioned. All I knew was that it would happen. But right now it was a long way away, happening to a different Lily, and I was in no rush for it.”
–Marian Keyes, The Other Side of the Story
Very Useful Rules for Living, by Olivia Joules
1. Never panic. Stop, breathe, think.
2. No one is thinking about you. They’re thinking about themselves, just like you.
3. Never change haircut or color before an important event.
4. Nothing is either as bad or as good as it seems.
5. Do as you would be done by, e.g. thou shalt not kill.
6. It is better to buy one expensive thing that you really like than several cheap ones that you only quite like.
7. Hardly anything matters: if you get upset, ask yourself, “Does it really matter?”
8. The key to success lies in how you pick yourself up from failure.
9. Be honest and kind.
10. Only buy clothes that make you feel like doing a small dance.
11. Trust your instincts, not your overactive imagination.
12. When overwhelmed by disaster, check if it’s really a disaster by doing the following: (a) think, “oh, screw it,” (b) look on the bright side and, if that doesn’t work, look on the funny side.
If neither of the above works then maybe it is a disaster so turn to items 1 and 4.
13. Don’t expect the world to be safe or life to be fair.
14. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.
15. Don’t regret anything. Remember that wasn’t anything else that could have happened, given who you were and the state of the world at the moment. The only thing you can change is the present, so learn from the past.
16. If you start regretting something and thinking, “I should have done…” always add, “but then I might have been run over by a lorry or blown up by a Japanese-manned torpedo.”
2. No one is thinking about you. They’re thinking about themselves, just like you.
3. Never change haircut or color before an important event.
4. Nothing is either as bad or as good as it seems.
5. Do as you would be done by, e.g. thou shalt not kill.
6. It is better to buy one expensive thing that you really like than several cheap ones that you only quite like.
7. Hardly anything matters: if you get upset, ask yourself, “Does it really matter?”
8. The key to success lies in how you pick yourself up from failure.
9. Be honest and kind.
10. Only buy clothes that make you feel like doing a small dance.
11. Trust your instincts, not your overactive imagination.
12. When overwhelmed by disaster, check if it’s really a disaster by doing the following: (a) think, “oh, screw it,” (b) look on the bright side and, if that doesn’t work, look on the funny side.
If neither of the above works then maybe it is a disaster so turn to items 1 and 4.
13. Don’t expect the world to be safe or life to be fair.
14. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.
15. Don’t regret anything. Remember that wasn’t anything else that could have happened, given who you were and the state of the world at the moment. The only thing you can change is the present, so learn from the past.
16. If you start regretting something and thinking, “I should have done…” always add, “but then I might have been run over by a lorry or blown up by a Japanese-manned torpedo.”
She’s so wise, that Olivia Joules. And fearless.
Borrowed from Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination, by the ever fabulous Helen Fielding, who also brought us Bridget Jones.
Very Useful Rules for Living, by Olivia Joules
1. Never panic. Stop, breathe, think.
2. No one is thinking about you. They’re thinking about themselves, just like you.
3. Never change haircut or color before an important event.
4. Nothing is either as bad or as good as it seems.
5. Do as you would be done by, e.g. thou shalt not kill.
6. It is better to buy one expensive thing that you really like than several cheap ones that you only quite like.
7. Hardly anything matters: if you get upset, ask yourself, “Does it really matter?”
8. The key to success lies in how you pick yourself up from failure.
9. Be honest and kind.
10. Only buy clothes that make you feel like doing a small dance.
11. Trust your instincts, not your overactive imagination.
12. When overwhelmed by disaster, check if it’s really a disaster by doing the following: (a) think, “oh, screw it,” (b) look on the bright side and, if that doesn’t work, look on the funny side.
If neither of the above works then maybe it is a disaster so turn to items 1 and 4.
13. Don’t expect the world to be safe or life to be fair.
14. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.
15. Don’t regret anything. Remember that wasn’t anything else that could have happened, given who you were and the state of the world at the moment. The only thing you can change is the present, so learn from the past.
16. If you start regretting something and thinking, “I should have done…” always add, “but then I might have been run over by a lorry or blown up by a Japanese-manned torpedo.”
2. No one is thinking about you. They’re thinking about themselves, just like you.
3. Never change haircut or color before an important event.
4. Nothing is either as bad or as good as it seems.
5. Do as you would be done by, e.g. thou shalt not kill.
6. It is better to buy one expensive thing that you really like than several cheap ones that you only quite like.
7. Hardly anything matters: if you get upset, ask yourself, “Does it really matter?”
8. The key to success lies in how you pick yourself up from failure.
9. Be honest and kind.
10. Only buy clothes that make you feel like doing a small dance.
11. Trust your instincts, not your overactive imagination.
12. When overwhelmed by disaster, check if it’s really a disaster by doing the following: (a) think, “oh, screw it,” (b) look on the bright side and, if that doesn’t work, look on the funny side.
If neither of the above works then maybe it is a disaster so turn to items 1 and 4.
13. Don’t expect the world to be safe or life to be fair.
14. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.
15. Don’t regret anything. Remember that wasn’t anything else that could have happened, given who you were and the state of the world at the moment. The only thing you can change is the present, so learn from the past.
16. If you start regretting something and thinking, “I should have done…” always add, “but then I might have been run over by a lorry or blown up by a Japanese-manned torpedo.”
She’s so wise, that Olivia Joules. And fearless.
Borrowed from Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination, by the ever fabulous Helen Fielding, who also brought us Bridget Jones.
Ophelia London 