THINGS I AM LOVING THIS WINTER
There is something to love in every season of the year.
I especially enjoy the cosiness and quiet of winter. I also adore coats, hats, scarves, boots and comfort food. But I concede that icy winds, flu season and the short hours of daylight can, at times, be gloomy. Here are some things I am enjoying this month that are keeping a smile on my face. I hope they put a grin on your face too!
Research:
The novel I’m working on this winter is set in Italy in 1951. At that time, excavations at Pompeii had recommenced after the war and the damage caused by Allied Bombing. Italy was also trying to overcome the shame of its fascist past by marketing ‘Italian Style’ to the world – and how successfully they did it! I’m enjoying reading about this period so much, it barely feels like work!
Dancing:
Because my favourite dance forms are flamenco and belly dance, I was super excited when my belly dance teacher, Rachel Bond, collaborated with flamenco artist, Annalouise Paul, to create a fusion choreography. I am having the time of my life learning it.
Dance classes are one of the few things that can get me off the couch and out of the house on winter nights. I’m also chuffed with my new costume for a Shaabi-style belly dance choreography I’ve been learning.
Different styles of belly dance require different costumes, and this galabeya is full coverage (so no one has to be blinded by my winter white skin). I love the midnight blue colour and bling around the neckline. Anything sparkly is an instant mood lifter for me!
My Peacock Teacup:
I fuel myself on tea during winter. My favourites are green, rosebud or something spicy like Masala chai. This teacup brings me joy every time I look at it because it has a tiny peacock on the inside rim. Little details like that always delight me!
My TBR Pile:
In spring and summer, I enjoy reading on my balcony with my bird friends in the trees around me. But reading takes on a special pleasure on winter nights, snuggled under a cosy throw rug with a cup of hot chocolate and my three cats. These are the books I have on my June TBR pile right now.
Jackie: A Novel by Dawn Tripp. I’ve just finished reading Capote’s Women: A Story of Love, Ambition and Betrayal by Laurence Leamer, so this is the perfect next read. It was recommended to me by Natasha Lester. I can’t wait to get started.
The Collector: by Daniel Silva – I don’t who was the angel at HarperCollins who sent this to me, but a novel about an art theft is the perfect book for me to snuggle up with this June!
The Lost Letters of Rose Carey by Julie Bennett. Set in Sydney in 1923 and the Blue Mountains in 2024, this sounds like a wonderful story for a cold winter’s night.
Camellias:
My garden is alive with camellia blooms at the moment. The flowers look so elegant set among the tree’s dark green foliage. Camellias are one of my favourite sights in winter.
My three cats – Valentino, Versace and Gucci:
They are awkward sleepers, but I love snuggling with them just the same!
I hope my list above inspires you to maybe make a photo diary for yourself of the little things that are giving you pleasure this season. Sometimes we need to stop and think about how lucky we are and how good life really is!
BOOK QUEENS with Belinda Alexandra:
Many of you know that Natasha Lester and I started an online book club together last year, Book Club with Belinda and Natasha. Sadly, due to family commitments, Natasha has had to bow out of the club.
I want to take this moment to thank her for all the fun I’ve had with her in interviewing some great authors including Kelly Rimmer, Tania Blanchard and Hannah Richell, and to wish her all the best with her upcoming writing projects! (I can’t wait to read her new book inspired by the French Resistance heroine, Marie Madeleine Fourcade!).
On the upside, I have been cosmically blessed to have the amazing firecracker known as Jane Tara to step in to co-host with me. We will also be joined by fellow historical fiction author and social butterfly, Kyra Geddes, who will be the roving reporter for the book club, keeping us all up-to-date on literati events and exciting new-release fiction.
It is a revamped, relaunched book club with the new title: BOOK QUEENS with Belinda Alexandra. The online book club is free and fun! So if you haven’t already, be sure to sign up by clicking on the image below!
My new novel
THE MASTERPIECE
is available for pre-order now!
A wartime betrayal, a race against time ... and a secret hidden in a painting.
Paris 1946: A young woman, Eve Archer, has come to Paris to find the father she never knew. She is soon caught up in a desperate race to prove her father's innocence against the accusation that he sold a French national treasure to Hitler during the war, and murdered the original owner to obtain it. Her efforts uncover the complicated friendship between two art dealers and the woman they both loved, a Russian artist named Kristina Belova.
"Perfectly named, The Masterpiece is a triumph of storytelling. Its descriptions are painterly and its characters fascinating. With Paris, art, spirited women and so many tantalising secrets hiding in its pages, The Masterpiece is certain to be one of the big books of the year."
— Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre
The Masterpiece is historical fiction and a mystery novel, but most of all it has a love story at its heart. I haven’t written a love story for quite a while and this one has some unusual twists and turns. I know my readers are going to love it!
If you pre-order now from Booktopia (print and ebook) or Audible (audiobook) below you can ‘set and forget’.
Your book will arrive safely on your doorstep or on your device soon after publication day on September 4th, 2024*
*Australia and New Zealand. Overseas editions will be announced soon.
OTHER BOOKS BY BELINDA ALEXANDRA
I hope this week is wonderful for you.
Love Belinda XX