I'm thrilled to welcome my friend Andrea Grigg to Ink Dots this week and celebrate the release of Too Pretty. Andrea grew up in Auckland, New Zealand, but has lived more than half her life in Australia. She lives with her husband on Queensland’s Gold Coast, where they have raised their three adult children – two daughters and a son.
Andrea loves words and finding out what makes people tick. Her debut novel, A Simple Mistake, is a contemporary romance, and was a finalist in the Caleb Awards 2012. Her second novel, Too Pretty, was released in August this year.
Too Pretty ~ Being beautiful isn’t easy – just ask Ellie Paxton.
Frustrated by a long string of empty relationships, Ellie makes a promise to God not to date for six months, a promise she’s determined to keep.
Tired of being continually misjudged because of her looks Ellie moves to Sydney for a fresh start. But when her path keeps crossing with the darkly handsome Nathaniel, that promise becomes much harder to fulfil.
As they battle with their attraction for each other, Ellie is not the only one to discover it takes more than simply looking in a mirror to find out who you truly are …
As they battle with their attraction for each other, Ellie is not the only one to discover it takes more than simply looking in a mirror to find out who you truly are …
Could it be that God has a bigger plan? Could this really be one of those matches made in heaven …?
Andrea Says...
If I could explore anywhere in the world tomorrow, it would be...my photo cupboard. If you equated the number of photos in there with the same number of people, you could say there’s a secret city lurking in my house. It holds a wealth of memories and just like an overseas holiday, I need to plan ahead to give it the attention it deserves. Ah yes. The photo stash. I think we have a cupboard like that and I'm always wondering when someone will make sense of our holiday snaps. Maybe when you've sorted yours, Andrea...?
The best thing I did today is... I’m involved in a community choir at Pacific Coast Christian School where my son teaches. Today we sang an Aboriginal lullaby as part of the school’s NAIDOC celebrations. (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee). One of the parents played the didgeridoo and it was something else, I can tell you. It was a very special event and I felt honoured to be part of it. Sounds wonderful. Wish we had a clip of that lullaby.
A secret pleasure of mine is... reading when I should be writing. Oops – now it’s not a secret!
I wish I could relive the day when I... got married. Geoff and I will celebrate our thirtieth anniversary in December and I would love to go back and be the proverbial fly on the wall and watch the day unfold. I remember a lot of it, especially what Geoff said to me when I walked up the aisle ;). It was really funny but I’m not telling you what it is because I’m saving it for a blog post. (Mean, aren’t I?) Congratulations on your upcoming milestone! What a fabulous achievement and celebration. Now we want to hear more of what Geoff said!!!
When I was a child I dreamed I would… become a hairdresser, then it changed to an air hostess, but by the age of twelve I’d decided I would become a teacher. And I did! Teaching has given me a lot of joy, both from the kids and my colleagues. Oh, the stories I could tell...
I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but... I often leave things to the last minute. I have no idea why and I’m always promising myself to work on it and I AM getting better. (After umpteen years of trying I should jolly well think so!) You know the saying, ‘I work better under pressure’? It’s really just a cop out. And now everyone knows!!! That 'working under pressure' must have delivered, Andrea. I'm hearing great things about your writing and can't wait to get stuck into my copy. Thanks so much for visiting with us this week. I wish you every success with Too Pretty.
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If you'd like the chance to win a copy of Too Pretty, leave a comment below. Tell us how you store your family photos. Are they all mixed in together in a battered shoe box or filed in chronological order in photo albums? I'll announce the winner next Monday.
Good luck and happy reading,
