Back in Australia

Hi there

So I'm back from Singapore and I miss it. I had so much fun there, pool walking in the morning, writing and then hanging out. I finished a draft of The Prudential Light, the next book in the Cry Havoc series. The first book is currently free!

Now I have to tackle the revision which is not my favourite part.

China was amazing. It was hot. I swear I sweated 10 per cent of my body weight. It was busy but also so much fun, specially Xi'an where I saw the terracotta warriors and dressed up in Tang Dynasty dress. Here is me!

Dressing up is Xi'an is a thing. The nights were filled with crowds of people walking around having fun, many dressing up in Tang Dynasty costume. Some call it Hanfu. You see people with cameras and teams photographing and filming. Not just in Xi'an but in the Forbidden Ciy in Beijing and some in Guangzhou too, particularly around the historical area where there are Britiish Colonial buildings.

Things that amazed me were the sights: the Great Wall, the museums, the terracotta warriors, the Forbidden City and also service. Very good service and innovation. I stayed in a hotel in Beijing that was run by AI. Downside was the AI only spoke Mandarin luckily there were buttons. My daughter-in-law did all the organsation for the trip and she speaks Cantonese, Mandarin and English so invaluable. Once she got very confused as she was having three conversations at once and lost track of which language went with which person.

A spa where they washed your shoes and socks while you were having a foot spa and back massage, including free food and drinks while you were being treated.

Robot vending machines. I saw one moving around a mall as well as a robot delivered an item to our room and one robot showed us to our table.

I also caught a very fast train from Xi'an to Guangzhou.

Although I'm back in Australia I'm not home. My house is a plague house. My partner is sick and I had to get my second shingles shot and today I found out that my house guests have covid. I'm meant to go home on Saturday but well...should I? It is warmer in Sydney so maybe I should chillax abit.

While I was away I dipped my toe into TikTok and I am such a noob! If you want evidence feel free to check it out here.

Anyway, just a reminder that Ruby Heart is still free. And soon Apple Books will be running a promo with Ruby Heart and having Emerald Fire for $2.99 Au as a special tiered price. So if you do Apple do check it out.

Here are some links for Ruby Heart.

Apple

Google Play

Kobo

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Talk again soon. Also, I should be doing a giveaway next newsletter. If you have a preference for a particular do let me know.

Happy reading

Donna/Dani

https://donnamareehanson.com/