This cannot be comfortable!

Now, I know that cats can - and do - sleep anywhere.

But this really cannot be comfortable!

Sometimes, I worry about Archer.

Punts and a chocolate box

Lovely lunch in Cambridge today with Elaine from Random Jottings.

We sat on the Galleria balcony and watched the punts, eating and chatting and then - disaster - no sticky toffee pudding on the menu!




So Elaine consoled herself with the Dutch Apple Flan (with toffee sauce)





and I had ... a Chocolate Box.


Yes, really, it is a divine cube of multiple layers of different textures of chocolate. And it came with toffee sauce and cream.

We both agreed it was a good thing we only met for lunch every six weeks or so...

FAIR DECEPTION ready to pre-order

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Wahay! Fair Deception is available to pre-order on the Robert Hale website at £13.29 instead of £18.99. Plus free postage too!

Go to the book description to get in before stocks run out. You won't be sent it until October, mind, but by then you'll have forgotten you ordered it, so the parcel will come as a lovely surprise.

This is the rough of the cover - it's lovely, but by the time the real one comes out I'm hoping the artist will have taken on board my mentioning that Kit has flaxen hair and Susanna's red-gold curls are the source of all her troubles...

Bed and Breakfast?

Now this is something I've never seen before - a whole mass of bees sleeping in the dahlia bed!


These photos were taken about 7 o'clock in the morning - each bee sleeping on its own dahlia flower. They were definitely sleeping, not feeding, because I'd been watching them for half-an-hour or so before it occurred to me to get the camera. As the sun warmed them, they stirred and flew off. By 7.30am they'd all gone.


Very strange.
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Regency Evening

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Lovely Regency outing to the Victoria&Albert museum in South Kensington last night. A whole evening dedicated to various Regency pastimes.

We started with games of skill and chance (mostly chance, obviously, as I lost every one) in the most wonderful setting. Norfolk House was the first residence in London to have a bespoke music room. The glorious and totally over-the-top mirrors and panelling were rescued when the house was sold and have been lovingly restored to turn room 52 on Level 2 into a recreation of the Norfolk House Music Room.

The games on offer were Loo (cards), Teetotum (a spinner/counter game favoured by dowagers because the rules are so simple it gave them ample opportunity to observe the company in the room whilst they played), Hazard and Snake-eyes (both dice). Here is novelist Louise Allen busy writing notes at the Teetotum table.


Next we went to the John Madesjski Garden where fencers from the Royal Armouries entertained us with fencing, single-sticks,




quarterstaffs


and bare-knuckle fighting.
Excellent stuff.




Then it was along to the Raphael gallery where our host and hostess demonstrated a Minuet (which took an astonishing amount of space - they'd have needed an immense room if everybody at the ball had wanted to join in), accompanied by musicians on genuine 18th century instruments. We all then took part in a simple round dance in which you had approximately twelve seconds with your partner before repeating the measure with the next partner and so on and so on and so on all around the circle. Talk about speed dating!


Back to watch a re-creation of the Sheriden duel and handle real Regency swords (much lighter than Louise and I expected) and then off for a guided tour through the Regency galleries.

And then we staggered off for nice Thai food and the last train home.

Wonderful evening.

Garden Day

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Conference packs printed.

Conference packs posted.

Workshop choices coming in.




I think it's time I tackled this...

Paper, paper everywhere...

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Normal service will be resumed once I've finished compiling the Romantic Novelists' Association conference pack.


And printing it out.

And collating it.

And putting it in everyone's envelopes.

And buying more teabags.

Summer Party 2008

So, after two weeks of unbroken sunshine, I throw open the curtains on the morning of the Romantic Novelists' Association Summer Party - and am confronted with rain. I was so shocked that for quite a long time I couldn't actually remember what I usually wear when it's raining. In fact, I couldn't remember so thoroughly that I drove off to catch the London train in my sandals. And got completely soaked. Good thing I had strappy party footwear in my bag.


The weather, however, only made people more determined to enjoy themselves (which is saying something for an RNA do). After catching up with lots of friends (and stopping the canapé waiter with the sausages and mash by will power alone) came the speeches.


I was delighted when 'my' Joan Hessayon cup was awarded to Giselle Green for her début novel Pandora's Box.



After the party, as is our wont, those of us that were still standing went off for a meal (the calories in the canapés having been used up in the effort of chasing after them) at an extremely nice Italian restaurant.

Not only did they not object to our extreme cheerfulness, they even invented an extra table so we could all eat together without us having to tell them that we numbered some well-known writers in our midst.

Spring has, er, sagged...

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It was hot and sunny over the weekend. I put on shorts. I mowed the lawn.

I came indoors and caught sight of myself in the mirror.

I am now into the fourth day of a no-booze-or-chocolate diet.
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Gold for Liz Fielding!

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Today I'm over at Liz Fielding's blog, helping her celebrate a golden year. Her 50th book came out earlier this year, and April sees her 50th M&B romance.


She is inspirational, industrious, and a thoroughly nice person to boot.

Way to go, Liz!

Fair Deception - taken!!!

Yippee! Yahoo! O frabjous day!

Not quite enough words to do justice to my excitement, but you get the general idea.

Here it is, then. The announcement .......................

I've sold my Regency novel Fair Deception to Robert Hale Ltd !!!

As the novel opens, Susanna Fair is employed as an actress at the Sans Pareil theatre in the Strand, London. (Print courtesy of the Arthur Lloyd website).

Susanna is being opportuned (I just love Regency-speak) by the Dishonourable Rafe Warwick. Fortunately, heroic devil-may-care Kit Kydd is at hand...

Don't know yet when the book will be out, but you can read the first chapter on my website.
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RNA & M&B at the OLF

Nice outing to the Oxford Literary Festival last week to enjoy the M&B-sponsored panel on the changes in fictional heroes and heroines over the past 100 years.

After being introduced by Oxford-based journalist Mary Zacaroli, the panel of Matt Dunn, Katie Fforde, Daisy Goodwin (chair), Joanne Harris and Nicola Cornick then dissolved into laughter as everyone in the marquee was reminded to turn off their mobile phones.
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There was plenty of good-humoured discussion on whether H&H have changed (strong, silent heroes have now loosened up a bit, heroines allowed to be themselves more), before questions from the floor posed such interesting conundrums as which family member you wouldn't want to read your book (mothers/daughters in an equal tie), and how many of us skip the sex scenes when reading.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a glass or three of bubbly provided by Mills&Boon, whose Centenary Year it is, and then repaired en-masse to an extremely nice restaurant with our goody bags.

This photo of me, Louise Allen and Nicola Cornick was taken by Louise's husband after the bubbly, but before the food. Which may explain it.

Spring!!!

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Hmmm. The sun has shone for two days now, so it's possible Spring has arrived (though there are rumours of snow again this weekend).

Enough of an excuse to post a photo of my daffs before they get battered all over again by the wind and the rain.


There's a poem to go with them too. Now, this isn't the most erudite piece of writing I've ever composed so don't go getting your hopes up, it's just a bit of fun.

It does, however, convince me that I'll never cut it in the greetings-card industry.


Daffodils by Jan Jones

We always look for flowers
As a sign that winter's passed
Yet crocus grow
While there's still snow
And open though
The winds still blow
Then fickle, foolish creatures they
Shut up their faces fast.

But daffodils, now daffodils
Are all-or-nothing men
They stand up straight
They throng the gate
Spread out to wait
And mass in great
Bright welcome for the knowledge that
The year has turned again.

Snow at Easter!

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Happy Easter! And a White Easter too.
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Garden birds confused. Flowers unhappy. Cats most unimpressed.

Me, I'm staying indoors.
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Good news

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Good news - I think. Some people already know that 15 months ago I had a retinal vein occlusion in my right eye that at the time was very scary indeed as I suddenly had problems seeing things.

In effect, this was like a tiny stroke at the back of my eye and in retrospect, I feel extremely lucky it occurred, since it threw up the fact that I had developed high blood pressure. If I hadn't found out - and done something about it straight away - I might have had a more serious stroke in one of the more important blood vessels in my body.

However, I had my last retinal eye appointment today and as I now have 6/5 vision in that eye, I've been discharged. The sight isn't perfect and never will be, but it's so much more liveable with than what I feared at one point might be the case.

So yes, good news.