ONLY DANCING in large print

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My 1970s flashback mystery ONLY DANCING is now available in Large Print, so if you prefer your books in  paper-and-ink version do please order it from your local library. Every scrap of Public Lending Right is gratefully received by an author.

Caroline knows revisiting the music of her growing-up years will be painful to her feelings. She has no idea that the David Bowie Is... exhibition will have a profound effect on the rest of her life. What starts in bittersweet nostalgia ends in very present danger.

ONLY DANCING can also be bought in the kindle version.

Whichever format you choose, I hope you enjoy!

In Praise of Books

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Old Books by Jan Jones

soft feathery pages
fat with words
overflowing with memories

how long since I read you
since I absorbed you into my consciousness
to be gently, insidiously, edged to the archive shelves of my mind

you fit easily to my hand
fall open as I blow off the dust
I smile
and curl into the library chair
melting back in time
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Before the Conference...

Jan Jones with workshoppers

With pre-conference tasks to do, I went to Caerleon in advance of the main RNA crowd. While there, fellow organiser Roger Sanderson and I gave a talk at beautiful Brynglas House in Newport on "Writing Romance".

Entrance Hall

This elegant building, built in 1852 and now a community learning and library centre, has been lovingly restored and is a wonderful local facility. We were very flattered to be one of the inaugural events.

The talk went well - but I was mostly blown away by the architecture. Why don't I have a house like this?

Or a fireplace like this?







[If you are wondering why there are no photos of the front of the building, it's because it was raining. Well, we were in Wales.]
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Panel at Lakenheath

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I haven't done any promotion for a while, so it was lovely to be invited to take part in "A Touch of Romance" at the library on Lakenheath Air Base in Suffolk last week.

After the nicest and most courteous car-search in history, my fellow panellists and I were made very welcome with tea and chocolate biscuits. I cleverly forgot to take my camera, but the room soon filled up with a mix of readers and writers. Everyone was attentive, laughed in the right places (thank you, you have no idea how encouraging that is) - and the questions were so interesting and flowed so well that we went way over our allocated time.

Even so, we barely scratched the surface when it came to research, developing characters and our own individual methods of writing. I think all of us could have talked for much longer!

Many thanks to Lakenheath Air Base library - and of course to my fellow Romantic Novelist Association members Louise Allen, Jean Fullerton and Roger Sanderson. I think we made a pretty good team!
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Love in the Library

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I know I'm posting this early, but I'm away to the RNA Conference next week and I might just possibly not find myself with spare time soon.

So - if anyone is near the Lake District on Friday 10th July, get yourself across to Penrith Library where there will be a sumptuous gathering of romantic novelists ready to meet the public, talk about their work and sign books.

Just look at all those names! How could anyone resist?

Many thanks to all the authors involved for freely giving up their time, and also to lovely Helen and Deb of Cumbria Libraries.

Sadly, I'm going to be filling goody bags, pinning lists on notice-boards and doors, and finding new things to panic about, so I'll miss it.

But I will expect full reports!
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More, um, libraries

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Anyone fed up with libraries yet? No? Oh good, because here's my nice table and display at last week's book signing at Newmarket library.

The Regency nibbles (Liz F - this is for you) were little crisp lemon biscuits, cheese straws (well, they had cheese pastry then, but I wasn't going to fiddle about making raised pies, so I adapted the idea), ratafia biscuits, cloudy lemonade and hot chocolate. Which we needed!

Now, don't you wish you'd been there?
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