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Wonderful meeting at the RNACambridge lunch yesterday. I've never known two and a half hours fly by so fast. At our end of the table we discussed promotion, series books, why cleavages didn't exist in Regency times - oh and some of us also got our contributor copies of Loves Me, Loves Me Not!
This is the fabulous anthology of short(ish) stories by Romantic Novelists' Association members, put together to celebrate the RNA's 50th Anniversary next year. Contributors include Katie Fforde, Elizabeth Chadwick, too many others to mention and (as you can see in the photo) RNACambridge members Sue Moorcroft, Louise Allen and ME!
44 excellent stories - buy it, it's brilliant!
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The Good: off to the RNA Cambridge lunch today to have a lovely natter with discuss writerly matters with my lovely local friends
The Bad: physiotherapy on shoulder beforehand which for some reason makes things worse before they get better
The Beautiful: should get my Contributor Copy of Loves Me, Loves Me Not - the Romantic Novelists' Association 50th Anniversary anthology!
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Aren't friends wonderful? Just when you're feeling all Mondayish, there's a ring at the bell and a sweating delivery man hefts a giant box from Interflora over the doorstep.
And all to thank me for doing something I thoroughly enjoyed doing anyway.
Love you, Katie!
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I've been out to lunch [no comments, you at the back]. To a literary lunch, in fact, courtesy of the Wickhambrook Women's Institute Reading Club.
Wickhambrook WI are one of the few groups in the country to have their own hall, and very nice it is too. And, oh, the bliss of eating five sorts of sandwiches, two sorts of pastry and my choice of puddings (from three) without having to cook anything or clear it away!
There were a lot of people there, conversation flowed, recipes were swapped, the bookstall did a brisk trade. Then, just as I regretfully decided that I couldn't fit in a piece of carrot cake as well as the most divine chocolatey-cheescakey-tart, the chairman of the Reading Club stood up to introduce the speaker.
And I remembered why I'd been invited.
Fortunately, the WI ladies are an intelligent bunch and not known for holding back, so after a ten-minute introductory waffle from me, the questions came thick and fast. The Reading Club had all read my books (thus increasing my PLR, thank you!) and those literary lunchers who hadn't, were interested in the local area where I set my plots.
So - Angela and Dorothy, thank you for inviting me. I had a smashing time.
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Sorry for not blogging - have been in withdrawal since the end of the fabulous Romantic Novelists' Association conference last week.
However, if anyone would like to read my 'Lemons' story, it's in the Woman's Weekly Summer Special 2 out now!
Right. Time for a big mug of tea and finish off the proofs of Fortunate Wager.
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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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The Romantic Novelists' Association has a new blog up, courtesy of blog manager, the wonderful Liz Fenwick.
Go read for monthly releases, craft tips and writerly insights.
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Anyone lost a racing pigeon? This handsome specimen has been with us for about 3 hours now. As you can see, food and water have been consumed and now the bird-table is serving as a comfortable bed on which to take a nap.
Trouble is - the cats are due to wake up from their nap at tea-time or so...
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Way back in February, my good friend Julie Cohen (whose new book Girl From Mars has gone into reprint in its launch week!) handed me a 'lemons' award. As in "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade"
Nice pressy, I thought. I could make a story out of that.
So I did. And Woman's Weekly have bought it.
It will be in the WW Summer Special No 2, out next month.
Cheers, Julie, I owe you one!
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A couple of gratuitous Merlin-and-Archer pics (taken four years apart) to wish daughter luck in her exams this week.
You can do it!
(Psst - remember to read the question half-way through just to check you're answering what you think you're answering)
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You'll like this. This is so cool. I visited the fantastically talented Julie Cohen's site yesterday where she is celebrating the launch of Girl from Mars and found this link where you can turn yourself into a comic-book hero!
So I did.
(PS The title is nothing to do with me - the site comes up with that all by itself)
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Progress so far:
Plants in tubs
Submission ready to go
and, er, books still on floor. But hey, Archer likes them, see?
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Want to know what a wall of books looks like eight (yes, eight, count 'em) hours later?
[Er, daughter, if you are browsing rather than revising for your exams, avert your eyes now]
View from above:
And, as Karen said, at some stage I'll have to put them all back again.
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Tomorrow the walls of this house are going to be cavity-insulated.
"It's easy," I was told enthusiastically. "They drill a few holes in the outside wall and simply blow the insulation in. No mess, no fuss, and come winter, the heating bills will be significantly lower."
Gotta be a catch, I thought.
There was. "You'll need to move breakable stuff off the windowsills, by the way. Just in case."Now, my windowsills adhere closely to the 'never a flat surface wasted' school of display. Still, it's probably time they had their biannual clean.
A bit later I got, "The vibrations can be quite powerful, you know. Best to take any pictures off the walls. Don't want all that broken glass lying around on the carpets."
Those were the carpets now covered in vases, jugs, pretty stones, driftwood-from-Greece and odd things made by the kids in Technology ten years ago, presumably.
Heigh ho, I thought, better make a start. Then I walked into the dining room and saw this.
It's a fairly delicate process anyway getting out the one book you want to read without dislodging the rest of the shelf.
And it's an outside wall.
Guess what I'm going to be doing for the rest of the day?
(PS - fortunately daughter is still at uni. A whole bedroom-full of carpet on which to pile books)
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Okay, so here's the thing about writers. Nobody makes us write. Nobody puts a pistol to our head and says, "Your words or your life." We might write for money but still when we write, we put something of ourselves into the result.I send work out into the world regularly. I iron its spotted handkerchief, tie its little pack with the best knot in my repertoire and polish its stick. I don't have stupid expectations, I fully expect it to come back - but even so, when it does I HURT.
All of which is a long way of saying that my two-part jigsaw serial has just returned home rather less jaunty than when it set out.I know it's not a bad story. I know it's simply that it wasn't quite right for the editor I sent it to. C'est la vie. Tomorrow I'll look through it, make it a nice new packed lunch and send it somewhere else.
But right now I feel like drowning my sorrows.
Wonderful meeting at the RNACambridge lunch yesterday. I've never known two and a half hours fly by so fast. At our end of the table we discussed promotion, series books, why cleavages didn't exist in Regency times - oh and some of us also got our contributor copies of Loves Me, Loves Me Not!
