Choose Posting:
News Posted March 2005:
Latest News Update.
I can scarcely believe it's six months since I last wrote a newsletter but here goes. John and I had a lovely holiday in Rhodes last September, real laid back, and for the first time we hired a car and explored the southern part of the island as well as the mountainous centre. At times we felt as if we had the place to ourselves well away from the tourist spots.
In our tourist resort of Lindos, we ate, downed ice-cold drinks, cooled off in the sea, walked and indulged in one of our favourite pastimes, people watching. See photos: Lindos is now a popular place for people to get married, bride outside our favourite crepe place. John and I cooling off in the sea, water was crystal clear. The sun splintering through the rocks at St Paul's bay, and part of a tiny chapel high on the cliffs in the south of the island, as well as me on the last day of our hols.
A week after our return John took me up to Middlesborough in the North East, where I was part of an authors' panel and also took a couple of workshops for a Readers' Day. I enjoyed myself immensely talking to other writers, readers and librarians and it was great to discover I'm popular up in Durham and other points northeast. They gave us a lovely lunch and I had a signing session with two other authors - see photo- Stuart Pawson, who writes crime for Allison & Busby, me and Conn Iggulden, writer of historical fiction set in the time of Julius Caesar.
Towards the end of October I was invited as a guest to the awards lunch of the Mersey Marvels. The awards were presented by the Liverpool Echo and Birmingham Midshires Building Society to those who had done something outstanding to help others. Amongst the guests were television impressionist Jon Culshaw. I presented one the awards to Sheila Scott, who had survived bowel cancer and gone on to raise thousands of pounds towards cancer charities. It was an inspiring occasion and took place in the Crown Plaza Hotel overlooking the Mersey.
In November John and I, Iain and Daniel and friend Dave, had a week up in Keswick and did some walking. See photo of beautiful Lake Buttermere and me standing in front of the ancient standing stones of Castlerigg near Keswick.
In December I was thrilled to hear a Christmas excerpt of A Place to Call Home read out by the deputy editor and arts reviewer of the Liverpool Echo, Joe Riley, at a Carol Concert in St George's Hall.
Christmas was spent quietly at home.
So far during 2005 I have been working hard on my latest family saga based in Liverpool beginning in 1941 and into the post-war period. Working title is Look for the Silver Lining and it is scheduled for publication in December 2005.
I have also written an historical romance set just before the outbreak of the War of the Roses called His Lady Kate. This was great fun to write and Mills & Boon say it has lots of potential but want me to do some revisions. In February I took part in an author's panel with Roger (Gill Sanderson), Trish Ashley and Catherine Jones in Chester during its Festival of Romance.
In March I had a lovely evening speaking to St Anne's Catholic Mothers' Group in Ormskirk, Lancashire. The same week I was in the audience at Granada studios in Manchester cheering on the Romantic Novelist's Association representatives on University Challenge-the Professionals, Ann Astley (Sara Craven) Jenny Haldon (Sophy Weston) Cathy Jones and Stephen Bowden. They did us proud by doing extremely well and getting through to the semi-finals.
The following day John, Iain and I attended a lunch at Penny Jordan's home in Cheshire with other authors, members of Penny's writing group and friends, family and neighbours. Penny is a prolific writer with sales in the millions. She's also a lovely generous person and we had an interesting and happy time, talking writing, travel, etc. See photos. The smaller group consists of members of the RNA. From left to right they are Amanda Ashby, Mandy Jones, Penny Jordan, Anita Burgh, Susan Stephens and I'm the one in the front looking very serious. We're toasting the team in champagne.
In April, John and I will be heading south for a weekend at my niece's and her partner's cottage in Essex. I also have two writers' lunches which are always fun. Hopefully by May I'll have finished a good draft of Look for the Silver Lining and will have sent it to my agent, and I will feel free to relax and meditate during a retreat at Hemingford Grey in Cambridgeshire for four days in May.
At the end of March, A Place to call Home will be out in Large Print. During May not only is A Place to Call Home out on Audio but at the end of the month it will be out in paperback. My next Chester book A Dream to Share will be released in hardback on the same day. Hopefully I'll have also done the revisions for His Lady Kate.
The beautiful month of June but there's no letting up. I'll probably be in the throes of thinking and working on the next book and doing publicity for the new releases. Love to you all and thanks for visiting my website. I'm always happy to hear from you. June
Back to Top
Back to Main Page
