Is writing the second
blog as difficult as writing the second book? It might have been except that
this past week has been exceptional. I spent the whole of Tuesday with my
laptop – at two different venues. A glutton for punishment or what! I may have been
driven by the fact that I knew Wednesday was going to be extraordinary and I
wasn’t disappointed. It kind of went like this:
I was invited to join
the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) committee for the pre-Winter Party
lunch. I felt extremely privileged and would again like to thank Pia Fenton and
her committee for asking me to join them. Having eaten far too much, helped
down by some rather nice red wine, I absented myself while they held their
scheduled meeting. How any of them could have concentrated on work after such a
lovely meal I am at a loss to understand.
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| I was easy to 'spot' |
With plenty of time to
get to a scheduled meeting with my agent, Lisa Eveleigh, I walked along
Piccadilly (the weather was lovely) and side-stepped into Fortnum and Mason for
a quick browse, as you do. Once in Dean Street Lisa and I had rather a lot to
talk about and, while she daintily sipped her tea, all I could manage was some
water. I blame the lunch. Amongst other things we discussed the events of the
coming Thursday – about which more below.
After parting company I
retraced my steps to the Royal Overseas League and settled down behind the reception desk with Sally
Quilford (party organiser) and Elaine Everest (RNA committee member with whom I
co-run the RNA Blog). This turned out to be an inspired move as, while handing
out name badges and lanyards, I had ample opportunity to meet the majority of
the guests and spoke to many of them from the comfort of my chair.
Thursday – launch day
as opposed to lunch day. Official publication date for Safe
Harbour (shameless promotion
here). Full on, exciting and an affirmation of what a wonderful group of people
the writing community is.
To complete my day my poppy from the Tower of London arrived. What a wonderful idea this was and I now have a perfect reminder for those times when, as we all do, I get things a little out of perspective.
Friday – rest…come on,
give me a break here.
Weekend – belated girls’
lunch birthday celebration.
Enough about me. Next
week my first guest on the blog will be Elaine Everest to tell us about what a
whirlwind year she has had. No, I’m not giving anything away now. You’ll have
to pop in again next Monday if you want to know!
