Snowy's Writing Day...

 Yesterday I had a writing companion...Snowy. Here's his writing day

I think I'd like to be a cat...

PS...there are still a few days left to leave a comment here to win a BOOKS ARE MY BAG bag and inside there will be a copy of The Cornish House, Sue Guinney's A CLASH OF INNOCENTS and Cally Taylor's HOME FOR CHRISTMAS (and any other authors who'd like to add their book are most welcome!)

London Book Fair 2013...an author's point of view

The Emirates Airline Literary Festival Team

This morning I am relaxing, just a little. The past two days I have been enjoying the madness that is London Book Fair. On Monday I was there just to soak up the atmosphere...but of course I immediately bumped into friends.

Immogen Howsen and Lynne Connolly at the Samhain stand

I wandered around bumping into friends and I was lucky enough to catch Patrick Brown of Goodreads talking in the AuthorLounge his presentation is here. There is so much to learn. While in the author lounge I bumped into Sue Fortin and Linn B Halton.

Carole Blake ready for the second day of London Book Fair to begin

Day two had a plan. I was meeting spending the morning meeting my editors from Germany, Holland, Portugal and Norway. I was given a table just behind my agent Carole Blake to share with Peter James (yes, esteemed company except that Pater ending up holding his meeting in the The Ivy Club!)

Pater James and Carole Blake

It was fabulous to met my editors and find out how the sales are going and if there was anything I could do to help sales. It's very frustrating to not be able to help...However the good news was that The Cornish House aka Sterne Uber Cornwall, A Casa Dos Sonhos, Sterren Boven Cornwall and Stjerner over Cornwall is doing very well!

Meetings over I set out into the fair and bumped into two agents...Jane Judd and Broo Doherty then caught up with Julia Williams and her twin sister Virginia and a relaxed lunch before braving the fair again.

Saying farewell to them I found the Choc Lit stand and shared a chocolate with Sue Moorcroft and Pia Christina Courtenay. Then the amazing Victoria Lamb appeared...she had left her coat in The Ivy Club so while collecting it with her we had a glass of champagne...

While exploring the Orion stand I bumped into Kate Mosse and the Emirates Airlines Literary Festival Team plus Rose Prince...just love name dropping...then fortunately I saw Annabel Kantaria from Dubai who won the Montegrappa First Fiction competition at the Emirates Airlines Literary Festival. I tagged along and found myself in The Ivy Club again...

Isobel Abulhoul, Luigi Bonomi, Annabel Kantaria and Yvette Judge

And who did we find in The Ivy Club...

Luigi Bonomi, Peter James, Isobel Abulhoul and Liz Fenwick

After catching up it was a mad dash to attend the launch of the campaign to save bookstores BOOKS ARE MY BAG. Lord Saatchi opened the launch...

Lord Saatchi

The simplicity of the campaign was explained...Everyone can carry the poster BOOKS ARE MY BAG...the campaign officially begins on September 14th but the bags were the most coveted item of the London Book Fair...

I have mine but I also have a spare...so leave a comment here by May 2nd and I'll send you the BOOKS ARE MY BAG bag and a signed copy of The Cornish House to go into it.... Do any of my writer friends want to add there book to the bag for the winner?

NOTE: The bag now contains more books... A Clash of Innocents by Sue Guinney and Home for Christmas by Cally Taylor

Finally here's the link to my radio chat about books on Sunday the 15th of April with Geordie Bird on Dubai 92 here. The book discussion begins about four minutes in...I discuss the charts and what in my to be read pile...

A Big Week...I Reach a Certain Age and The Cornish House Comes Out In Paperback

This is a big week for me...I turn fifty and on Thursday The Cornish House comes out in paperback. In many ways I feel they are connected...Two years ago today marks the two book deal with Orion and that was a major event. It was the realisation of dream.

The paperback of The Cornish House available here

Now with The Cornish House coming out in paperback I hope to spy copies in more shops and maybe even see someone other than friends and family reading it...although I had a big thrill this weekend when my eldest spent the weekend with his nose stuck into it. I was delighted to see his expression change as a grin would appear or a frown. I knew The Cornish House wouldn't normally his choice of book but he said he loved it and I know he meant it because he's a terrible liar! Of course DD read it and loved it before him...

The other lovely thing about the paperback is what included...so many readers told me they had fallen in love with the house, Trevenen. So for the extra material at the back of the paperback there is the history of Trevenen including floor plans.

In honour of this major milestone week I'm giving away three signed copies of the paperback of The Cornish House. Just leave a comment...

In The Mind's Eye

Sorry for the absence....I've been traveling and now have the kids here for Easter holidays...

But this morning while I was working on book three I was aware of what people frequently ask me about...how do I write about Cornwall when I'm not there...

This morning I was writing looking out at this view... (we are away in the desert on a special long weekend)

But I was writing about Frenchman's Creek...

Both stunning but so different...

I see a scene like a movie in front me no mater how beautiful and distracting the actual view...maybe someday when i don't live in the desert i will write about its beauty...