Happiness Is......

Happiness is so many things - being with my family in Cornwall (despite the grey skies), being able to cut beautiful spring flowers from my garden, an Amazon delivery with two friends' books (Giselle Green's latest LITTLE MIRACLES and Novel Racer,Rachel Green's AN UNGODLY CHILD - crearly there is a green thing going on and I have to say I was savouring the varying shades of it that soothed my eyes as we drove from Heathrow yesterday! I had forgotten how green everything was here as my eyes are so accustomed to varying shades of sand) and the short list for the Melissa Nathan Comedy Romance Award was announced and contained two friends! (Novel Racer, Kate Harrison's SECRET SHOPPER"S REVENGE and Trisha Ashley's WINTER'S TALE) Here's the whole short list:

The Secret Shopper's Revenge by Kate Harrison. Orion
Bridesmaids by Jane Costello. Pocket Books
Recipe For Disaster by Miriam Morrison. Arrow
A Winter's Tale by Trisha Ashley. Avon
The Marriage Bureau For Rich People by Farahad Zama. Abacus
The Importance Of Being Emma by Juliet Archer. ChocLit

Romantic Novelists' Association Winter Party

More photos at last!

Melinda hammond, lovely lady from Midas PR and Kate Allen

Mary DeLazilo and Freda Lightfoot

Editor Maddie Rowe with Melanie Hilton (aka Louise Allen) .

Here is Jean Fullerton with Elizabeth Hawksley.

This group is Philippa Ashley, Janet Gover, Judy Astley and Katie Fforde.

Catherine Jones (aka Kate Lace) our chairman address the party in the Library of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.

Jan Jones and moi.

Debbie Holt with her agent Teresa Chris.

Suzie Vereker and Pia Tapper Fenton

Jenny Haddon and Emma Dunsford

l to r Jane Gordon Cummings, Teresa Chris and seated Allie Spencer

Editor at Sphere (Little Brown) Caroline Hogg and Catherine King

Moi and Biddy Coady

Kate Harrison

Liz Baily, Evelyn Ryle, Anne Ashurst and Katie Fforde

Fighting internet connection at the moment - have great photos but can only seem to post one. Here's Giselle Green and I. What can I say except that it was another wonderful party and I behaved! I caught up with many friends and unfortunately only had a chance to just wave across the crowded room at others. As usual the room was filled with fantastic writers, agents and editors.......well worth the flight.

Romantic Novelists's Conference Day Two

Saturday was an example of how my life can be divided. I needed to be in two places at once. DS2 was celebrating his last day at prep school and there were all these wonderful sessions at the conference.........I may it back to the conference in time for Jill Mansell's talk which was the last session of the day.

Jill had us all laughing which did make it tricky to take coherent notes but here is what I can make out of mine (Jill if I have my facts wrong please please correct me - otherwise it might be embarassing!):

-she writes feel good fiction with nice people in it
-her characters are much wittier than she is (so she says)

-she writes by hand sitting comfortably on her sofa with tv going in the background

-she doesn't break the work up into chapters until she has written the whole book and can see where the breaks need to be

-she uses a time line

-she gets here ideas from being nosy, eavesdropping, watching tv while writing, problem pages in magazines, asking people pertinent questions

-sparks of ideas do just come

-she adores the Internet and has found that looking oneself up is like being in the a loo cubicle and having people just outside talking about you

-the biggest compliment is that she made a reader laugh or cry and helped them come through some hard times
-she collects embarrassing experiences
-she writes one book a year/ roughly 1000 words a day


Now Fortunately I can send you and me in the right direction for some brilliant reports on the the sessions I missed. Debs Carr has written up her day at the conference here. The notes are brilliant in their detail. Ray-Anne is working her way through her notes and thus far written up the Midas PR session here. We were lucky enough to have the independent book seller Mark Thornton of Mostly Book in Abingdon providing the conference with the book stall and a talk on Shelf Secrets. His account of the conference is here.


So the one successful thing I did do was have my camera handy to capture everyone dressed for the gala dinner........... So here is a selection of Romantic Novelist's in the bar of course

Here is Anne Ashurst and Giselle Green

.

Nell Dixon and Fiona Harper.

Here's Bex Leith and Lesley Cookman.

Jane Wenham-Jones and Katie Fforde

Kate Harrison and Sarah Duncan

Julie Cohen and Pam Brooks aka Kate Hardy

Janet Gover and Ray-Anne (see above)












Fenella Jane Miller, Anna Jacobs and Jean Fullerton

Jill Mansell and Moi

Beryl Kingston

Kate Johnson

and her shoes!

Routine

I know how what my problem is.......my routine is out the window and therefore nothing is getting done or not at least the things that I want. Not that I am complaining about a week in Rome but it breaks routine big time. Rome was fabulous. I spent much of my time wandering the back streets inhaling expresso and absorbing the essence of the churches. One warm day just before noon I slipped into a small bascillica for cool peaceful reflection. Being a well raised and true Irish Catholic I knelt to say my prayers and make my three wishes (each time you enter a new church) when I was transported to another world. The organ above began playing the most sublime baroque music. I looked at the the vast paintings of the agony and extacy of the the lives of the staints and inhaled the scent of candle wax and was truly in a place where three senses met and blended to such an extent that thinking about it still brings me out in chills. I have always loved churches and enjoyed the blending of architecture and art to acheive a place that brings you closer to the divine. Music too has always had a way of reaching places inside. Smell is the sense that can invoke the strongest reaction. I have never put all three together and have them work something that left me breathless as the chords of the music spiralled up to the vaulted dome I was literally swept away..............

Enough of the glories of Rome and back to the reality of the writing life. I had optimistically brought the lap top thinking I would work on A Cornish House for at least an hour a day - hah more fool me. Who was I to even think I could work when Rome bathed in sunshine beckoned. So now back to Dubai I am struggling to get back into routine knowing I am winding up here for for the summer in Cornwall. So yet again routine goes out the window. Hopefully the old subconcious has been working while I wasn't.

Rome did bring three new books. The first was Pandora's Box by Giselle Green. This book was amazing. It takes a heart wrenching situation and treats it with such love, humour and lack of melodrama. All I can say say is five out of five - read it. The while idling away time on my own in cafes in Rome I read Wish You Were Here by Philippa Ashley. The perfect holiday read which kept me away from ogling the Italian men - 'nough said there. Finally on the return flight which was a bit conveluted due to over booking I read and unfortunately could not put down (over night flight - no sleep) The Bride Hunter by Amy Appleton. This story told in first person juggles many characters and I cared about each and everyone of them. It was a superb example in page turning writing told with heart and humour.

This bring me to a superb link here. Way to go Joanna Trollope - I love the term wit lit and I think Melissa Nathan has left a wonderful legacy with her prize for comedy romance. So here's to finally people acknowledging that women's fiction is good in fact better than good!