Won't You Be My Neighbour?

Am I hallucinating, or did that used to be a song by Mr Rogers (I realise I've probably just dated myself here)?

Anyway, it's big excitement here in the 'hood, because as you may have heard, we have a new neighbour: Prince George.

TR Towers (ha!) is right around the corner from Kensington Palace, so we were delighted to welcome the new resident.On the day following his birth, Baby TR and I took a stroll around to see if we could greet him. Instead, we found the world's media gathering in eager anticipation.

Baby TR wasn't quite the baby they were waiting for, but he was happy to pose anyway.

No sooner had we arrived home than we heard the helicopters overhead and sirens blaring, welcoming the new prince home. Ah, well. We may have missed the royal baby, but I've got a little oligarch all for myself.

Have a great week, everyone!

Baking and Basking

Monday! It's baking in London (yet again - we're actually having summer!) and I'm currently stuck to the leather sofa as I type. Not a pretty sight, I can assure you.

Thank you so much for all the congratulations on my Amazon deal! I've yet to make my way around to everyone, but I appreciate each and every comment.

Last week's news overshadowed my return from the annual Romantic Novelists' Association Conference. This year, it was held in sunny Sheffield and I couldn't wait to attend. As the moment for departure drew closer, though, I had to tear myself from from Baby TR (first night away!) and force mind and body through the door.

A glass of wine and my wonderful flatmates put everything right once I was there (except for my bionic boobs which were near to bursting all weekend, but we won't go into that!), and I soon drifted off on a wonderful cloud of writerly conversations and fantastic company.

Basking outside in the tropical temperatures: Giselle Green, Rhoda Baxter, Lizzie Lamb and me.

Still basking: me and Cally Taylor.

Our luxurious accommodation.

My wonderful flatmates! Kate Johnson, Imogen Howson, Ruth Long, Sarah Callejo, me, Jane Lovering

More basking.

(All photos courtesy of Lizzie Lamb because I was too lazy.)

As you can see, attending a conference is very hard work indeed!

I hope you all have a lovely week ahead. See you next Monday!

NEWS!

Happy Monday, all! It is a very happy Monday here indeed, because not only is the weather downright tropical, but I can finally announce that I have signed a two-book deal with Amazon Publishing! It has been absolutely killing me to keep my mouth shut until all the nitty-gritty details were ironed out (huge thanks to Madeleine Milburn, my agent, for her tenacity and hard work), but I can now say that Amazon is going to re-publish The Pollyanna Plan with a sparkly new cover, and they'll release The No-Kids Club sometime around Spring 2014.

Yay!

Many of you know that I've been very happy self-publishing since choosing to leave my publisher almost two years ago. And that hasn't changed -- I plan to continue to self-publish around my other novels as time and schedules allow.  However, I have to admit it will be nice to collaborate with a knowledgeable team of professionals . . . not to mention it's Amazon! I have witnessed the impact of their marketing power and hope they can help me grow my audience. I'm really excited to be on their team.

I have to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me from the very beginning (2010 wasn't that long ago, but it seems like forever!). From my blogsplash to baby, you have continually made my day and even though I can't do the blog rounds as often as I'd like, I love hearing from you. I really feel like you're all a huge part of my writing journey.

So . . . wine for all! Champagne for all! Red Twizzlers for . . . ME!

Once again, a heartfelt thanks and have a lovely week.

Made of Win!

In case you haven't noticed (and if you live in the UK, you'd have to be under a rock not to), we have a new Wimbledon Champion -- and for the first time in 77 years, he's British! Well done, Andy. You've given strawberries and cream a whole new raison d'etre.

Not only that, but London is currently in the grips of a 'heatwave' (known by the rest of the world as 'summer'), and the skies are blue, Pimms is overflowing, and parks heaving. Plus, I've finished the first draft of the No-Kids Club! It's all good.

Here are a few photos for you from last week's exploits in the sun.

Bubbles on the South Bank.

View of The Shard (the tall, pointy building) from the Millennium Bridge.

First Pimms of the season!

Gratuitous baby shot! Baby TR examines the grass of Kensington  Palace and finds it lacking. 

Next weekend, I'm off to the RNA Conference in Sheffield, so brace yourself for tales of wine and shoes on Monday! Have a great week, everyone. 

Sunlounger is Here... on Canada Day!

Happy Monday!

Today is a very auspicious day, because not only is it Canada Day (yay!), it's also publication day for Sunlounger, an anthology organised by the wonderful Belinda Jones, including a story by moi. There's lots of info about the authors and their stories at this website, and just look at the fabulous cover.

If that doesn't get you in the summer spirit, I don't know what will! Here's a bit more about it:

Take a trip around the world with 44 of the hottest writers in Women's Fiction!

This collection of sun-kissed short stories will have you boarding a millionaire's yacht in St Tropez, exploring a sheik's palace in Dubai, swimming with dolphins in Australia, partying in Ibiza, surfing in Hawaii, exploring ancient ruins in Turkey and Cambodia and sipping Limoncello in Italy! 

Whether you read it on your favourite beach (Sunlounger features golden sands from Greece to Thailand) or on your daily commute or coffee break you will be spirited away on a variety of adventures - some will make you chuckle, some will make your heart pang, others will inspire you to live your life to the max!

You can check it out on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Happy Canada Day, all! Have a great one!