Daisy on Delft

I've just made a Delft tile of my latest book cover. Well, with a bit of help from KLM, the Dutch airline I fly with when I visit my daughter and grandson in Minneapolis, which is served by KLM.

If this tile is placed in KLM's competition, Daisy will be flying, too! I have all my fingers crossed and twisted...

Looking for the next hero

At some point in the near future, I'm going to have to dream up a new hero, and I must admit I'm getting a bit panic-stricken.

I'm afraid the last few who've turned up for interview didn't really have what it takes. A couple of them got through the preliminary stages, but they failed to get the job. Just like Sirallun - or, as he probably prefers to be known nowadays, Lordshugger - in the end I had to say, you're fired.

Richard Armitage is a constant source of inspiration and encouragement, as are Sean Bean and the ever-gorgeous Rufus Sewell. Okay, Trisha Ashley, I know RS is yours. But I need someone new, shining bright and just a bit special for my next novel.

Let's hope he wanders into my head some time soon and I see straight away that he's perfect.

A lovely sight for an author's eyes...

I've been away from home for a week, am now catching up on my emails, and have found a really exciting one among them. A friend of my publisher spotted this display in her local WHS. Aha, I thought, see those stickers - this means they're firm sales, I hope, and the books can't be sent back to the warehouse...

Please don't correct me if I'm wrong - let me cherish my illusion over the Easter weekend!

Who's that girl on the cover, I wonder? Many thanks to lovely Kathryn Eastman, who has almost certainly established the identity of the girl on the front cover of The Silver Locket. But this girl on The Golden Chain - does anyone know who she might be?

Booksigning in Abergavenny

Where on earth is Abergavenny, I hear almost everyone ask. Well, it's a very pretty and charming little town on the Welsh borders, and on Saturday the local Waterstones made Christina Courtenay and me very welcome.

We met lots of customers (we beguiled them with delicious Montezuma chocolate) and chatted to them about our books. We sold some and signed all the rest of our stock, so that was a good result - there won't be any copies making their weary way back to the warehouse.

The sun shone, customers came into the store, and our friends Kathryn Eastman and Maureen Vincent-Northam called in, too.

So, thank you, everyone - we had a great day.

Lovely day for skiving off...

It's been a glorious spring day, blue sky, bright sunshine, so a friend and I skived off to the lovely Georgian seaside resort of Sidmouth for lunch and an amble around the shops.

Back to work tomorrow - I sort of hope it rains...

Book signing...

My fellow historical novelist Christina Courtenay and I will be doing a book signing in Abergavenny Waterstones on Saturday 9th April from 1 pm to 3 pm, and it would be lovely to meet some readers there!

Where is Abergavenny? It's a little town on the Welsh borders. The nearest large town or city is Hereford. Abergavenny has a railway station, and it's very cute. There are lots of lovely, quirky shops and cafes, and the architecture is interesting, too. Look it up on this link: http://www.abergavenny.net

Christina and I are hoping for a sunny afternoon and a good turn-out!

Crafty come-on - there might be chocolate, too...

Book of the Month - April 2011

My book of the month for April is a collection of short stories edited by Elaine Everest, Diamonds and Pearls.

This lovely little book is the perfect present for someone who travels to work by public transport and needs something to read on the bus or train. Or for someone who likes to read for five or ten minutes before going to sleep. Or for someone who wants to be entertained, amused and moved rather than confronted, challenged or shocked.

Some proceeds from sales of this book will be donated to cancer charities, a cause close to the editor's heart, because her own life was saved by a brilliant consultant. Now, she wants to raise as much money as possible so that other lives can be saved, too.