Eden Project

Before .........and.......... After

While we were away last week we visited the Eden Project in Cornwall. For those of you who don't know what this is, a disused china clay quarry has been converted into the most amazing global gardens. I call them gardens, but it's so much more. Huge biomes have been erected - like giant conservatories. Inside one is a rainforest containing nothing but tropical plants, the other is Mediterranean, and outside are such a variety of plants that it takes your breath away. I could tell you so much about it but it would take far too long. All I can say is that if you ever get the opportunity to go, please do so.

This is how it was summed up in the catalogue:

• Take an exhausted, deep, steep-sided clay pit 60m deep, the area of 35 football pitches, with no soil, 15 metres below the water table.


• Carve the pit into a flat-bottomed bowl and landscape the sides.


• Mix and add 83,000 tonnes of soil made from recycled waste.


• Add superb architecture that draws inspiration from nature to remind us of human potential.


• Colonise with a huge diversity of plants, many that we use every day (but don't often get to see).


• Harvest the water draining into the pit and use it to irrigate our plants (and flush the loos!)


• Season with people from all walks of life.

And by the way, I have the title for my Australian book. THE BILLIONAIRE’S BLACKMAIL BARGAIN. I think I told you that it’s not being published until September next year so it’s a long wait. And yes, Cade did get a bargain. He blackmailed Simone (his ex girlfriend) into becoming his mistress but then fell in love with her all over again. Although it took me longer to write this book than any other I really do miss Simone and Cade, I loved writing their story and I hope that when the book’s out you’ll love reading about them. It’s set in the Whitsundays, so there are long hot days – and even steamier nights!

Anne Weale

I was truly sorry to hear that Anne Weale had died. I have known her for very many years, she was truly a lady, so elegant and gracious - and always controversial. It was why many of HM&B writers admired her so much. She was not afraid to speak her mind and upheld all the old traditions, not always happy with the way things were changing. She will be sorely missed in the writing fraternity.

New book

I’ve been away for the last week (half term and took my grandson away) but now I’m back and I have the news I’ve been waiting for. My editor has read my plot and really likes it. She has a few reservations about the second half but I’ve been working on those and I’m ready to go. I’ve promised it her for the end of January, which sounds a long way away but I have so many things on this next week that I can’t see me starting it yet.

My hero is Santo (he’s Italian) and my heroine is Penny (she’s English) – unless I change their names – which sometimes happens. Sometimes when you’re writing you discover that the name doesn’t suit the character. I even find myself occasionally calling either my hero or heroine by a completely different name, and then I realise that that’s the name I should have given them in the first place.

Santo’s suddenly found himself in charge of a five year old daughter he never knew he’d got and Penny – you’ve guessed it – is going to be the child’s nanny. I’m planning an explosive start and can’t wait to get going.

Autumn

Don’t you just love Autumn? \There is a tree in front of my bedroom window that is turning all sorts of wonderful colours. The last few mornings it’s been quite misty but as the sun has broken through it has backlit the leaves and they looked stunning. It’s a pleasure to wake up in a morning just to see it.

Which reminds me that the second book I had published was called Shades of Autumn – set, as you can imagine, at this time of year. The hardbacks in those days were plain red with a paper sleeve and an artist’s impression of the characters. My hero looks like a young James Mason!

No news yet regarding my synopsis.

The Queen

Amongst other things I’ve been busy this week plotting out my new book. I’ve sent my editor a synopsis and now I’m playing the waiting game. Well, not entirely, because further ideas keep popping into my mind which I scribble down on all sorts of bits of paper. And then it’s like a jigsaw trying to fit them all together. By the time my editor gets back to me I’ll probably have an entirely different story.

I’ve also heard when my Australian book’s going to be published. September 2008! It came as quite a shock. Such a long time. I thought it would be in about six months. I guess I’ll have to put the thought behind me and concentrate on my new book.

I’m looking forward to meeting my Italian hero properly. He’s just a picture on my wall at the moment. It’s when he becomes a real person that the fun begins. Which reminds me of a book I was given as a Sunday School prize when I was about thirteen or fourteen. It’s called When the Fun Begins and is about a group of schoolchildren leaving school and starting work. I wonder if school leavers really see work as fun? The fun for me is creating new characters, becoming a part of their lives, living a different life for a few months. I’m getting quite excited just thinking about it.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about the highlight of my week. A new Armed Forces Memorial was opened by the Queen on Friday for all the service men who have lost their lives since the Second World War. We were fortunate enough to get tickets and after the ceremony we (my DH and I) were walking along one of the pathways watching old planes doing a fly by as a salute to those named on the Memorial, when a policeman asked us to step to one side because a car was coming. It was the Queen and Prince Philip! We thought they’d left. I waved and she smiled and waved back and the Prince waved as well. We were just a couple of feet away from them. We felt so lucky.

Blackpool

We went to Blackpool to see the Illuminations over the weekend. It’s been a year or two since we last went and I have to admit they were excellent this year. (For those of you in other countries who don’t know where Blackpool is, it’s on the north west coast of England and is a favourite holiday resort with excellent beaches and a theme park with rides that are not for the faint hearted – which is me!)

We took our grandson and one of his friends and they had the time of their lives, and when darkness fell we were all duly impressed with the Lights which are strung both along the road and across the road. Apparently the Illuminations started in 1879 with 8 arc lamps and now they stretch for six miles and can be seen from space. They cost 2.4 million to stage and attract over 3.5 million visitors in 9 weeks – and I wished I’d taken my camera so that I could have shown you one or two of the displays.

Perhaps another time…

It's a yes!

Hurrah, hurrah, my Australian book’s been accepted!

I have no title for it yet and no idea when it will be published but I am so pleased. Now I can finally put it to bed. Simone and Cade can take a rest as well until it’s their turn to enter the world of books. Of course they do live in the Whitsundays – so you can just imagine what they’ll be doing, can’t you? Sailing, snorkelling, lazing around until the yacht charter company’s up and running again. (Big sigh!) All this makes me wish I was still with them. Never mind I have new people to meet. My next hero’s going to be a gorgeous Italian. I can’t wait to get started with him – except that I haven’t quite worked out his story yet…

No news

I’ve been away for a few days catching my breath after my London trip and I was hoping to have news from my editor when I got back. However she rang me to say she hadn’t yet had time to read my manuscript – so the waiting goes on. I’ve caught up on some reading – which is sheer luxury because I hardly ever find time to read when I’m working on a book, and we’re revamping part of the garden, which is a major project..

I’d like to plug a book here. My friend Margaret Callaghan has just had an on-line romance released by Moonlit Romance. She’s been trying so hard to break back into the market after two of her previous publishers stopped publishing romance, and at last she’s done it. The book is called Chasing Rainbows and can be purchased here. I’m in the middle of reading it at the moment and can’t wait to get back to it. I’ll tempt your appetite with the opening paragraph:

Hell, but she was beautiful, the most beautiful woman in the world. His woman, he’d foolishly believed, that long hot summer that stubbornly refused to fade in his mind. Because try though he would, he couldn’t forget he smell of her, the taste of her, the feel of her. Or maybe the stark truth was he didn’t want to forget. Because he’d loved her, and she’d lied. And for that he’d never forgive her. And savouring the memory kept the hate alive.

And last but not least, the winner of my September competition over on my website is Nathalie Najm. Nathalie, if you email me your address I’ll send your prize.

It was an interesting competition, I had more responses than I expected, and it was hard deciding the winner. Thank you to all who took part; I’ll be announcing another competition soon.

Terracotta Army

Fantastic, incredible, breathtaking – there are really no words to describe the terracotta army exhibition at The British Museum in London. To think that the first emperor – King of Qin – had around 7000 terracotta soldiers built to look after him in the afterlife – not only soldiers but horses and birds, chariots, musicians and civil officials, everything he had during his earthly lifetime was recreated.
The exhibition included other artefacts – elaborate bells, swords, knives, scoops – all manner of things. Particularly interesting was a tableaux – probably no more than a foot high, showing how the army was made. Each figure was built from the feet up in separate parts, assembling as they went, until finally the head was put on – it was then transported on a trolley of sorts to its final destination.
The exhibition runs until April 6th next year, so if you’re ever in London do go to see it. Or even make a special journey – it’s well worth it.

The other reason I was in London was to attend an author luncheon and a champagne party thrown by Mills & Boon. I always love these luncheons – so many writers to talk to and compare experiences. The talking is non-stop. Writing is a lonely profession so meeting up with other writers like this is like the icing on the cake.

Now it’s back to normality. And a new book to think about. My editor’s promised to get back to me next week on the Australian one. So watch this space!

And don't forget the competition on my website. It only has one week left to run. Already I've had some very well thought out 'journeys' It's going to be a tough job judging.

It's a record

I've read my book through after a few day's break, made a few more alterations, and finally it's gone to my editor. Can you believe it's taken me seven and a half months to write this book? It has to be a record. My shortest ever was six weeks, my average is three months. I had problems all the way along and nearly gave it up and started something new. I always send the first few chapters to my editor to read before I carry on with the rest of the book. In this case the first five chapters had to be re-written as she had issues with them, then I sent off three re-written chapters and there were still problems. So I addressd those and carried on writing the rest of the book. Admittedly I have had a couple of holidays in the middle of it! I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed now that she will like it.


We're off tomorrow to see the Terracotta Army. I'll let you know what it's like.

Pink Heart Society

It’s going to be an exciting weekend. Over on The Pink Heart Society I’m doing a Spotlight Interview. Do take a look and find out where I get my inspiration from for my books, how I relax and wind down, my most embarrassing moment, and lots of other things about me that you might never know otherwise.

Something else embarrassing - my interview will have a link to my website which has gone completely haywire. Many apologies as I have no time at the moment to put it right.

Re-write

Hurrah, my re-write is finished. It’s been a big challenge but I’ve finally come to the end – and a good thing about it is that it’s longer than the original. I always have trouble making my books long enough. Right from the early days of my writing career I could always finish them at about Chapter 7. I’m having to force myself to delve more deeply into the characters, into their thoughts and emotions, and hopefully my books are stronger for it.

I shall leave it now until Monday when I’ll give it its final read through before e-mailing it to my editor. She rang the other day to see how I was doing. I felt guilty because it’s taken me so long. OK, I had two holidays in the middle of it but is that an excuse? Which is more important, my writing or my holidays? The answer is both. Because holidays are invaluable research. (At least that’s what I tell myself)

Next Thursday my DH and I are going to London. I’m going to an author luncheon on Friday and a Mills & Boon author drinks party afterwards. (where I’ll meet my editor – and I couldn’t face her if I hadn’t finished my book!!!) But one of the highlights of our trip will be going to see China’s Terracotta Army exhibition at the British Museum. It starts today I believe and tickets have been flying out. My DH in particular is looking forward to this.

Blocked blog

Has any computer expert out there got any idea how I can 'unblock' by blog. Since my computer crashed I've been unable to sign in unless I open it in a new window. I've gone into internet securities and tried ticking and unticking various boxes to no avail. It shows Blogger.com as a restricted website and it is blocked. Any help would be gratefully received.

Foreign books

I’ve just received some copies of a 2 in 1 book of mine printed in Italian. Actually I now have six copies! How I wished I’d received them before we went to Rome so that I could have handed them out and perhaps got myself some new fans. Isn’t it always the way of things? What do I do with these copies now? I’ll keep one for my bookshelf, but the others? My local library doesn’t want any more – I think I’ve saturated them. All ideas will be gratefully received.