Lincoln (part 2) + happy birthday to my son

Current work: Med duo 2 revisions
Listening to: various chilling out
Reading: no time at the mo :o(

Dog came home and sulked. Actually, he sat and howled ALL afternoon. A weird, deep, rusty-sounding howl that sounded as unearthly as Black Shuck, the spectral hound of East Anglia; the author in me thought, ‘Excellent sound effect,’ but the net result is that he scuppered my work because the only way to shut him up was to give him a cuddle, poor boy.

My radio spot went really well – I had the most FANTASTIC time. Thanks very much to Nicky Price, who sparked off several ideas.

And the birthday? It’s my son, today. (Well, at the time of writing, I still had a few epidural top-ups and twelve hours of labour to go…)

Righty – back to Lincoln. I left you halfway up Steep Hill. So I walked up to meet Kate Walker and her lovely husband Steve, fellow M&B authors Trish Wylie and Natasha Oakley, and editor Suzanne Clarke. And then my nerves set in a bit.

Back down the hall to the Drill Hall. Suzanne introduced us and talked about the history of Mills and Boon (a hundred years of romance!).

(LTR: Trish, Suzy, Kate, Natasha and me.)

And then it was our turn and we all chipped in on each other’s speeches - it felt more like a group of friends chatting than anything else.

(LTR Suzy, Trish, Kate.)

From where I was sitting it looked as though the audience enjoyed themselves, too. And then we drew the raffle and Kate Walker presented the prize.... the most fabulous box of signed books!

Then we had dinner at a gorgeous Italian restaurant. (And, yes, of course I'm going to talk about the food. Kate Lardy, right?) As I'd done over 19,000 steps that day before I set out for the talk (and would estimate another 6,000 steps during said evening, including one and a half trips up Steep Hill) and I wasn't drinking (thanks to the antibiotics), I felt very justified in being greedy. (All right, I admit I'd scoped out the menu online beforehand.) I chose arancini di riso (a mixture of rice and mozzarella made into a ball and deep fried, served with rocket and napoli sauce), gnocchi quattro formaggi, and this...

Strawberry panna cotta. Beautifully presented. I was particularly impressed by the two-colour coulis.

Lincoln (part 1) + radio show

Current work: Med duo 2 revisions
Listening to: various chilling out
Reading: no time at the mo :o(

Friday - dog sulked all day, sitting on my bed next to the suitcase with his nose between his paws, but we just couldn't take him with us. DH took him to kennels; then picked up the kids and travelled to Lincoln. We found the cottage with no problems and dropped off our luggage; as always in Lincoln we got lost on the one-way system, but eventually found the car park and walked down Steep Hill. The cottage was lovely - small, cosy, with everything we needed. It's probably the best equipped of any cottage we’ve ever stayed in.

This is the front: the cottage is on the far right.

Back garden:

And the view from the front (this house could well be a future setting for me).

Saturday, had to be up early to feed the parking meter; there was a lovely little farmer's market setting up between the cathedral and the castle, full of herbs and organic veg and bread and cheese (not so keen on the idea of eating baby ostrich, though).

Had a quick browse in the second-hand bookshops (where I was remarkably restrained), met my dear friend Kate Walker for coffee (in this lovely little tea shop)

and then went into town with DH and the kids. Checked out the Drill Hall where we would be speaking that night (that face is just amazing)

and made an emergency purchase at the bookstall - Kate Dopey had forgotten to bring a book in case we did a reading ... Second emergency purchase of nail polish at M&S (very impressed with it - highly glossy); then, as it was too grey and damp for a river trip, went to the cinema to see Nim's Island.

Thoroughly enjoyed it - unlike Alex Roper the writer in the film, I don't have OCD or agoraphobia, but I (and many writers of fiction who might see the film) identified with the way she talked to her hero, Alex Roper the adventurer. (The kids asked me afterwards - do I do that? Yup, when I'm on my own...) I thought the ending was a tad rushed, but that could be pickiness on my part - it ended as a romance would just be starting. The acting was good, though.

Then it was time to get ready for the evening talk and walk up Steep Hill for the third time that day...... and I'll tell you about that tomorrow. (Tease? Moi?)

And the radio show? That's tonight, 6-7pm on BBC Radio Norfolk - 95.1 / 95.6 / 104.4FM and DAB digital radio. I'm with Nicky Price, doing 'What's Rocking Norfolk', and I'll have both my fiction and nonfiction hats on. You can listen in online (click on the link and then choose the i-player).

Happy May Day

Current work: new nonfiction (research, bliss)
Listening to: Karine Polwart
Reading: Carol Townend, The Novice Bride (finished it last night and really enjoyed it)

May 1 already. Where does the time go? In two weeks (well, 16 days – hmm, how much blubber can I lose in that time?) I’ll be at the Lincoln Book Festival talking about romance. This is what the official site has to say:

100 Years of Romancing Readers

Start time: 6pm - 7.30pm Join in the festival's celebration of 100 years of Mills and Boon and meet romance authors Kate Walker, Trish Wylie, Natasha Oakley and Kate Hardy while enjoying a complimentary glass of Champagne courtesy of the publisher - and don't forget to pick up your goodie bag to take home too.

Location: Lincoln Drill Hall

Admission cost: £5/£3
Tel: (01522) 873894

We’ll be answering questions, discussing all sorts of things – and there are drinks, books for sale (and authors are always happy to sign them!). And we’ll be drawing the raffle for EIGHTY-FIVE books. Mostly signed. From romance authors worldwide. (Tickets are on sale May 9th -17th 2008 at the Festival Bookshop and the proceeds go to a cause very dear to my heart - Breast Cancer Research. So even if romance isn’t your thing, please buy a ticket.)

I’m off to the library this morning, then meeting a friend for coffee. And hopefully when I get home from the school run I will be able to get my teeth into revisions. (Otherwise it’s admin. My not favourite job…)