Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 entries.
Today might have been bitterly cold but it didn’t stop me from meeting fellow Janeites Jane Odiwe, Juliet Archer, Monica Fairview and – all the way from America – Abigail Reynolds.
The beautiful church of St Marylebone was the perfect rendevouz for literary fans as it was where Lord Byron was baptised and was also the setting of Robert Browning’s marriage to Elizabeth Barrett.
We enjoyed a warming lunch in the crypt and then continued our chat on a walk around Regent’s Park, all of us agreeing that it was lovely to get away from the keyboard and talk to real people every now and then!
Then it was back home to check up on my lovely chickens who are all settling in really well. I’ll post some more ‘chick pics’ soon!
Continue reading Literary Ladies who Lunch! »
Last night, after a tour of historic St James’s with Jane Odiwe and Monica Fairview…
I had the great privilege of meeting my US publisher, Sourcebooks, together with fellow authors for dinner at The Reform Club in Pall Mall. This is the club famous as being the setting of the bet in Jules Verne’s book, Around the World in 80 Days. We were in The Strangers Room in the company of Charles Dickens and WM Thackerary – their fine portraits staring down at us from the pannelled walls.
Here I am with authors Freya North and Erica James.
There was a lot of talk about books – how wonderful it is to write them but also how important it is for writers to get away from their fictional worlds once in a while and talk to real live people!
It was a lovely evening that ended all too quickly. And now it’s back to my own fictional world. The rewrites for Dreaming of Mr Darcy are almost complete and it will soon be time to start the next novel…
Continue reading Dinner at The Reform Club »
Last weekend, I attended the 10th Jane Austen Festival in Bath. It was my first festival and I had such a great time. The promenade on Saturday was the highlight for me – seeing all the beautiful costumes and spotting the Mr Darcys and Catherine Morlands! The sun glowed on the array of fine fabrics and everyone was smiling. It was such a great day.
There was also a wonderfully romantic moment at the beginning of the promenade. Outside the Abbey, a man was standing holding a single red rose to surprise his fiancee. She was going to meet him there but had no idea that he’d be in full Regency attire! He’s a pic of me and author, Jane Odiwe, with the real-life hero!
I also met my lovely friend, Isa, who’d travelled all the way from Spain for the festival. Here she is with her ‘I Heart Darcy’ bag!
I went to talk to the wonderful Pride and Prejudice Tours in Sydney Place – the very house that was Sir Walter Elliot’s in the 1995 production of Persuasion. And I signed lots of copies of my novel, A Weekend with Mr Darcy too – in Waterstones, WH Smith and Toppings. Thank you to the staff who made me so welcome.
Other festival highlights included lunch in The Pump Room where I met a very fine gentleman!
And a trip to the fashion museum with Jane Odiwe who snapped me trying on some eighteenth-century undergarments!
It was a fabulous trip and I now have so many ideas for the third book in my Jane Austen addicts trilogy, Mr Darcy Forever, which is set during the festival. I can’t wait to write it now but it is currently on hold as I am about to revisit the second book first as the editorial notes have landed and it’s time for some rewriting…
Continue reading The Jane Austen Festival »
Now, I know I said in my last post that I don’t mind working weekends but the last two have been the exception. Yesterday, I had a trip to the National Portrait Gallery to meet the lovely author, Jane Odiwe. Jane writes Austen sequels and I love her novel, Willoughby’s Return. We met in the gorgeous gallery shop and then visited the tiny portrait of Jane Austen by her sister, Cassandra.
It was then on to meet another Austen author, Amanda Grange, whose books, Darcy’s Diary and Mr Darcy, Vampyre are huge bestsellers and thumping good reads! Here’s a pic of us all. We all share the same US publisher, Sourcebooks, and it was really lovely to meet up at last.
Another weekend treat was seeing a true hero of mine in concert - Chris Isaak! I’ve been a huge fan of Chris’s for years and love his music. He was performing songs from his new album, Mr Lucky, and lots of the old favourites too like San Francisco Days and Wicked Game. As readers of Molly’s Millions might remember, my hero, Tom Mackenzie, is a big Chris Isaak fan too!
Here he is in his fabulous glitterball suit!
Continue reading Wonderful Weekends »