Writer Top Tens and Days Out!

One of the great things about being a writer is that you can arrange your timetable to your own liking. For example, I don’t mind working through weekends so I can take the odd day off during the week and that’s exactly what I did last week with a trip to London Zoo.

Here’s a pic of the gorgeous giraffes at the zoo:

Gorgeous giraffes

and a very cute quati:

Cute quati

My writer pals and I had a perfect summer’s day and I think we all enjoyed the opportunity to get away from the keyboard for a while.

Another mid-week treat was our first trip of the year to the south coast where Molly and I chilled out in the sand dunes whilst the husband painted.

June dunes

 Coastal walk

Well, it’s back to the keyboard now and my page proofs for A Weekend with Mr Darcy.  It’s so exciting to have these as it really does look like a book now.  Only three months to go before publication…

Another two fabulous Writer Top Tens this week: Julia Golding and Jo Cotterill who both have new books out.

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Writers, writing and Wales

It was the Oxford Literary Festival this month and I got to meet children’s writer and one-time laureate, Michael Morpurgo. His books Private Peaceful and The White Horse of Zennor are amongst my favourite. Whilst in Oxford, I met up with one of my other favourite writers, Julia Golding, and talked about fantasy, festivals and the horrors of getting the right title for your books. I also managed a quick chat with Joanna Kenrick between events.

at_waterstones

At Waterstones with Lisa Jewell

Then there was a fabulous fiction panel at Notting Hill’s Waterstones which I attended with Helen Salter. It was great fun and lovely to chat with Carole Matthews, Isabel Wolff and Lisa Jewell who has given me a lovely quote for my novel Molly’s MillionApril also meant a trip to the London Book Fair where I met up with my lovely German agent for lunch. There was also time to meet up with Juliet Archer for a writerly gossip on the steps of Earl’s Court.

Then, a surprise trip to Pembrokeshire where I managed to finish the first draft of my new novel, Connie Gordon’s Clan, and completely killed my right shoulder doing so. Ouch! The coast and countryside glowed with yellow flowers: primroses, celandines, cowslips, dandelions, buttercups and the ever-present gorse.

Flowers on the Pembrokeshire coast

Flowers on the Pembrokeshire coast

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