Ooops!

Well, that's been fun. One big bang, two small fizzles and a nasty on-screen "fatal error" message - yep, it's been another almost-two weeks without the computer...

Well, not quite true - I've been able to work off-line (which is good news for Midnight Feast which is now almost up to the 45,000 words it was before I deleted them - and this time they're much nicer, funnier ones - I think...) and this time it wasn't me pressing the wrong buttons - it was the ISP's fault.

Sadly, we (TTT and I) only discovered this after replacing the modem (twice), calling in an expert (12 years old and quite amazingly clever) to sort out a) the mother board and b) the hard drive - neither of which needed sorting. It was only after an exasperated telephone call to the ISP (prior to chucking the whole damn thing out of the window and making yet another trip to PC World) that gave us the answer. Ooops, they said, our error. Nothing wrong with your computer. Our fault - we're really sorry... We'll get it back on track soon as. And they did.

So, now I'm back online - and will no doubt catch up with blogging and answering emails and things as soon as poss. That's after I've read everyone else's blogs, and checked message boards, and wasted hours catching up with all the really vital online stuff that makes up my writing day. Ah, it's lovely to be back...

Interview Techniques

For some reason, I've suddenly been asked to offer my pearls of wisdom and alleged writing expertise on a wide range of subjects. For a really, really brief period I got a bit big-headed and thought I must be the current author-of-choice, but only briefly. Now I've decided that it's probably because they've run out of Proper Writers...

Whatever - I'm not proud. I'm just delighted to be asked. So, this week I've done a stonking FIVE interviews with different people for various publications on all sorts of subjects - from fireworks to Epstein Barr; from how I manage to write in such a mess and muddle to how I bit the bullet and gave up the day job; from my research methods to why I stopped writing mainstream chicklit and started writing magical bucolic frolics. I've loved every minute of it. And I really, really appreciate being asked.

No publicity is bad in my opinion - no, not even that rather painful and corrosive piece about me being a gurning nonentity in The Times by a far more literary writer than I'll ever be - and any opportunity for anyone who writes to get their name out there in any capacity is A Good Thing. So this is a public thank you to all those who took time to ask me questions and patiently sorted out the dross of my answers.

I really welcomed being interviewed by fellow rom-com author Olivia Ryan. She's written a fab feature on Giving Up The Day Job (to be published later in the year - will post details as soon as I know). I was included with such romantic novelist luminaries as Judy Astley and Katie Fforde and Fenella Miller - and am still basking in the afterglow.




It's always flattering to be asked for your views by another author, and especially so as I LOVE Olivia Ryan's books (check her out at www.oliviaryan.com). I bought second copies of her hilarious and oh-so-true Tales From A Hen Weekend and Tales From A Wedding Day as a honeymoon beach-reading present for Elle (they'd make great engagement/hen night/wedding presents for any dedicated chicklit lover) who read them on Waikiki Beach and absolutely loved them and is now a hooked Olivia fan. We're both now feverishly waiting for the final book in the trilogy - Tales From A Honeymoon Hotel - which is out on July 2nd. Oh, and if you're reading this, Olivia, I've already got my order in on Amazon - I'm not asking for freebies!!!!

I've always found it's better to be honest when being interviewed - even if what you have to say isn't exactly what's expected. I'm certainly not a typical writer (come on - take a look at my lifestyle!) but try to explain how writing fits in with my Other Life (with difficulty, usually). I know I love to read about how other writers work - even if it does make me wonder how I ever manage to get anything done - or how other writers got started, or anything at all that might just help me to improve how I do things. We can all learn from one another - and I know I've gained numerous nuggets of brilliance from authors I admire.

One area of writing I'm rather proud of this morning is my new found ability to delete at will! Yesterday - after a sleepless night of agonising - I deleted Midnight Feast and started again. And now it's flying! I've been up since 4.30 (it wasn't even light!) and have done over 3,000 words already today. I'd written myself into a turgid corner and knew that there was no way out. So, I've just kept all my characters (who I loved) and changed the setting and the start and made it funnier and really, really off the wall - and it's suddenly zinged into life for me now. Hopefully it'll zing into life for Those Who Matter...

I've happily told The Toyboy Trucker (sorry, still can't get into Toyboy Transport Manager) that it's now "Cold Comfort Farm meets Masterchef". I won't tell you what he said - but hopefully he's wrong, wrong, wrong....

Home Again

Elle and The Doctor are home from here! This is where they've spent the last three weeks. It's Hawaii's only 6-star hotel - and is clearly paradise. It's called Halekulani and means "house befitting heaven" - which it obviously is and was....

They had an amazing honeymoon in Hawaii and came home via Chicago and Washington. Jealous? Me? What do you think???? But it was wonderful to collect them at Heathrow and do that embarrassing hurling myself at them (I'd sworn I wouldn't - but just got swept away in the heat of the moment) as they emerged into the arrivals hall. And they were so brown! The doctor, of course, is always brown - but was, to his delight, even browner - especially his legs (which he showed us straight away much to Heathrow's amusement) and Elle is a gorgeous toffee colour. Sigh...

Despite having just travelled for 26 hours (business class - natch) they talked non-stop all the way home in the car and I gather that Hawaii is simply the best place on earth. It all sounded quite incredible - especially the vivid colours everywhere and the exotic flowers (Elle is no gardener and The Doctor can't tell one plant from another but they both seem well up in hibiscus, oleanders and orchids now) and the rainbow fishes and the warmth and friendliness of the Hawaiian people... I am not jealous, I am not jealous, I am not jealous....



This was their bathroom - gulp - where they could simply float in scented, candlelit water and gaze at the sea - and no, I'm still not even a teeny weeny bit jealous... And they can now both do Polynesian dances and were very moved by the Pearl Harbour memorial, spent a day on the Lost island, did the Obama trail, and have discovered the joys of The Cheesecake Factory... I'm sure there will be lots more stories emerging once they're no longer jet-lagged and have stopped sulking about it being All Over.

Still, now they're home, hopefully we can get to grips with the official photographs of the wedding - blimey, how long ago does that seem now??? I'm really looking forward to having a wallow in the memories of the day - and might even manage to post a pic of the m-o-t-b frock at last...

Now - back to reality. I'm getting on with Midnight Feast, The Toyboy Trucker is getting to grips with being a Toyboy Trucking Manager, and Elle and The Doctor have to go back to work! Hah!