Archie and Dexter, Pipsqueak posts, Writing life

The Pipsqueak Posts, Episode 79: the one with the First Birthday

Dexter: Arch, Arch, it’s my birthday! I’m one today!

Archie: I know, Pipsqueak. Happy birthday.

Dexter: What did you get me? Huh? Huh?

Archie: It’s round and squeaks.

Dexter: A ball! Yay!

Archie: Mum’s going to make you a birthday cake. Except you got so excited that she has to mop the floor first.

Dexter: Mum, hurry up and make my cake. Pleeeeeeeeease.

A short while later…

Dexter: Is that my cake? Is it, is it?

(Much impatient waiting for it to be cooked and for the mashed potato ‘icing’ to be made.)

Meanwhile: birthday chews!

Dexter: Arch, you have to sing to me now.

Archie, sighing: Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear Pipsqueak – now shut up and let’s have cake! Yummy!

(They did save enough for the neighbours’ dogs to have a slice. But it went very quickly…)

Dexter: Arch, I’ve had a lovely birthday. Now I need a nap. Be my pillow?

Publication day, Writing life, Writing news

Publication day – Surprise Heir for the Princess

 Today’s publication day for Surprise Heir for the Princess.This started life in my head years ago, when I wrote the Penhally vet book. Readers asked me if I’d write the sister’s story, but because Penhally was a Medical Romance and the sister was a princess, my editor and I couldn’t make it work.

I still wanted to write the princess and the paparazzo. I asked. A lot. (My editor’s standard reply is ‘hahaha – no’.) So then I thought about tweaking it a bit.

Now, I love Audrey Hepburn. And I got to thinking about Roman Holiday. (I know, I know, Gregory Peck is a journalist… but bear with me.) Audrey’s princess takes a day to live an ordinary life and be a tourist in Rome. How could that work in today’s world, when everyone has a phone in their pocket and can instantly upload a pic that can zoom round the globe in seconds?

I thought about it a bit more. I wanted a photographer hero. My princess was going to be Italian(ish) – hence the fictional Mediterranean principality. (Sort of based on Capri, which I loved visiting.) And the setting? Partly in London – but they escape to the place of my heart. And the pics below show you a bit of the inspiration behind the book. Wells-next-the-sea, Hunstanton, and Blickling Great Wood.

Writing life, Writing news

Winning the RNA Shorter Romantic Fiction Award 2021

Still thrilled to bits this morning.

Yesterday morning, I was frantically finishing my latest book, had to do an emergency dash to buy mascara (having learned that not touching it for a year makes it dry out, cough), and was feeling a bit flat because on a normal RNA Awards day I’d be on the train to London, meeting up with my mates for a cup of tea, then lunch with editors and fellow shortlistees, and the group photographs with fellow shortlistees in our categories, and then talking way too much and drinking bubbly.

Lockdown? Nope. Nothing like it. We did have a zoom party for the finalists, and I’m very grateful to the RNA for organising that, but my wifi decided to be temperamental. Y’know where everyone’s pixelated and sounds like a robot? That. Add my hearing difficulty and… just no.

Posh swish lunch? Um, that would be scampi, shared with the dogs.

The flat feeling was back. Along with a large dose of guilt about feeling that way, because other people have had so much worse.

Scruff of neck time. I’d been shortlisted for an award with my 90th book for M&B, in my 20th year of being published by them. Lockdown or no lockdown, that deserved celebrating. Cue opening a bottle of rose Prosecco.

Then the awards do started. I so enjoyed the green room with my fellow shortlistees. We talked about books we’d loved, about how to deal with Lockdown Chins (yeah, OK, so when we were on the screen I forgot everything we’d all said about angles and clever use of hands), and we had a glass of wine ‘together’.

Technical difficulties were overcome — and I’m hugely grateful for the technology that allowed us to still have our awards do (including a ’green room’), and share it with friends and family.

I wasn’t expecting to win because all the books on our shortlist were fabulous.

So when Larry Lamb opened the envelope and said that the Liberta Books award for Shorter Romantic Fiction went to Kate Hardy…  This was my reaction!

 

A Will, a Wish and a Wedding – aka the butterfly book, set partly in my beloved Norfolk – won the award. And I couldn’t be more thrilled.

Thank you to the RNA – an organisation that’s been part of my life for a quarter of a century and introduced me to many good friends; to M&B, my publisher of two decades; to Liberta Books, for sponsoring the award; to my editor, Julia Williams, whose editing is very wise indeed; to my fellow shortlistees on the night (it’s the nomination that counts, and we are ALL winners); to my husband Gerard and children Chris and Chloe, who’ve always been my staunch supporters and to whom the book is dedicated; to my edit-paw-ial assistants, who make me leave my desk and also keep my feet warm; and to my readers, because without you I couldn’t do the job that makes my heart sing.

Thank you.

Archie and Dexter, Pipsqueak posts, Writing life, Writing news

The Pipsqueak Posts, Episode 78: the one with the RNA Awards

Dexter: Arch, Mum’s excited and she’s asking people on Facebook what she should wear. What’s happening?

 

Archie: It’s the RNA Awards today, Pipsqueak. Mum’s been shortlisted for the Liberta Book Shorter Romantic Fiction Award. It’s quite a big deal – it’s for her 90th book for Mills & Boon, and they first published her 20 years ago, when Chloe was the same age as you’ll be at the end of the month.

Dexter: So what’s that weird noise?

Archie: The hairdryer. She only uses it when she has to make her hair look really nice. Not like normal, when she just washes it and lets it dry while we’re out for a walk.

Dexter: And what’s that red stuff?

Archie: Lipstick. Oh, yeah, she hasn’t worn make-up since you were born and it’s all dried up so she had to go out and get more. That’s why we had scampi for lunch.

Dexter: Is lipstick as nice as biscuits?

Archie, laughing: Well, you can try licking it off her face. But not until after the awards do.

Dexter: It’s weird, seeing Mum dressed up. She’s normally as scruffy as you are.

Archie: Oi!

Dexter: Why do we have to sit quietly on the sofa with Dad?

Archie: Because it’s a Lockdown Awards Do – that means it’s on zoom, instead of her abandoning us to go to London.

Dexter: So we could go and leap on her and say hello to loads of people all over the world. After all, we are her Edit-paw-ial Assistants. She can’t write books without us at her feet.

Archie: No. Apparently there are technical problems. Let’s have a nap.

(later)

Dexter: Mum’s crying! Noooo! We need to be there and make her better!

Archie: She’s not crying because she’s upset. She’s happy! She won!

Dexter: And you were lying about lipstick tasting nice… Pah!

(Later)

Dexter: It’s all very nice, this rose Prosecco and that, but where are the biscuits?

Archie: All the excitement’s tired me out. Let’s go to sleep and dream of the biscuits I just know she’ll buy us tomorrow…