My poor character Lucas has a dilemma.

He took a long time folding his own clothes and putting the new ones on. Normally he would have just abandoned his clothes to the changing room floor but today was different. Today everything was different and he needed the time and solitude to try to work out in his head what he should do.

I know exactly how he feels! There are only a few weeks until the summer hols and I have so much to think about and do. Well to be perfectly honest if I spent less time thinking about it I would probably have more time to actually do it!

Anyway look out for the list of my book signings/author talks which I will be posting soon and also for my list of personal recommendations which I am currently working on.

I hope to also have some interviews to post soon - busy, busy, busy!

Until then - Happy reading! :)

Today I am frantically working on The Boy Who Rescues Pigeons [this is only its working title] and thought you might like a little snippet.

Here is the very latest bit:-

Anna didn’t respond with words. Instead she reached out and laid her hand on his arm. “She was an old lady Lucas. She had her time. And it’s far less a tragedy that she died than if you had.”

Lucas was shocked. “How can you say that mum? She was your mother?”

Anna nodded, not halting or slowing her stride in any way. “Because it’s nature. Because the old should always precede the young, because no mother wants to outlive her own child …and believe me your gran would have been the first to agree with that sentiment!”

In some ways this is quite a difficult story to write. My own grandmother, the late Margaret Saez has been used as a template for the feisty Valerie and whilst it is always nice to reminisce, it brings its own sorrows. I hope I do justice to her character.

Happy reading!

It seems that Antonio Banderas has split with his wife Melanie Griffith and so another Hollywood couple bites the dust! I can't even begin to image how strange life under that kind of spotlight must be, the constant rumours, the inquisitiveness of strangers over the intimate details of the split...and ultimately how much strength of character it must take to get right back up and go out in public once more.


Most of us when we face a break-up in a relationship, are able to do so in  relative anonymity. Our friends are told and our families but the shame of a failed relationship stops there. The cashier at the supermarket doesn't know, the waiter at the pub your girlfriends take you to for a consolation drink doesn't know and the teller at the bank most definitely doesn't know. But imagine for one second that they did. Imagine that everyone knew all of the sordid details - it's enough to make your skin crawl, isn't it?


That's why I found Judy Finnigan's comment in the Daily Express quite strange. Judy composed an article about how only two weeks after filing for divorce, Melanie Griffith had turned up at  an Italian film festival  with her estranged husband's name blanked out of the tattoo on her arm.


Ms Finnigan thought it strange that Griffith had only covered up the name [possibly with make-up] and had left the rest of the heart shape intact. Ms Finnigan went on to surmise that perhaps the stunt was no more than a hint that Griffith is prepared to accept her husband back in her life.


Well maybe, maybe not. My own take on it comes from a very different perspective. Maybe in blanking out his name Melanie hoped to show that there was a hole in her heart [figuratively speaking of course, I do not mean to imply that she needs cardiovascular surgery]; maybe she was even hoping to show that there was a vacancy there.


Perhaps she wanted to show that she was brave enough to just get on with things, that she still had a heart even if Antonio Banderas no longer resided in it, either figuratively or not.


Or maybe...just maybe...and I could be clutching at straws here....maybe she just liked her tattoo even if she no longer liked the man whose name used to reside at the centre of it!


Either way, give the lady a break! Breaking up is hard enough without everyone having an opinion.


Happy reading!

Last night I watched The Hunger Games and absolutely loved every moment of it. Although the story was vastly different from my own books, there were parallels with The Owners, Volume I which could not be ignored.

In fact a strange thing happened. During the break for the adverts, an extensive clip of the new Planet of The Apes film, Dawn of the Apes, was shown and I made a startling discovery.

The Owners is almost where Planet of the Apes meets the Hunger Games... I really wish I could explain this more to you but if I did I would ruin the plot so I guess you had better get reading it for yourself!

The weather is gorgeous today. Leave the household chores, they will still be there tomorrow when the sky is grey and filled with rain.

Let today have its moment of glory. Sit in the garden with a good book [preferably one of mine of course!] a glass of what you enjoy and relax! You only live once and time is fleeting.

Happy reading!