The Letter

Here is the paragraph I have just written [yes I actually AM working today] in my lastest novel. I hope you like it:

The journey was agony, each mile covered bringing her closer to her nemesis, each twist and turn of the route seeming to parallel the shifts in her life, the sudden and almost inexplicable changes of direction.

What would this Cherie be like? The name conjured up a very explicit image in her head: short, tight skirt with high heels, a flurry of too-yellow, dyed hair framing a face that was heavily made up, yet still pretty. Attractive in an explicitly sexual, in-your-face sort of way. She would have ‘boobs’ not breasts, and they would be perched high on her narrow rib-cage, permanently on display in a top that was at least one size too small… she would be everything that Fran herself was not.

Political Envy

Last night, in a social setting, I met the lovely Gisela Stuart, MP. I haven't met too many MPs before, so I guess like most of the population I had a preconceived notion of what might lie beneath the public façade.
 
What I found was a thoroughly nice lady who was able to hold her own without sacrificing her feminine touch. I was really impressed.
 
So I was delighted when she expressed an interest in Split Decision and left with a signed copy. What can I say? Apart from all her other attributes, she clearly has excellent taste.
 
Let's hope she really enjoys it!
 
Happy Reading Gisela!

The Finer Things in Life.

Two nights ago with a glass of fine champagne in my hand, I watched the sun set from the balcony of the penthouse suite in the Rotunda.

With a view across the city which was completely unhampered by the waist-high glass safety-barrier, I watched the sky turn crimson in the distance, before finally slipping beyond the edge of the world and I was reminded of a paragraph in one my Owners books:

    "The horizon had been full of promise. Now the pink sky which hovered overhead reminded her of nothing more than a sky which harboured malevolent intent.
    Under that watchful blood sky, she made her way back to her group of fellow conspirators."

Luckily there was no malevolent intent in the real situation, in fact nothing could have been further from the truth.

But as gorgeous as the interior of the apartment was, with floor to ceiling windows in every room affording that unbroken view, it was Birmingham itself which captivated me, drawing me out onto the balcony and holding me there as witness to its strange beauty.

When I had arrived it had been light and people scurried across the ground below like ants, some hurrying, some mooching along with unknown agendas - all of them criss-crossing each other's paths in a constant stream. Steel and glass buildings reflected the sunlight and there was a sense that Birmingham, once old and tired, had found a fresh lease of life in its new, modern, structures. And yet in the distance there was a lush greenness of leafy suburbs, a thing I hadn't anticipated at all, such was the wide-ranging view available.

Once the sun went down everything changed and the city came to life in a new and even more exciting fashion, neon lights flickering and dancing across the horizon. And still I stood outside, entranced and mesmerised in a way I hadn't expected to be.

So if you do decide to follow my footsteps to stand on the balcony, champagne in your hand, take a moment to look down...one of those scurrying little ants might just be me!

A new review.

Here is the latest Split Decision review which has come in:

"Split Decision is one of the most enticing books I have ever read. I couldn't wait to immerse myself in it every night. An absolutely brilliant book! Thoroughly recommended!"

 

Zena Weeks, Special Projects Manager, England Athletics.

 

 

I'm so glad you liked it Zena! Thank you!

 

Poor, poor Fran...

I really feel for the main character in my latest book. Her name is Fran and her husband has just died under the most horrible of circumstances. But as if that is not enough, misery upon misery is being heaped on the poor woman's shoulders.

Here is the paragraph I have just written:

 The house seemed wrong in every way possible. It felt too big, too empty and too full of memories - sad and happy ones – and it seemed that no distinction between the two could ever make her smile again.

There was a letter lying on the mat. Addressed to Jim, it would of course no longer be opened by the person for whom it had been intended. Fran bent and picked it up, running her finger over the little plasticised window which allowed the name and address of the recipient to show through, as if some lingering trace of Jim could be found in those printed words.

The white envelope was not bulky, containing perhaps only one printed sheet. She carried it with her into the kitchen.


Oh dear God, I know what she is about to read in that letter...

Just so you know what I look like... sometimes, on a good day, when I am wearing make-up and am happy...

Women of the Year Awards!

I am so excited I can barely stand still!

I have been asked to do a book signing at the  Women of the Year Awards ceremony!

http://www.womenoftheyear.uk.com/

When I did this before, a couple of years ago, there were a multitude of famous faces at the event and this year will be no exception, with Michelle Mone as this year's speaker, along with Baroness Stedman-Scott as keynote speaker.

It can be daunting chatting to these impressive, powerful ladies who have made such a huge impact on industry and commerce, as well as on our daily lives, in ways that we often don't stop to think about, as role models and innovators in their fields.

Indeed the event will be rammed with women who have risen to the top of their particular industries, and for them, there can be nothing better than knowing that they got there on their own merits. I hope one day I will be joining their ranks!

But it is Ms Mone who I am most eager to chat to, both as a woman and as a fellow Glaswegian... I wonder what her particular reading-taste will prove to be...

I'll keep you posted!