Well! Would you look at this:
It was a very great honour to be asked to open the fanatastic, revamped main library in York… but I had no idea there’d be a plaque to mark the occasion and must admit to shedding a tear or two! Anyway, last week, I went to see the plaque in situ.
What a thrill! Truly on a par with winning the RNA award for Pillow Talk in 2008 and being chosen as ‘Listed Londoner’ on the Robert Elms Show on BBC London…
How’s your summer been? Mine has been active, to say the least… There’s been a certain amount of gadding about – from fab events in St Albans, Leeds, York and Saltburn, to holidays in Spain and Wiltshire. And of course, beavering away on my new novel Rumours which will be finished by Christmas and with you next Spring.
I’ve held some fun competitions over on my facebook page - and shortly, I will post up here on the website the results of ‘Heroes and Actors’ and also ‘Heroines and Actresses’ – where my facebook fans suggested actors for my characters. Some very inspired proposals! Of all my characters – male and female – one stood out for having at least twice the number of entries than any of the others… Good ol’ Django McCabe! Two of the actors suggested were utterly brilliant… David Essex ….and Bernard Cribbins!
I don’t know what it’s like where you are, but it’s been peee-ing it down, here in Hertfordshire, so I’m going to cheer myself up as I close now, by posting photos of my wildflowers, which were planted from seed at Easter. Glorious, hey! Enjoy a wonderful bank holiday weekend – and I’ll be back on here shortly. Thanking all of you for keeping in touch and for being such a warm and supportive group of readers. I really am soooo grateful. Freya x
Look at what I did to the sand at Saltburn on Sunday…
I thought it rather inspired marketing….and it was clearly visible for all on the pier to see! Saltburn Pier has been awarded the Best Pier in Britain for 2009 (Pier of the Year sounds better…). As most of you know, Secrets, my 10th novel (out on 30th April) is set in this wonderful, quirky Victorian seaside town.
Here I am, chasing Felix and Georgia off my handy work!
We were up in the North East because I was invited to give a talk in Whitby. It was excellent and I am so grateful to the staff of the Library (especially Allison) and all the lovely people (hullo Sharon Stone!) who came from far and wide to listen to me blether.
I also took videos at the Transporter Bridge, as well as at Saltburn, to provide you with my own tours of the settings of Secrets. I did the same for the settings of Pillow Talk (Stokesley and Great Ayton) and when I’m feeling particularly brave and technical, I’ll do my best to upload them for you!
I have to beaver away this week on a short story for Radio 4′s “Love in the Afternoon” which will be broadcast in June. I HATE writing short stories – it’ll take me longer to write than it takes me to write a couple of chapters. I think it was Browning or Byron or Someone Else Worthy Beginning With B who said “it would have been shorter had I had more time”. Give me 140,000 words over 2,000 words any day. How on earth can I fit a beginning, a middle and an end into THAT? Grrrrr.
Well, there’s no more stilton or chocolate in the house and I don’t want even a snifter of mulled wine for another 11 months at least… I ate, I drank, I was very merry. But more to the point – how are you guys? I really hope you had a lovely time over the festive season. We had a marvellous trip up north and Santa found us in fine form. Favourite present? A new Radley purse. Oh, and French Lime Blossom potions and lotions by Jo Malone. Christmas Day was stunning – sunny, brisk – and Saltburn beach was the place to be. The tide was right out and there was space aplenty for everyone. There were a few funny looks from people when Felix, Georgia and I plonked down flat on our tums on the pier for a quirky photo! Boxing Day was fun too – with a trip to the Transporter Bridge, which is the key setting for a romantic interlude in the new book, would you believe! New Year’s Eve was a cosy lock-in at our local. Now the kids are back to school, there are two new cats at home, I’m back in the library blogging away… I’ve loads to tell you – but JayBeeCee (the whizz who is masterminding this new website) tells me it’s de-rigeur to keep posts short and sparky. He told me my advice page was too long and wordy…I said bugger that, I’m an author – I work with words, matey. He’s very patient and he humours me kindly. He knows I’d rather do all my writing by quill on parchment. I’ll try and post up new pix – though it may be beyond my technical capabilities and I may have to cry “JayBeeCee…are you busy?!” Hey ho – I’ve only recently turned my hand to blinkin’ bloggin’… and I’m not doing too bad a job, am I?
Well, the last thing I won was probably a gymkhana when I was eight – so to be awarded the Romantic Novel of the Year 2008 for Pillow Talk was an awesome moment in my life. It was going to be a lovely day, whatever the outcome, as it was Georgia’s 5 th birthday and also publication day for the paperback edition of Pillow Talk. I was still in my slummy-mummy uniform of old jeans and jumper half an hour before the taxi arrived but as my lovely friend Jeanette always says: “you do scrub up well, love.”! It was such a thrill being short-listed in January – the first time it has happened for me. I shared the short-list with fellow authors Jojo Moyes, Adele Parks, Catrin Collier, Catherine King and Maureen Lee.
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Well, there’s a bit of catching up for me to do for you… August was a quiet month during which I really knuckled down to Pip – it wasn’t all work and no play, though – Jessica Adams‘s launch party for her wonderful novel “I’m a Believer” was fun. It would have been more fun had I not been in the throes of morning sickness which, for me, was all-day, all-night sickness. I stuck to mineral water but toasted my pal and her publishers. September was exciting with Fen rampaging up the charts. It was thrilling to see her strutting her stuff at no.4 so a big thanks to all of you who helped her on her way. I spoke at the Cheltenham and Guildford literary festivals, both of which were fun and rewarding. I also visited loads of bookshops including many in the Hammicks and Methvens chains – a warm thank you to the staff who give my girls a fantastic helping hand.
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