Pics and a LIVE EVENT!

Here are some pics of the Pure Passion Awards launch I was at last week (in all their garish hugeness - the diet's going well, by the way!)



Posing with book - it still feels surreal that people want to know what I look like!



All books and grins - even though it was freezing! The shortlisted authors for the 2010 RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award (whoop!): (left to right Santa Montefiore, me, Lucy Dillon, Louise Bagshawe, Jean Fullerton and Rachel Hore.

I'm also speaking at an event this Sunday 21st Feb at Calvary Church, Stallings Lane, Kingswinford, West Midlands DY6 7HS! I'll be talking about Fairytale of New York and will be singing a track from my forthcoming album About Time. For more details, click here It's FREE and you'll even get a nice cuppa and biscuit at the end. I'm happy to sign books, too - or just have a chinwag! Come along if you're in the area - it would be lovely to see you!

Woo-hoo!! I made the Shortlist!!!

Yes, I can now finally reveal the most amazing news so far... I made the shortlist of the RNA's Romantic Novel of The Year Award 2010!!!

I travelled down to London this week for the official unveiling of the shortlist authors - a completely surreal experience but great fun! I could hardly believe that I had been chosen to rub shoulders with the brilliant calibre of writers on the shortlist... All were lovely and it was a great morning. Looking forward to the Pure Passion Awards lunch on 16th March, now!

(Oh and apologies for the photo - not quite sure why I'm the only person pulling an odd face and looking like a half-floral mammoth... ah well, I have a great face for books!!! Another - slightly less scary - pic here...)

Being shortlisted for this award means the world to me because the Romantic Novelists' Association is such a wonderful organisation and true champion of romantic fiction. To be recognised by them is phenomenal - something I couldn't even have dreamed could be possible. I've followed the Romantic Novel of the Year award for the past few years because it stands for the very best in romantic fiction writing - so to see Fairytale of New York amongst the nominees is beyond fantastic.

(I make no apologies for gushing, by the way. I'm ridiculously excited!!)

So... in other news, Welcome to My World is now written! (woo-hoo!) I've just started structural edits and I have to say, I'm incredibly pleased with how it's going already. More on this, soon!

Fairytale of New York has, to date, sold 99,211 copies - how crazy is that?! Thank you so much to everyone who has so kindly bought my book. To think that in only three months (since publication) my novel has gone from my little romantic story to Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller and now RNA Romantic Novel of the Year shortlisted book is totally nuts!!! It just goes to prove that the dream is possible - so if you're dreaming of one day seeing your novel being sold in bookshops, keep believing!
*takes deep breath, attempts to calm down. FAILS!*

So I have the posh frock sorted for the awards lunch... All I need now are the shoes and a rather large piece of string to tether me to something immovable, seeing as I appear to be floating permanently in the clouds at the moment! :o)

Amazing sales, nominations, awards and a sparkly new cover...

Well, it's been a bit of a crazy couple of weeks...

Fairytale of New York has completely surpassed any of my expectations (bearing in mind I thought selling 500 would be brilliant...) - to date, it's sold over 60,000 copies and stayed in the Sunday Times Top 10 Bestsellers for a whole month!

I've also been nominated for an award! I heard a couple of weeks ago that I had made the longlist for the Romantic Novelists' Association's Romantic Novel of the Year Award 2010! You can read more about it here... I'm thrilled to bits to be longlisted - it's more than I ever thought was possible - and means so much to have been recognised by the RNA. I have to wait until Febraury to find out if Fairytale of New York has been shortlisted, but I'm just so chuffed to have made it this far! Keeping everything crossed, though :o)

I was amazed to hear that Fairytale has also just won its first award! The lovely ladies at www.chicklitreviews.com voted the delectable Ed Steinmann from Fairytale of New York as BEST MALE CHARACTER! It's wonderful because Ed was always my favourite character and I wanted other people to love him as much as I did. See all the winners here And here's the award!



Woo-hoo!

And last, but by no means least, here is the thoroughly gorgeous, sparkly new cover for my second book, Welcome to my World, which will be published at the end of 2010...



How lovely is that?!!