I’ve been able to work from home, have a secure roof over my head, my family is safe – I can’t complain. Yes, it’s been tough but this pandemic has made me even more grateful for the ordinary things like laughter over a board game, a walk in the park, a good cup of coffee.

A sense of community has come to the fore. Like many others, I’ve given to a food bank and enrolled in a pen pal scheme to connect with those who are alone. A sense of kindness has emerged, perhaps stronger than when, under usual circumstances, we are all wrapped up with leading our busy lives – along with huge appreciation for keyworkers, like those in the NHS and schools, and for the people who deliver our post, work in shops and empty our bins, out there on the frontline. And I’ve seen, first hand, the amazing work happening in care homes.

If something good comes out of this it will be that we’ve connected with who – and what – in our lives is truly important. Let’s hope we don’t forget.

Professionally speaking it has certainly been a good year, even though I’ve really missed meeting up with my agent, publishing team and writer friends. I’ve had four books published, The Summer Island Swap and The Winter We Met, along with the Czech versions of Game of Scones and its sequel My Big Fat Christmas Wedding – that’s been very exciting!

Also, back in March, I was thrilled to win the RNA’s inaugural Jackie Collins Romantic Thriller Award for Knowing You, at a glitzy ceremony in London, the last time I went out to a big social gathering.

And I’ve finished writing my next novel, Summer Secrets at Streamside Cottage, out on April 15th.

It’s been another wonderful year for connecting with readers – thank you for your support, the great reviews and messages have meant the world. I’ve felt humbled that my stories have provided a form of warm, cosy escape, especially this year.

It’s also been a great year for discovering fabulous books and I’ve got to know more authors. Check out the beautiful contemporary romances by Katie Ginger, Jessica Redland and Sandy Barker to mention but a few. Oh, and the awesome Zoe Folbigg!

Here’s to 2021 and eventually finding a higher degree of normality. Every year has its good, bad, and ugly moments and this year that has applied a thousand times over.

However, I’m four years sober soon and I can promise you two things:

bad times DO always pass

and

you come out of them stronger than before.

Aren’t these books gorgeous?!

As a graduate of Modern Languages it is fantastic to see my work translated.

The sequel, My Big Fat Christmas Wedding will be published there in October!

When I found out, a while back, that my book Knowing You, from publisher Canelo, had been shortlisted that was exciting enough. I genuinely never expected to win as all the other contenders in this category were so strong.

It was a glittering event, with sparkles on dresses and in glasses, held at the Leonardo Royal London City hotel in Tower Bridge, London. I got there very early with my husband, so in my black faux fur coat I headed off to Starbucks for a fortifying hot chocolate. We got back to the hotel at 5 and I headed upstairs for the formal photographs. Then my husband, along with everyone else, came up at 6.30.

What a wonderful ceremony. Charming Anton du Beke from Strictly Come Dancing was there, as a nominee, along with author legends Sophie Kinsella and Carole Matthews, and comedian and author Jenny Eclair presented the awards. The wonderful Jane Wenham-Jones, looking amazing as usual, hosted.

My award was handed to me by Jackie Collins’ granddaughter – an absolute honour. I am so thrilled (no pun intended), however tenuous the link, to be connected to her inspirational grandmother.

The ceremony passed in a daze – I sat there, feeling a little tearful I admit, and just so happy, wondering how this could have happened. Writing is an up and down career and the moments like this make it worthwhile.  Here I am with my husband, and agent Clare Wallace from the Darley Anderson agency.

Then we enjoyed a lovely buffet and everyone mingled, catching up with friends.

I’m so grateful to my agent, husband and children for the support they’ve shown me over recent years. It’s been a difficult time. As regular readers of this blog know, I’ve faced and tackled mental health issues since 2016 – and the eating challenges I’ve struggled with still rear their head from time to time, especially around events like this which, whilst exciting, tap into any body image/dysmorphia insecurities.

But I forced myself to face my fears, just like I did for the event last year when I was shortlisted, and I’m so glad I did.

And you can too as long as you keep telling yourself the truth – that fears are just that, and not actual fact

The winner will be announced at a fancy ceremony in London, on the 2nd March – so I’d better get dress shopping!

I’m looking forwards to seeing lots of friends there, and enjoying a night out with my husband, agent, and my publisher Canelo.

Jenny Eclair will be presenting the awards, and Anton Du Beke has also been nominated in another category!

It’s such an honour to have even a tenuous link to an author, and woman, like Jackie Collins, and I couldn’t be happier.

And to celebrate Knowing You has been discounted to 99p for a limited time!

Here I am, alongside the other nominees!

The first novel, a Christmas one, will be published this October and a summer story will follow next year.

I am so excited to share these two books with you and to work with the amazing Aria team.

Both books will come out in ebook, paperback and audio format.

Exciting times ahead!

The evening kicked off with photos being taken of the nominees. Then there was a mix and mingle session before we all took our seats and nervously waited for names to be read out.

I didn’t win but it was such an honour to be shortlisted in the romantic Comedy category, for my book One Summer in Rome – something I would  have fantasised about during my years as an aspiring writer!

I attended the event with my amazing agent, Clare Wallace from the Darley Anderson Agency, and greatly admired her gorgeous leopard print outfit!

My outfit was down to the choice of two. The other – a floral jacket with black trousers – kept suffering a massive wardrobe malfunction at the front, so I went for the safer option… a lace dress with sensible shoes, having suffered badly in the past from walking to and from events in the highest of heels. Yes, I have reached an age where comfort outweighs vanity!

There was much laughter, many canapes and it was a brilliant opportunity to catch up with writing friends I haven’t seen for a long time. A fantastic evening to celebrate such a diverse and popular genre and all supported by some very generous sponsors.

As readers of my blog will know, I’ve faced a challenging couple of years health-wise, and just attending this ceremony, in itself, was incredible – I guess dreams really can come true.

Next week I’ll be blogging about the mental health challenges I’ve faced over the last couple of years that brought about this new direction. I reached a point where I said to my agent I just don’t think I can write romantic comedy any more. It’s not in me. The spark has gone. Deep within I felt a seriousness, a weight, even though my mental health was improving. And a kind of clarity that something inside me had shifted and my writing needed to reflect that.

That’s the thing. Us authors write from the heart. I’ve passionately written all of those nine previous books but just didn’t have the same motivation as the weeks became months in 2017. It would have been impossible. Which is kind of ironic as I’d always thought of myself as a very commercially-minded author, but if you’d offered me a million pounds I couldn’t have come up with the goods.

However I did have an idea for a book with characters I could relate to. A mental health problem can create turmoil within a family – and with friends and sometimes the community, as is the case with the protagonist Emma in Forgive Me Not… before I knew it I’d sketched out character profiles and a plot.

But the story wasn’t funny. The main thrust of it wasn’t romantic. I wasn’t sure how my writing style would fit this new genre. I wasn’t sure if I was up to writing in a new way with no one-liners, nor a humorous tone. I didn’t know if my readers would follow me along my new path.

But I had to do it. So with the guidance of my incredible agent I started. And it was tough. The first draft virtually needed to be scratched and I almost gave up. But a writer’s heart is a powerful tool. It kept nudging me and eventually I began again with renewed passion.

It was a nerve-wracking process sending out the manuscript to editors and a particularly emotional moment came when I read the email in which my new editor, Michael Bhaskar, expressed his passion for, and belief in, my new project. With his expertise the manuscript was polished further. When I saw the fantastic cover the Canelo team created everything fell into place and I felt that this genre was where my work – at the moment anyway – should be.

Now the whole creative process for that story is over I can see that the new book is still “me”. I feel there’s an underlying warmth that is the signature of my previous books. And I’m absolutely thrilled with the early reactions I’ve had to Emma’s story. It’s early days but perhaps this is going to go okay!

So, I guess what I’m saying is, don’t be afraid to follow your heart. I’ve always believed that someone’s greatest achievements don’t come from the comfort zone and that an author must continually set themselves challenges. It is too easy to become complacent, especially if you find a degree of success. Although that doesn’t necessarily mean changing genre – for example, in One Summer In Rome a character is blind, and it took research and care to write their story. And my author friends and favourite writers never cease to amaze me with the innovative story after story they come up with.

It’s been a scary twelve months. I’m an author with bills to pay, it’s my career, and I have a lovely loyal readership for my comedy writing. One might say this change of direction is something of a risk. Yet I feel it’s too easy to become pigeon-holed as a writer. I recently attended an evening with Matt Haig who has written fiction, non-fiction, children’s stories… and I find that very inspiring. I’ve written many stories from a child’s point of view for The People’s Friend magazine and have often felt a hankering to write a novel for youngsters. And now I’m thinking well… why not?

Humans change over time – I’m not the same person I was twenty, ten, five or even two years ago – so it’s perhaps, naive, to expect our writing not to change as well.

Within the publishing industry romance authors are sometimes faced with a negative attitude regarding their lighter, Happy Ever After work. It’s a view I don’t understand. Romance is one of the most prolific and sustained genres that industry has known. And Mother Nature has, after all, wired us to seek a partner and pleasure.

Personally I believe feel-good stories are incredibly important. They offer a break and a sense of escapism, for readers. What’s more, the characters, the themes are often relatable and providing a positive ending, a positive handling of these subjects can offer a degree of solace to readers suffering the same problems.

Nothing makes my day more than reader feedback saying that my work has, for a few hours, made their life more cheerful or inspired them to change their own life.

So here are a few of the many ways you can add in the feel-good factor to your light contemporary romance novel.

Your main character is crucial and at all costs avoid avoid her/him being too complaining. This is something I struggled with for a long time, with the early manuscripts I wrote before I got my first publishing deal. It’s important, over the course of a story, to see a the main character undergo some sort of change (otherwise what is the point of the journey?) and often this means them being faced with a set of challenges they must overcome.

Goodness, during my first attempts at novel-writing this meant they used to whinge. It’s okay for a character to moan – but for the feel-good factor make sure you demonstrate their positive traits as well. The reader needs to see them trying to help themselves improve their situation by taking action, by trying to see the bright side, but not giving up, by showing courage and determination – or if they can’t do this to start with, make them likeable in some other way. Perhaps they are especially kind.  It’s very important in the opening chapters. In real life we’d readily provide a listening ear to family and friends who are going through tough times. We don’t expect them to see the cheery side. But the reader isn’t emotionally invested with your character during those first pages, so bear this in mind and make sure he/she has redeeming features. I mean, which sort of upset stranger would you prefer to spend your time with? A person crying and ruing all the mistakes they have made – or someone blowing their nose, putting their tissue away and drawing up plans to start over?

If your character really is in a position where they can’t help themselves, the feel-good factor can be added in by giving them a dose of self-deprecating or dark humour. It has never ceased to amaze me, during the course of my life, that at the most challenging times humans can see the humour in darkness and that contributes to helping them get through. I recently underwent counselling and the group therapy sessions were often filled with laughter even though each person in there was struggling to take control of their life and get better.

A sense of community – this is a sure-fire way of creating a sense of wellbeing within your book. In my 2015 bestseller Game of Scones, for example, villagers pulled together to save their economically failing businesses. The feel-good factor is created by people helping each other in the face of adversity – by formal rivals swallowing their differences for the greater good. By self-less neighbourly acts being committed. Having a community pull together will have the reader rooting for a wider cast and the setting. The ending will warm readers hearts even more if it doesn’t purely focus on bringing together the heroine and hero. And that community doesn’t necessarily need to be geographical – it could, to take the group therapy as an example, be a set of people pulling together – school parents, colleagues, whatever.

This ties in with another factor – have your protagonists overcome adversity. This will get the reader cheering for them from the sidelines and when your characters reach their goal the reader will feel an immense and rewarding sense of satisfaction. Perhaps they need to overcome an emotional problem like anxiety. Maybe they have set up a business and it becomes a success. Perhaps they finally stand up to a difficult boss. Take my debut, Doubting Abbey. Abbey has to pass herself off as an aristocrat. Even though she is really a down-to-earth pizza waitress, she must outwit and charm the posh folk. In One Summer In Rome  the challenges of facing disability and prejudice must be overcome. In Game of Scones Pippa gives up the rat race and seeks the simple life on a Greek island – will she be able to adapt to life without her executive luxuries?

Goodies – that’s the best word I have for adding things to your novel that make people feel great. We’re talking… beautiful locations like sunny Italy or scrumptious Cornwall. How about setting your novel in a cake shop? Yes it’s been done before but I don’t think those locations will ever stop a book being more appealing. Talking of food, mozzarella, tomato, cheese… One Summer In Rome is set in a cosy pizzeria – what could make you feel better than that?! Oh, and pets. Warm scenes can often be created with animals. In The New Beginnings Coffee Club a small kitten helps turn around the life of a little girl. And there is a micro pig called Frazzle for added cuteness in Mistletoe Mansion. In One Summer In Rome a stray dog reveals a hidden kind side to a rather aggressive character. “Goodies” will leave the reader glowing from tip to toe.

Best of luck! If your story makes you feel good then there’s no doubt it will the reader too!

The story was inspired by my trip to Italy last year. Rome is so beautiful, as you can see from this photo…

…and as for the food! Is it any wonder the book is set in a family-run pizzeria?!

One memorable evening we ate a meal in Piazza Navona, where One Summer in Rome is set. The waiter was not impressed by how quickly we ate and wanted to order the following course. He said “Piano! Piano!”  – slowly!

I ordered a selection plate of puddings for dessert, expecting them to be three small slices. They were actually huge (bigger than they look in this photo) and I couldn’t stop laughing.

Below is the blurb. I’m very excited about sharing this story which will be out on 9th May 2018!

To Rome…with love?

Mary Smith is turning her very ordinary life upside-down! She’s bought herself a one-way ticket to Rome and is ready for a summer she’ll never forget.

Men might be off the cards for waitress Mary, but within hours of arriving at the utterly charming family-run La Dolce Vita pizzeria, she’s already fallen in love with the bustling capital!

Only Dante Rossi, the mysterious (and drop-dead gorgeous) chef seems displeased with her arrival. And in the heat of the kitchen, it doesn’t take long for long-buried secrets to surface and sparks to fly…

A deliciously heartwarming romance to have you dreaming of summer. Perfect for fans of Debbie Johnson and Caroline Roberts.

PREORDER NOW!

My conclusion? Delicious! I was so glad I’d made that choice. What a journey. The first mouthful really did taste of lavender, with tiny purple fragrant flowers in the icing. As I continued, I detected a kind of ginger flavour, followed by a more usual sponge taste. After another bite a distinct zing of TCP wowed me (for non UK residents that is a antiseptic wash!). It was one surprise after another,  held together by the underlying familiar flavours and textures I expect from cake.

And this made me think of commercial (not literary) writing. It can be a frustrating business, trying to get that first deal. You write something different and publishers say booksellers won’t be able to place it on their shelves. So you try creating something more in tune with what is popular at the moment and agents call it derivative and won’t take it on.

I believe the only way to write is from the heart, and I do that, but at the same time I want to make enough sales to earn a living, so I keep an eye on the market. This doesn’t mean selling my authorly soul but, to my mind, as someone who depends on writing to pay the bills, it means offering readers more of the same – that they love – to attract them to the book, but then something different inside (so that they don’t feel it is “just another read” of that genre.)

I mean, if that cake had been sold in a wrapper that said “Yes, it actually does taste of lavender, with added zings of ginger and TCP”, to be honest, I’m not sure I would have risked it! The cake simply had a really appealing title and honey made it sound comforting and familiar. Plus it looked good, so I couldn’t resist.

Take my award-winning summer 2015 novel, Game of Scones. Originally it was set in heaven – don’t ask! In retrospect my editor was jolly polite in the manner that she turned it down! Even I roll my eyes when I look back. What on earth was I thinking? It would have totally alienated readers who’d enjoyed my 3 previous non – paranormal romcoms. But I was determined to use that title, I loved it so much, so eventually, I came up with an idea I was even more passionate about – a romance starring very exotic scones, an English teashop on a Greek island of all places and subjects such as the Syrian refugee crisis. A holiday love story, yes – but with a difference.

And this is what I’m hoping I’ve done with my latest summer release, out now, The New Beginnings Coffee Club. I’m thrilled with the many reviews that have mentioned the shocks and surprises within the story and aspects of life they never thought would be covered in such a book.

I’ve covered subjects that are close to my heart – that I am passionate about. Otherwise, as an author, what is the point? But I have kept close to my usual style, not in a cynical way, but because I love my readers and want them to continue enjoying my work. If I want a growing audience for the subjects that inspire me then I have to think of the best way to keep loyal readers happy, whilst still attracting new ones to my work.

Of course, it’s a risk, trying something different. And all of us authors get our fair share of bad reviews – not everyone will like your work. And if you write some very different, that publishers and agents decide is too much of a risk for them to take on – and your heart is 100% in it – there is nothing to stop you from self-publishing. I am in awe of some self-pubbed authors out there, who’ve got to grips with the necessary technology and enjoyed great success. And there are always those break-out books, taken on by traditional publishers. that inspire a new genre – like Harry Potter, Twilight and Fifty Shades. There is nothing to say that your story couldn’t be one of those.

I can only speak for myself, and my personal goal is to – hopefully – give the majority of those readers, who click the buy button, a literary slice of lavender and honey cake. The unexpected within the expected. Good luck with whatever path you take with your writing. That’s the great thing with the digital revolution – there are now so many routes.