Archive for April, 2007

April 5, 2007 | 2 Comments

I am so excited …I just received an email from Lovereading.co.uk to find it recommending and reviewing my friend, Rosy Thornton’s, debut novel, More Than Love Letters, which is published in paperback by Headline Review this month. The novel has already had a glowing review in the Daily Telegraph and Lovereading has an extract to download.

They say: “This is a really funny, heartwarming book you will not want to put down.” Naturally, I agree and having read the novel in draft form - a bound ms is sitting on my shelf - I feel a special bond with it. This book is unlike any other I have ever read. For anyone feeling cynical about publishing and thinking that original writers who are total ‘unknowns’ have no chance of having their books published, MTLL will come as a breath of fresh air. Rosy sticks to her guns, she writes the books she wants to write, about issues that matter to her and in her own unique style.

Like a number of friends I have met via the web, Rosy began writing fiction as a result of watching the BBC adaptation of North & South. Two of us have so far been published as a result and I hope more will be soon. You can read Rosy’s article ‘From fanfic to published novels’ on the Birmingham Words website here.

April 3, 2007 | 3 Comments

I’m posting this tonight while ‘Mr B’ watches the UEFA cup highlights. You see, tomorrow is a special day for us: it’s our 20th wedding anniversary. I realise this gives away my age but we really did marry young. Honest, guv! We have just had a celebratory weekend in London and tomorrow we are going out for a meal en famille.
We had a church wedding in the village where we now live and the weather was, to be honest, pretty dire. It was windy, cold and wet - and my bridesmaids, in Laura Ashley pink, were also blue with cold. I wore a Laura Ashley frock too. I stil love my dress but compared to the sleek, elegant styles now, it does look a trifle large. Or should that be a meringue? The dramatic effect was accentuated by the hoop underskirt loaned to me by one of my bridesmaids who was starring at the time as Laurey in Oklahoma! You can see the metal crinoline hoop in some of the pictures but not this one, in which, Mr B is deliberately blurred to protect his (then and now) innocence.

The church was packed and the vicar said afterwards, they had taken the biggest collection ever. Knowing our guests, this must have meant some people came along by mistake. Then we all headed off to the local pub whch had a roaring fire, where my bridesmaids, Jan, Joy and Sally, fought it out to see who could get closest to the flames to defrost. Other guests slunk off to try and find out who had won the Grand National.
Later, we headed off via Luton airport for two weeks in Majorca which in April, was rather beautiful, sunny and peaceful. Despite the weather, it had all been a wonderful day that whizzed by in a moment.

Twenty years on we are still married and dare I say it, I have been lucky to have a very HEA. We still see our bridesmaids, best man and guests regularly (all but a few are still with us) and we now have Ms B too.
Happy 20th Anniversary, Mr Bennet,

ILY

P xxxx

PS: April 4th 2007: Thank you for the red roses. x