No, I'm not going to dye my hair blue in 2024 to shake things up a bit, but I am delighted to share the news that there are changes afoot in my life! So get your sunglasses on and be prepared to be dazzled... ok so I might be overdoing things a little, but I'm excited so please bear with me. But first a bit of background...

My publisher Joffe took over Choc Lit’s author list of around 250 titles in 2023 and is renowned for discovering new talent and positioning overlooked books in the path of new readers. Their expertise is focused on the digital market, with a special emphasis on marketing and design. Their strategy has been so successful that they won the PBShop Trade Publisher of the Year in 2023 and is now the leading independent publisher in the UK. It was inevitable their attention would eventually fall on my back list...

On the evening of 8th March, 2021, the Romantic Novelists’ Association hosted the online Romantic Novel Awards event. The presentations of these prestigious awards are usually held at a grand establishment somewhere "up country" to Cornwall. However, due to the Covid restrictions, this year the event was held entirely online and live streamed via Twitter, Facebook and the RNA’s website. This meant that although I was a finalist, I didn't have to cross Cornwall's border to take part.

An online event does not just happen. A lot of hard work goes into organising it which, thankfully, in this case I had nothing to do with. It started in December, when I received the wonderful news, via my publisher, that my novel, Daniel’s Daughter, had been shortlisted for the historical romantic fiction category. The notification came in December, but I, along with all the other finalists, were sworn to secrecy until it was formally announced in February. The online event on the 8th March was to announce the winners. As one of the finalists, I am going to take you behind the scenes of the event as I share my experience.

I am thrilled to share my latest release - The Cornish Tales box set!

When I was shown the image of the Cornish Tales box set by my publisher, I'm not ashamed to say I was a little emotional. Of course I knew I'd written six novels set in my home county of Cornwall and I also knew the image of the box set was about to arrive in my inbox at any minute, but when it eventually arrived and I saw my books all lined up in a pretty case... well that sight did stir something within me...

At the end of 2020, just when lockdown restrictions were tightening across the country again and an atmosphere of doom and gloom had returned to dampen the festive period, I received the most amazing news from my publisher. I was informed that my sixth novel in the Cornish Tales series, Daniel’s Daughter, was a FINALIST for the Romantic Novelists Association’s HISTORICAL ROMANTIC NOVEL AWARD!

This week I parted company from a dear 'friend'. For almost six years this 'friend' has been in the back of my mind. Entertaining and interesting, this 'friend' fostered both affection and loyalty from me - although at times it also caused me to want to tear my hair out due to its occasional habit of throwing a surprising tantrum at me. This friend was not a person or an animal but a blog which shared the musings, experiences and tips of seven writers (of which I was one).  Over the years the blog paid back my hours of writing by providing me with many new friends. Its contributors and readers have changed over the years, a natural development which also provides the catalyst for fresh content and a new perspective on the writing world. After many years as a contributor it is now my time to leave the blog so another writer can take my place. What is the name of this blog? Why am I leaving? And what do I mean when I say tantrums? Read on to find out.

Bookseller Announcment

Jasper Joffe, CEO of leading independent publisher Joffe Books, has acquired my publisher Choc Lit! Choc Lit was founded in 2009 and has developed a reputation for quality romance, winning awards and discovering new authors so it came as a big surprise to learn that Joffe Books will be taking over Choc Lit’s list of approximately 250 titles, including my Cornish Tales Series and Waiting For Our Rainbow. Surprising news... but also exciting!

The acquisition was announced to the public through the Bookseller on 29th March, 2023. In the press release Jasper Joffe is quoted as saying...

The shelves of book shops are filled with tantalising reads and sometimes it seems that you can't go into a shop, any type of shop, without there being a book section in some form or other. Sometimes it seems there are too many genres, too many authors and not enough space to display them all. With so many books on offer, it may come as a surprise to learn that not all books make it into paperback. Why, I hear you ask?

I'm excited to share the details and inspiration for my eighth historical romance, The Paris Affair! The Paris Affair tells the story of Charlotte Bray who volunteers her French speaking skills to the War Office during WW2. Quickly accepted, she leaves her home in Cornwall for London, not realising that it is the first step on an adventurous, but ultimately dangerous journey to Nazi occupied Paris as a Special Operations Executive agent. Pierre Lesieur, a handsome Frenchman, is with her every step of the way, either by her side or in her head. Unfortunately it appears he is not necessarily on her side. Can she trust him? Can he rely on her?