The 50 Books Party was a huge success and I had a wonderful time, so feel as if I have been well and truly celebrated!  The champagne cocktails were fabulous.  I’m not sure if you can see in the photograph but a friend gave me a box of the sweetest pink and white sugar hearts, which I used instead of a sugar cube at the bottom of every glass.  They were soaked in brandy and then topped up with champagne, and I can absolutely recommend them as a way to get a party going! 

There was no chance to take photos during the party itself, and anyway they would have just been a load of backs, so we took some right at the beginning...

We kicked off the proceedings with a bottle of gold champagne which a friend had brought – it had tiny flakes of edible gold in it, so that made a pretty spectacular beginning.  That’s me opening it, and loving every minute.

I had all 50 books lined up on the mantelpiece too, and posed with them feeling – and looking! – very pleased with myself before everyone arrived. 

I was wearing my jewelled sandals, and you know, I think it shows!  There was no chance for photos after that, but I can’t think of a better way to have celebrated than with champagne and good friends.  Many glasses were raised to the next 50 books, so now I feel as if I have to get on and write them so I can earn another party …

Talking of future books, the contest I announced in the last blog - where I announced the results of the Pick Your Own Romance Surcey - is still open, so if you haven’t entered yet, there’s still a chance to be immortalised in print by having a character in my next book named after you! 

Email me your suggestions for names for the charming, laid-back, humorous hero and the sensible and practical heroine, and I’ll do a lucky dip from the entries to see who gets a name check in the book.  If I like your suggestions for the hero or heroine’s names, I’ll make sure a character is named after you, too, so avoid names I’ve already used (which you’ll be able to check in Find A Book) and you’ll be in with double the chance of winning.