For my birthday in 1987, I asked a friend for a copy of Roget’s Thesaurus, as I’d heard it was the kind of book writers had on their shelves, and I was at the time working diligently every evening (how times have changed!) on the manuscript which finally got me out of the slush pile.  That story wasn’t accepted, in fact, but it did get a very positive response and a recommendation that I start afresh with a new story, which I did.  On 23rd December 1989 I came home from work at The Observer to find a letter (remember letters?) accepting my first book.  As you can imagine, it was a very jolly Christmas.  (That original manuscript eventually became Oasis of the Heart, in case you’re interested.) 

But back to my thesaurus … The front cover is inscribed to Amelia (yes, my original choice of pseudonym was Amelia Partridge, but Mills & Boon soon put a stop to that!) and continues “I look forward to seeing it well thumbed.”  So well thumbed has it been in the last 20 years, that it finally fell apart last night.  The middle few pages on emotion have been loose for years, and they are all alarmingly yellowed and torn, but now the whole spine has broken in half, which is a bit disconcerting.  I’m hoping it’s not symbolic! 

Otherwise, news is rather thin on the writing front, especially as I have vowed not to whinge about my lack of progress any more – I’m still creeping forwards at a slug’s pace, but that’s the most that can be said.  However, I did get the hardback edition of my July book, Newlyweds of Convenience, a couple of days ago.  The hardbacks are released in the UK a couple of months before the paperbacks, and go to libraries, so it’s usually the first chance to see the cover.  Newlyweds of Convenience is set in a castle in the Highlands of Scotland, and I obligingly sent a photograph of Eilean Donan to give the art department a feel for the setting. 

Here is what I sent...

… and this is what I got.  Yes, a wedding cake. This tells us absolutely nothing about the story.   No hint of the Highlands or the ruined castle or of anything other than a wedding, which doesn’t actually take place in the book – the hero and heroine have been married for five months when the story opens, and in any case it wasn’t a white dress and wedding cake affair.  Oh, well.  I think I used up all my luck on the cover front with Barefoot Bride.

Anyway, I hope people will look beyond the cover and read the story when it comes out in July.   In the meantime, if you’d like to read it now, I’ve got one spare hardback edition to give away, so what about a quick contest for Easter?  I’ve written three books set in Scotland so far: The Beckoning Flame, The Right Kind of Man and Kissing Santa.  If you can tell me the names of the hero and heroine (here's a hint) in any one of these books, you could win an advance read of Newlyweds of Convenience.  Just email me with an answer (don’t forget to include a postal address) and I’ll put your name in a draw for when I return from (yes!) Scotland at the beginning of April.   And this time, there’s a runner up prize of a book of money-off  coupons for Mills & Boon, which are obviously only useful if you live in the UK, so make sure I know where you’re from when you enter.  It’s very hard to tell from email addresses! 

While we’re on the subject of contests, Nikki is always ticking me off for not announcing the results of previous ones, so here  are the winners so far this year: Karen Phillips won the Elizabeth Rolls contest, Anne Lane won a copy of Promoted: to Wife and Mother, and Diane Newland won a copy of Mothers Wanted.  You could be next, so have a poke around the website to find an answer and have a go …  Oh, and if you’re in a competitive mood, it’s not too late to enter the contest on the Harlequin Romance Authors blog either – you could win a copy of To Love and To Cherish by Jennie Adams.  Good luck!