Happy New...you know the rest

Well, here we are in 2010, or 'twenty-ten' as everyone seems to be calling it. It's the day after my birthday (I got very spoiled) the TV is full of ads for diets and holidays, people have dumped their Christmas trees on the street (it's not even Epiphany yet!! I thought The Lord was supposed to strike you down if you de-decorate early) and the kids' rooms are littered with Christmas plastic. I just stood on Buzz Lightyear - it REALLY hurt.

Still, I refuse to be downcast. The UK proofs for The Botticelli Secret arrived in the post and now I'm starting to proofread. This is quite a fiddly process and quite painstaking, and will be impossible to concentrate upon fully til the kids go back to school, as you can't copy out minute proofreading heiroglyphics while simultaneously trying to referee an argument about who's got the most mini marshmallows on their hot chocolate. The fun bit is getting to read a book you haven't read since you wrote it. If you're lucky you'll enjoy it and thankfully that's the case here. I'm actually getting caught up in the story, so that's a great relief. The plot is very different to my past books as it's much more of a thriller/treasure hunt as the characters race to decode the meaning of a Botticelli painting. Its actually great to be in the company of my heroine again - Chi-chi, full time prostitute and part-time artist's model - I love her so much I have a feeling I'll be featuring her again some day.

One funny thing about a career as a writer is how your books begin to overlap each other. I've just been working on my fourth book, set in eighteenth-century Siena at the end of the Medici empire, and now I'm temporarily back in fifteenth-century Florence for Botticelli when the Medicis were at their most powerful. Plus, as The Glassblower of Murano has now just become available on iTunes (check it out if, like me, you find it hard to find actual reading time!) I've just been listening to the 'voice' of my very first heroine, set in modern day Venice. Confusing. Incidentally, Kate Magowan, who brings Glassblower's Leonora beautifully to life in the recording, is married to John Simm, who I've just seen all over the Christmas TV as the scenery-chewing Master in Dr Who. So not only time periods but universes too are collapsing and colliding!

Bad blogger

Just realized I've not actually mentioned a lovely visit I had to Waterstone's Bishop's Stortford...It was on the same night that Nick Griffin was on Question time and I'm happy to report that I had an easier time than he did. A really good discussion with local book groups, very interesting questions and we echoed Question Time to a certain extent with a foray into the issue of immigration (with reference to the Jewish strand of banking and moneylending in Madonna of the Almonds) Thanks very much to Valda and her colleagues who sent me away with a bottle of wine and a copy of Ghostwalk, both of which which I'm currently devouring.

US Cover for Botticelli Secret

Here's the US cover for my upcoming third novel The Botticelli Secret, published first in March in the US and in May in the UK. I'm very excited about this one because it's a bit different from my previous novels, much more adventure/ treasure hunt based, a lot bawdier (!) and with a heroine I love so much I actually miss her! I've also illustrated the book myself (inside I mean - can't take credit for the cover art!)

Blenheim Palace

On Sunday I had the great pleasure of speaking at Blenheim palace, with Shelagh Foyle, the perfumer at Floris. We'd been invited to be a part of the 4th Independent Woodstock Literary Festival and it was truly amazing driving up through the grounds to the palace. We were taken to a beautiful green room and given refreshments (and goody bags!) until it was time for our event. We were taken to a beautiful room hung with immense paintings and spoke in turn about how the book and the perfume 'Madonna of the Almonds' came about. We got a very friendly reception,and Shelagh had every one spellbound with her perfume masterclass! Many thanks to those who came to see us, and the organizers of the event.

Earlier in the day I was at Warwick University signing copies of both books at a trade fair. It was great meet all the independent booksellers who have been supporting both books in what has been a very difficult economic year for small bookstores. I also was delighted to see Sara from Pocklington, and Christine and Jo from Colne, bookseller friends I have made at previous events. Thanks to Michael, Andy, Neil and all the Turnaround team who are responsible for physically getting the books out to shops around the country. Without you, I wouldn't have the best job in the world!

Back on tour!

Hello everyone and apologies for being an incredibly lazy blogger. Just been dormant for a bit for children's summer break but now they're back at school and I'm back touring with my second book The Madonna of the Almonds. This week I was up in Lancs for an event organized by two fantastic book-loving ladies called Christine and Jo who run the The Bookshop in Colne. We had a lovely Italian meal in a canal side restaurant, and I met some great people and talked my head off! As always there were some very interesting questions following my talk and we discussed different aspects of the book. I also had the great pleasure of meeting Mary, who runs the mobile library which my Mum visits. I'm a big fan of mobile libraries, I think they are so important in rural communities like the little Dales village where my Mum lives, especially for the old and infirm. It's so important that everyone can get access to books, wherever they live, whatever their age.
This week I'm back at home working on my next book which is set in Siena. I'm just going through all the photos from my research trip-slash-family holiday (!) in the summer, and pining for Italy. The Dutch version of Madonna has just arrived in the post, and my UK publishers Beautiful Books are now discussing cover art with me for my next book The Botticelli Secret....all very exciting, can't wait to see it.

Notes from a whirlwind tour!

I'm busily touring the country to launch The Madonna of the Almonds, and it's been really terrific so far...(though exhausting) I must say I've been so impressed by how many enthusiastic and intelligent readers there are out there and also how many dedicated, bookloving booksellers who run tiny bookshops covering huge areas of the countryside with wonderful bookgroups and personal recommendations and events. Also it's amazing and heartening how many organisers of literary festivals give their time for nothing. It's been a real pleasure to meet readers and sellers alike; each time I give a talk I've had so many interesting questions about the books and some very lively discussions so although I'm pretty exhausted It's been a great experience and I've met with kindness everywhere. So thanks (so far) to Sara at the Lincoln Book festival, Mark at Mostly Books in Abingdon for a wonderful Italian evening. Thanks to Sara at Simply Books, who arranged a beautiful Amaretto themed dinner in Pocklington church, right down to tiny golden bags of sugared almonds! Thank you Sandy at Kingston Book festival who gives so much of her time to organising the festival, and the wonderful staff at Borders there. And last but not least, to Nash and Cate at the wonderful Much Ado Books in Alfriston, who kindly invited me to their supper club, where I had a wonderful meal (complete with handmade almond bookmarks!) and a very interesting discussion, not just about Madonna but many many other books as well. As I said, I'm having a great time so far...more next week!

Glassblower US

The Glassblower of Murano officially launched in the US on Wednesday - out now from St Martin's Press. Welcome to any readers from the States out there in cyberspace!