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Book Crossing
I wondered if any of you were aware of Book Crossing. It started back in March of 2001 and now gets about 300 new members every day, is mentioned in Wikipedia, and has given the Concise Oxford English Dictionary a new word. Over the past 7 years, BookCrossing claims to have captured the passion and imagination of over 740,000  people worldwide who help to spread the love of books through http://www.bookcrossing.com/

So what is book crossing exactly?

Pick one of your own books you are willing to give away. Click on "register book" under the "My Shelf" tab. [If you can't see the "My Shelf" tab at the top of the page, you may need to log in to the site.] Follow the prompts to register the book and generate a BCID (BookCrossing ID).

Write the BCID in ink inside the cover. Add a label or write the BookCrossing info. You can add some additional markings, stickers, notes, etc to make the book noticeable, if you wish. One Book, One BCID.

Release the Book into the wild.

You’ll receive email notification whenever someone makes a journal entry on a book you've released. You can also check your Bookshelf page on a regular basis to see all the entries on your books. And if you find one yourself, you can read it, then send it on its journey again. Great fun!Several of my books are out there in the wild, and I love to get notification of how far they’ve travelled. There’s a copy of Dancing on Deansgate which was released on 24 October at about 3pm. At the Visitors Center in Aberfoyle,

Work In Progress
I’ve just delivered the sequel to House of Angels. The title is When Angels Weep and concentrates on Livia who becomes very involved in the suffragette movement. Don’t look for it in the shops until next year though, but start with the first book, which is in your libraries in hardback now and will be out in paperback in the spring.

My next project is a sequel for Hostage Queen.

Libraries
Library borrowings are up again.  I'm thrilled to be now ranked as number 60 in the list of most borrowed authors in the UK. In the top 10 of saga writers.

Speaking of libraries, I saw a lovely piece in the news which said that Stranraer library was holding a little celebration for one of their clients, Louise Brown, originally from Castle Douglas.  She is 91, and has just borrowed her 25,000 book.  Her average take out is 6 books a week and she has never paid an overdue fine.  How about that for a record?

Here are a couple of pictures of the talks I did at Maryport, Whitehaven and Millom.  I also spoke at the Ulverston Townswomen Guild Anniversary Lunch.  I thoroughly enjoyed meeting you all, ladies.

                 Whitehaven Library                                              Millom

Spring  2006

Spring 2005