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Spring 2007

February
Goodness, 1^st March tomorrow already?  What happened to all those good intentions?  The diet, giving up wine, writing twice as many words a day.  We’ve at least done battle with the weeds and spent most afternoons in February tidying our lovely garden, building small reservoirs around each plant to retain precious water.  We’ve also planted three almond trees, a hazel nut, peach, cherry, pear, an orange, and a grapefruit to provide us with breakfast.  We’ve put them all on a trickle-feed watering system in the hope they might survive even our amateur efforts. 

March/April 
Hi folks, a happy Easter to you all.

Since I seem to be running late, due to excessive work schedule, of course, I’ve opted to combine March with April into one.  I shall be in the UK promoting the new spring title and doing lots of library events (see below) so I’ve got my nose to the computer grindstone trying to spit out as many words on to the page, or rather screen, before I go.  Then when I return, hopefully  refreshed and reinvigorated, I can revise and polish to my heart’s content.  This is the part I love best, moulding and shaping and improving, having sweat the proverbial blood to squeeze the words out of my tired brain in the first place.  It always feels like a miracle that a story can actually grow from these early ramblings.  This story currently undergoing the gestation process is called Who’s Sorry Now, and is about obsession and sibling jealousy.  It will be the fifth in the Champion Street Market Series.  

So what has been happening in Spain this spring?  The most exciting thing is that we have got a ROAD!.  When you buy in rural Andalucia, you learn to accept the lack of certain benefits you previously took for granted, such as a road and a telephone.  Well, one out of two after three and a half years of waiting isn’t a bad average, I suppose.  We are thrilled.  It is not an easy road, even now that it is covered in tarmac, and one of the lorries almost plunged off the end of it into a neighbour’s pool, but at least you can now go up it in something other than a 4x4.  It doesn’t rain much in this part of Spain, being the only designated desert on mainland Europe, but when it does we tend to get flash floods, torrents filling the normally empty river-beds, and roads washed away.  Let’s hope this one is here to stay.  Here is a picture of the Big Yellow Machine doing our entrance on a hot day in March, and one of the road winding away below us, past our neighbour’s house.              

May
Back from a successful trip around the libraries of the NW, David and I are tired but well satisfied with the results.  I got good attendances at all but two events in one-horse towns, with usually around 20 people but some as many as 40 or 50.  I talked to over 300 people, sold over 150 books and was invited to appear on two radio stations: BBC Manchester and Wythenshaw Community Radio.  There was a photographer at each event so you might see my face popping up in several local papers as well as on various websites.  David organised a raffle so lots of signed hardbacks were won.  Events ranged from the ladies who lunch in Cheshire to pie and peas with the old folks in Bury.  Wonderful!  Some people were snapping up 3 and 4 titles.  Amazing!  I never realised I had so many serious fans out there.  I met some marvellous people, many of whom shared their memories with me.  I was deeply moved by one lady who came to thank me for keeping her entertained while she was undergoing chemo.  Escapism fiction is so good for us.  I caught up with a few old friends and even met two of my ex-Girl Guides.  Now that did make me feel old.  The books were sold by Janet Swan from www.findmeagoodread.com and the whole tour was organised by Jane Mathieson under the Time To Read banner.  An excellent job by both of them.

I also spent hours walking around Castlefield, just to refresh my memory of the area.  You can still find many elements of the old industrial scene hidden away behind the spanking new bijou residences and quayside apartments.  We visited the museum of Science and Industry yet again, although we decided against the Dr Who exhibition along with quite a few crying children who were also afraid of the Daleks.  And I took loads of pictures including the old Upper and Lower Campfield buildings which were once thriving markets and the inspiration for my own Champion Street Market Series.

We were fortunate enough to get tickets to see 42^nd Street at the Grand Theatre, Blackpool, starring Paul Nicholas, a sparkling, glittering musical with loads of tap dancing which we loved.  And The Producers at The Palace in Manchester, starring John Gordon Sinclair, Cory English and Peter Kay which was wonderfully irreverent and non-PC.  We did hope to fit in some walking in the Lakes while we were there visiting family but sadly it rained on my few free days.  I concluded my visit by enjoying a pamper day at the Harrogate Spa with my daughter.  Marvellous!  We each had a massage, facial and manicure, plus time to enjoy the pool, sauna and Jacuzzi, and a lovely lunch.  Very relaxing.  I can highly recommend it.  I returned to work refreshed.

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