Hi Guys
Am back from my Thelma and Louise stylee road trip having managed not to drive off a cliff or murder anyone.  Had a great time in the North - thanks to everyone who made the effort to come and say hello at the book signings and talks and stuff.  Much appreciated.  Now my publishers think I'm much more popular than I really am!  It was lovely to meet you all.  Don't think I disgraced myself.  No small children were found crying in the vicinity which is always a good thing.
Having been let loose in several bookshops, I have - of course - come back with several tonnes of new reading material.  Hurrah!  Here's a small selection of the stuff I bought for my ever-increasing 'to-be-read' pile.  Now several hundred books strong...
The House at Midnight by Lucie Whitehouse - debut novel by a lovely woman who used to work at my agent's.
The Shack by WM Paul Young - have seen too many people reading this on the train to be able to ignore it. 
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton - adored The House at Riverton and this is the follow up.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy - have heard much about this author and the impending film of the book, but haven't read anything by him.
Friday Nights by Joanna Trollope - Always read Ms Trollope's books and always wish they had more laughs.
Hold Tight by Harlan Coben - one of my fave thriller writers.
Bitter Chocolate by Lesley Lokko - one to review for www.chocolateloversclub.com
New Moon by Stephanie Meyer - nowhere near enough gratuitous sex and violence in these teen vampire novels but I love them anyway.
That should keep me amused for a week or two! 
Thanks to everyone who's written to say they've enjoyed the new book.  Just buy a few more and - fingers very, very crossed - I'll be in the top twenty next week!!! 
Love C : ) xx

"Think Marian Keyes with a splash of Jane Green..." Vito Magazine
"One day she had everything - the next it was gone."
William and Amy Ashurst are typical townies, dedicated professional at the top of their tree, with two adorable children and an au pair who looks after them all. Then one day Will collapses on his way into work and decides that he's never going back.
So it is that, three months later, Amy is standing outside Helmshill Grange, a sullen monstrosity of a house, deep in the Yorkshire moors. Within days, Will's traded in their brand-new Audi for a clapped-out Land Rover, and brought home chickens, goats, sheep, a serial-killer cat and a mad dog. Then tragedy strikes and Amy learns that it's one thing living the dream, but when the dream's not your own, how long can it last...?"
 

I had to tell you this!  Last night we were invited to go to The Green Room, a lovely little restaurant in West Hampstead (never been there before but think I might set my current work-in-progress there).  The restaurant's owners Laurent and Kelly are taking part in Chocolate Week and have devised a new range of desserts to honour the event.  They're also giving away signed copies of The Chocolate Lovers' Club and WOW mugs all week.  Clearly they are people of impeccably good taste. 

Our dinner was delicious - Lovely Kev went for a rib-eye steak and I had a rack of lamb.  So far, so yummy.  But the piece de resistance was the chocolate brownie served with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice-cream.  Friends, believe me, this was a little piece of heaven on a plate!  It was warm, it was melting, it was light, it was rich, it was thoroughly wonderful!!  If you want to experience sheer joy while still wearing all your clothes, then get yourself down there pronto!  Laurent served it with a little glass of Sauterne which set it off perfectly - the only shame was that I had to share it with Lovely Kev.

Just as a by-the-by the decor in there is so chic too.  It made me want to rush home and paint over all my magnolia.  (There's a shock!)  This sounds terrible, but trust me it was as tasteful as their pud - everything is predominantly white and one wall had the most gorgeous silver metallic and white flock wallpaper on it (and I hate wallpaper) and there's a big, sparkly chandelier in the middle of restaurant that I want in my lounge. 

So we had a lovely romantical dinner on a Tuesday night - which is a bit of a rare occurence.  Then we came home and watched some crap about  Geishas on the telly. 

Off to the shops today to buy a new cook book and a tin of white emulsion.

Much love and happy pudding eating... C : ) xx

So.  I thought I'd tell you about my fab weekend at The Pudding Club in Mickleton - a lovely village in the Cotswolds.  On my recent author trip to South Africa we met a lovely young bookstore manager, John, in Johannesburg who mentioned that he'd been to England lots of times, but had never been to the Cotswolds.  Well, of course, we had to correct that!

To cut a very long story short, John came to stay with us last weekend and we took him off to one of the monthly meetings of The Pudding Club which is held at the Three Ways Hotel.  The Pudding Club was started twenty-three years ago by a couple who were fed up of getting nothing but a slice of frozen cheesecake as dessert in British restaurants.  Their mission since then has been to bring back the good, old-fashioned British pudding.

We live so close to the Cotswolds - just an hour or so away - yet I forget how lovely it is.  The weather was fabulous - the Indian Summer we'd been promised arrived at long last!  Friday afternoon was spent wandering through Broadway and taking afternoon tea.  In the evening the dinner started with a reception and some Elderflower champagne.  We sat on a table with some lovely people - a couple celebrating their third wedding anniversary and two of the sweetest lawyers I've yet to meet having a romantic weekend away.  There are some 'pudding' themed rooms in the hotel - Lovely Kev and I stayed in the Chocolate room (surprise, surprise) on Valentine's night - but they were all full this time.

The main course -  no starter or bread to take up room for those precious puds! - was a lightish beef goulash.  We were warned that every mouthful of potato meant one less bit of pudding! 

Then the selection of seven puddings were introduced to rapturous cheers by the diners.  We had a voting card on the table and had to make notes on our favourite pudding.  Yes, jam roly poly was on the menu as we golden syrup sponge, sticky toffee pudding and plum crumble. 

I'm afraid that I was a lightweight and cracked after three puds!  Though I did have a rather large helping of the glorious chocolate steamed pudding with chocolate sauce (and custard!)  Lovely Kev managed five puddings before throwing in the towel.  The only one on our table who managed all seven was the tiny Japanese lawyer who weighed about four stone!  The record for the evening was eleven puddings and the holder of the all-time pudding pig was a young man of nineteen (and six-foot four) who managed a whopping twenty-three puddings!  At the end of the evening we all voted for our favourite and Sticky Toffee Pudding won.

Would highly recommend it for those with a sweet tooth and eyes bigger than their tummy!

On saturday we had a nice long walk to shed some of the calories and took in Bourton-on-the-Water.  Lovely but so many people!  We also walked between Lower and Upper Slaughter along the river and then had tea (and more cake!) at the Mill Museum overlooking the lake to the sounds of Billy Holliday.  Bliss.

Am hoping to speak to the lunch club that they have there at some time in the future.  Any excuse for more fab puds!  Love C : ) xx

Hello Lovely People

So, I've been up all night and have now run out of things to do except myspace!  Ha.  Although I am stopping short of tackling the ironing pile.  The minute I lay in bed I was wide awake, mind buzzing.  Don't you just hate it when that happens?  I blame it on The Tudors.  Seeing Jonathan Rhys Meyers bare bottom is very unsettling to a woman of a certain age.  I still haven't got over George!  I do wish that programme was longer.  It just gets going when it's over!  Now, what does that remind me of...  Anyway, I'm anxious to know if we're going to get through Anne Boleyn by the end of this series - even though I'm just waiting for the chop, so to speak.

Lovely Kev - who is normally very good at making me go back to sleep when I'm all fidgettey brained (even though he sometimes resorts to the pillow-over-the-face technique) is up at 7.00am to do a time trial race - I blame the Olympics.  He's come over all keen since then and his having a last minute burst of enthusiasm before the racing season ends.  So I've been tip-toeing round trying not to disturb him.  Well, actually I tried to poke him awake for about an hour and that didn't work so, eventually, I got up.  I miss my cat.  He was so sweet and loving when I used to prowl the house at night even though - typical cat - he knew that it meant there was a chance he could fit in an extra meal.

My other quandary is that I'm about to start a new book and can't decide what to write.  At three this morning I had about three plots whirling round in my brain and, frankly, I'd like to write all of them.  NOW.  I love starting a new book but, usually, I have a really firm idea of which order I'm going to write in.  One of a bunch of vague ideas floats to the surface and starts to take shape - thankfully, not always at three in the morning.  Though it has to be said it's a pretty good time for plotting (about all kinds of things really...)  But this time, I just can't decide.  Maybe I'll have to do Ip-dip-dip, my blue ship... and see what happens.

I've got a cup of tea and an apple and that's just not hitting the spot, but there's nothing in the fridge and I need to go to Morrisons.  My life is glamour all the way.  Asda is open all night, but that just seems a bit to sad to get up and go to the supermarket in the middle of the night.  Would there be other people there?  I don't know.  Perhaps I should investigate.  There might be a story in that.  But is it any worse than doing this??  Anyway, it's lamming it down outside, so at least I'm not getting wet.  As someone said to me the other day, summer is the new autumn.

Am also just about to start reading a new book - as opposed to writing one - The Memory Keeper's Daughter (can't remember the author's name).  I'm hoping it will be dull, so it will make me go back to sleep.  I have a lovely weekend of nothingness stretching ahead, so some snoozing in the conservatory is probably in order.  Might go and see Keira Knightly in The Duchess.  Do wish that girl would have a chip butty though. 

Signing off now.  Sleepless in Milton Keynes.

Love C : ) xx

 

Hi Guys - just had to share this with you.  Am still in a deep state of discombobulation after going to see George Michael in concert on Sunday evening at Earl's Court in London.  I thought the man would be good - bloody should be for the price of the tickets - but I was completely and utterly blown away.  The man has got it!!  In spades.

It was very traumatic getting there as our rail line was closed for engineering works.  So we decided to drive down there only to find that our hotel was in the middle of the Notting Hill Carnival and all the roads were closed.  Then, because all the tube stations were closed, we had to do a six-mile round trek to get to and from the venue.  Quite nice really as the first bit took us through Kensington Gardens and past Diana's old palace there.  But we had to dodge a lot of very drunken people on the way home.

Earl's Court is the most rubbish venue ever, but we had fantastic seats - really, I could have reached out and kissed him.  (If I'd had twenty foot arms that is...)  Never have I seen so many middle-aged women in one place and, believe me, from the crowd reaction George is denying a lot of ladies a lot of joy...

Last new year we were at a party at a friend's house and they had on some cheesy music channel which showed the video of Club Tropicana.  There was George, all tanned and in his tiny white speedos.  How did we not know that he was gay????

Highlights of the concert - too many to list really, it was just hit after hit.  But I don't think that you can beat a bit of Careless Whisper and have been humming it to myself all week.  That one has particularly good memories for me and my pal Hazel - a very merry night singing on a table in a pub at her leaving do when she was heading off to live in Jersey. 

Everyone at the hotel had been to the concert the night before - there were even some Wham tee-shirts in evidence over the breakfast buffet.  And some organised person in the hotel had found a greatest hits CD and played that too!  More George with my scrambled eggs!

Went to my hairdressers yesterday - she'd had a row with her boyfriend and was feeling a bit vicious with her scissors and I now have a quarter inch of stubble all over my head, but that's a side issue - she told me that one of the other girls there had bought GM tickets on the internet and when she'd trogged all the way down the Earl's Court found out that they were fake and was turned away.  Gutted!

Anyway, keep having to have a lie down because it was so fab I can hardly bear it.  Thought he was better than Robbie!  Probably the best concert I've been to.

Anyway, that's all.  Better go and do some writing as I've done sod all today. 

Love C : ) xx  (guilty feet have got no rythmn... la, la, la...)

Just looked at my blogs and can't believe that I haven't posted anything since January!  No way!  What a lazy moo...  It's not as if nothing has been happening.

So, a little catch up.  Had two books out in February - The Chocolate Lovers' Diet in paperback and It's a Kind of Magic in trade size.  How scary is it that it's nearly time for two more!  July will see It's a Kind of Magic in paperback and a new, new book called All You Need is Love in trade size.  I'm really pleased with the latest.  It's set in Liverpool and is about a single mum who decides she's had enough of being downtrodden and sets about doing something to turn her life around.  I think you'll like it.  It's a very smiley, life-affirming book.

Inbetween writing new books, I've been on my travels again.  Off to South Africa to do a little book tour.  Three days in Johannesburg and then three in Cape Town.  Had a truly fabulous time meeting readers, the most switched-on journalists the world has to offer, wonderfully enthusiastic booksellers and a great time at my publishers out there - a big yay to all at Johnathan Ball.  Have come home with great memories and some new friends. 

It's such a lovely country and it was really nice to get a chance to visit my cousin in Jo'burg as she's been out there for 34 years and I've never been to her house!  So thanks to Janet, Natalie and Dave for a lovely day - see you in St Helens in July.  At the end of all the interviews and signings we took a day trip out to the winelands and visited several (hic...) wine estates, ordering lots of wine on the way.  Couldn't believe it when it all turned up at our house on Monday - the hall was full of boxes of delicious wine.  My next book might be a bit late though as I'm clearly going to be way too drunk to write it.  This is from a woman who can get legless on a bag of wine gums...

Also we had a lovely trip up to Newcastle last week and met some lovely booksellers at a dinner at Malmaison hotel on the quayside.  A lovely place, but way too trendy for me.  The theme was purple and black and I'm of an age when I remember dodgy nightclubs adopting this as their favoured decor.  Do you really want to have breakfast with the backdrop of black furniture and blood red crushed velvet curtains?  I love all things Goth - but over my Cornflakes??

Anyway, Newcastle is truly fab.  Used to spend a lot of time up there in a former lifetime and it was great to go back.  It is such a happening place!  Really.  Go for a weekend.  You'll love it.

Then we headed off to the wilds of Northumbria - dodging the rainclouds.  Stayed at a lovely B&B in Alnwick - Redfoot Lea (a bit of advertising for you there, Philly).  Spent a day walking along Hadrian's Wall and then another day cooing over the new(ish) gardens next to Alnwick Castle - very lovely.  Then for our final day we headed up the coast and, armed with sea sickness tablets, took a boat out a choppy sea to the Farne Islands to see the puffins - now known as Chuffin' Puffins.  They have to be the world's sweetest birds - way off the cute scale. 

We also cycled (!!) across the causeway to Holy Island which was a bit exciting - kept worrying that the sea would come rushing in and that I wouldn't be able to pedal fast enough to get across.  Needn't have worried as Lovely Kev pushed me most of the way - bless. 

Now we're back home and catching up with emails and stuff.  So sorry if you've sent me a message and I haven't replied - got over 700 mails when I came back from South Africa, so one or two might have slipped through the net.  I am trying to answer them all. 

That's about it.  Looking forward to summer starting - oh, yes!  Got my Mum visiting next week, so we'll be hitting the shops.  Might see some of you in M&S in Milton Keynes! 

Love C : ) xx

 

 

 

Hi Guys - I've got no idea where time goes.  Then I remember I haven't done a blog for ages.  It doesn't seem five minutes since I was posting my Christmas blog - what happened??  So now we're nearly at the end of January and what have I achieved.  Er... not a lot.  Am working my way (slowly) through my next book - whose title changes every ten minutes, so I can't let you in on that.  I've got a new book out called It's A Kind of Magic and I am getting my bottom off my chair to go out and do a few promotional events.  In fact, I ought to be getting ready for my talk at StonyWords literary festival tonight instead of doing this!  Then in Feb the sequel to The Chocolate Lovers' Club is out in paperback - called The Chocolate Lovers' Diet.  This means that I can put off doing any real work for quite a while yet as it makes me sound very busy!  Hurrah. 

I have lost  3 measley pounds since Christmas which is pathetic especially as I've severely restricted my chocolate intake to dangerously low levels - deep pain - and I've been running on my treadmill every night.  I'm sure I've got a hormone imbalance - one that makes me crave chocolate and eschew exercise.  There is such a thing - I read it in the Daily Mail...

Lovely Kev is already looking at holiday brochures - the Olympic bobsleighing break is looking favourite at the moment.  I'm longingly looking at sandy beaches over his shoulder as he whips past those pages remembering a time when I used to see them in real life.  Unfortunately, I know which one we're most likely to end up on!

So that's me for now.  Hope that 2008 brings you all that your heart desires.  Wishing you health, wealth and happiness.  Love Carole   xx

Hi All - just a quick bloggetty-blog before I put my feet up for Christmas.  Hurrah! 

Have just finished the first draft of my next book - as yet untitled - so I can enjoy my turkey and mince pies with a clear conscience and an even clearer desk.  This one isn't due out until August 08, so a little while to wait yet.  However, January's going to be busy with the launch of my new hardback, It's a Kind of Magic - this one's a little different for me.  A romantic comedy with a slight fantasy twist.  Hope you like it - I'm sure you'll let me know!  Then The Chocolate Lovers' Diet comes out at the beginning of Febuary, so you can catch up on the latest installment from the girls from Chocolate Heaven.  I had so much fun writing this one!  Can't wait to hear what you think.

Still there's a lot of Quality Street to be eaten before then.  We've got a lovely friend from Chicago coming over to stay with us from Boxing Day for a few days which we're really looking forward to, but mostly we're at home chilling out.  I'm normally a bit bah-humbug about Christmas but, this year, feel quite in the festive mood.  Don't know whether it's because we've got a gorgeous tree in our brand, spanking new conservatory or whether its because I've been really organised this year- no last minute present stress.  Don't know, but for once I'm not wishing it was all over!! 

This is the first time that I've had a real tree too - normally have a fake one because I hate the thought of all those trees being chopped down, but I cracked because the real ones at my local garden centre looked so fab compared to the fakes.  Bought some new decorations - chocolate-coloured - and, although I say it myself - it looks pretty good!  Also having a Bond Girls/Bond Villains party at the weekend with our gang of friends, so we've been madly taping the Bond films that have been on over the last few weeks to give some atmosphere.  Am off to MK shopping tonight to find a garter with a gun to go in it for under my posh frock!

Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for all your support, kind words, pressies, all kinds of stuff that you've given me in 2007.  You are the world's best readers!  Thank you for buying my books and letting me have a great job!  I couldn't do it without you.  Wishing you all a merry Christmas and hope that 2008 is a great year for you.

Love from Carole (and Lovely Kev)  : ) xx

 

Hi Guys - have given up writing my new novel for the afternoon as I'm sneezing my head off and can't concentrate as my brain is a ball of cotton wool. Yes, having come back from a lovely (warm) trip to South Africa, I've now got a stinking cold.  Welcome home, Carole!

So - this is how South Africa is.  FAB!  Had a great trip out there.  Spent a lot of time cycling through the wine region of the Western cape taking in Cape Town, Stellenbosch, the Little Karoo (way too hilly to be on a bike!) and then back along the famous Garden Route, stopping for an exciting bit of whale watching in a lovely town called Hermanus.  First time I've ever seen real live whales and it was pretty spektacliar I can tell you!  Highly recommend a visit out there good food, incredibly cheap wine (Hic...) and the people are SO nice.  It was lovely to be able to visit some of the bookshops while I was out there too and see my novels on the shelves.  Clearly those South African people have excellent taste in reading material... 

Now I'm back, busy at work - fingers typing fast, trying to get the first draft of my novel done before Christmas so that I can take some time off.  We've got a friend from Chicago coming to stay with us over the holidays, so we're praying for fine weather so that we can take him out and about while he's here.  Can't believe that in four weeks time Christmas will be done and dusted!  How did that happen?  Where did this year go exactly?

Got home to find that most of my garden remodelling had been completed.  It's looking wonderful - even though I say it myself.  Now I'm itching to plant it up (as it's a bit of a concrete and gravel wonderland at the moment) but am going to try to be very sensible and wait until Spring like you're supposed to.  It's very minimalist - so no more weeding the horribly overgrown cottage garden that it was.  Hurrah!  Can't wait to be sitting out there with a glass of something chilled in my hand.  Hmm. 

Conservatory still not finished - 22 weeks and very bored of it all now.  Win-dor hang your head in shame!  Perhaps I should put a video on YouTube like that guy did about BT.  Still having seen how some people have to live in the townships in South Africa, what do I have to complain about really?  Not everyone's grass is greener, I guess.

Who do you reckon's going to win X-Factor then?  Has Rhydian got it sewn up?  Can't believe Beverley went out when Hope are still there!  General public what are you thinking of?  Or are you a 'Strictly' person?  Is it just me who wants to scratch out Aleisha's eyes (sp??).  You can be just too beautiful and talented, you know!!  Would love to go on that show.  Being twirled around by Ian Whaite.  Hmm...

That's all for now.  Hope everyone is starting to feel festive! 

Love Carole  : ) x 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Guys

Thought I'd tell you a little bit about our wonderful trip to Italy to collect my award at the Euro Chocolate convention.  Thought this was just a trade bash, but no - for 10 days in October the small town of Perugia in the beautiful rolling countryside of Umbria has been turned into chocolate heaven!  (Now where have I heard that before?)  The streets are lined with stalls selling all kinds of wonderful choccy treats and all of the shops have chocolatey displays - even the shoe shop had chocolate sculptures of boots.  All very fabulous.  If you can persuade your other half to splash out on a romantic weekend, then you could do a lot worse.  We even stayed in a chocolate-themed hotel with a chocolate sculpture and wonderful chocolate shop in reception. 

On the night I collected my award, there was a chocolate dinner and every course was chocolate themed.  I don't think I've ever been so stuffed in my entire life.  Needless to say, back on the old Weight Watchers now.  Poo.  Will definitely get round to putting some photos up, but it's been so long since I've done it, I've sort of forgotten how!  Did my thank you speech in Italian which was a bit nerve-wracking - particularly as I don't actually speak Italian.  Got a friend - who was laying new laminate flooring for me, but that's by the by - who is originally from Venice to write it down for me and then tape it so I could learn it parrot fashion.  Good job no one asked me any other questions or I'd have been stumped! 

Next month (November) on the website I'll be giving away some of the goodies that I brought back, so make sure you sign up for my newsletter to find out all about them. 

What else?  Not a lot.  Currently having the garden remodelled.  Seven skip loads of soil have already been removed making it look like a large meteor has hit my back garden.  I'm sincerely hoping that it looks a lot better when it's finished.  I'm a bit nervous as I've done the plan myself - complete control freak even when it comes to horticulture - and it's now looking a bit too scary on the ground. 

The conservatory still isn't finished - 19 weeks and counting Win-Dor - but the end is now in sight (I'm sure it is... yes, that sound is hysterical laughter).  Am completely and utterly broke now after my little home renovation spending spree, so please dash out and buy some more books!  It's for a good cause.

It's never to early to think of Christmas.  In fact, I've done all of my Christmas shopping.  Oh yes!  Oh yes!  Don't you just hate me???  Online - that's the way to go.  Just bought myself the last series of 24.  Nothing better than a little bit of Jack to see you through the winter months.  My social life has also ended because the X-Factor is back on.  Yippee.

November is National Novel Writing Month - it's official - so if you're a budding author then it's time to get going.  To spark those creative juices come along to Speakeasy in Milton Keynes on Friday night (2 November - Shenley Leisure Centre - 7.30pm) and learn who to write those tricky sexy bits from author, Julie Cohen.  The girl's good!

Love to all.  Speak soon.  Carole : ) xx