Catching up

Sorry for the silence... things have been a bit shit here lately. I'll spare you the details but let's just say there have been some scary A&E visits, tears, sleepless nights and general angst - you get the picture. Anyway, I think everything will be all right now, thank goodness, so normal life is returning gradually.

Back to the positive stuff: I'm working on the new novel today and it feels blissful to be back on it, I am really enjoying writing this one. It's another three-hander and I'm in the middle of my favourite character Lauren's latest chapter - she's really spiky and a bit of a cow, actually, although there's a heart of gold buried in there somewhere.... anyway, she's great fun to write. I'm hoping to crack the 30,000-word mark by school pick-up time... wish me luck.

I'll write a proper post soon, honest...

Fan Mail

One of the nicest things about being an author is getting lovely emails and letters from complete strangers telling you they liked your book. I am always really touched and flattered that someone who doesn't even know me has made the effort to get in touch... I have to try my hardest to hold back from gushing too much when I reply.
If you're new to the blog (hello!) you might not know that I also write squillions of children's books under my real name, Sue Mongredien - and so I get lots of brilliant emails and letters from children too. I must share this corker I've had recently from a little girl. The letter ends "Well done, Sue, you have written a lot", and then she's included a whole sheet of questions. These go as follows:

How do you write a lot of books like that?
Why do you choose to write them books?
Why do you like them books?
Why did you want to write them books?
Do you like them books?
Why are you writing them books?
Do you like them books?
Are you going to write more of them books?
Why are you writing them books?
Are they exciting, Sue?
Are they great books?
Are they interesting?

If you read them all out loud, it's like something from the Fast Show. Bless her for asking. Yes, Leah from Lincoln, I love them books, and I hope you do too!

The End of the Chocolate Orange, and Mr Y, too

I finished the last piece of my chocolate orange last night - so I can hereby announce that Christmas is definitely over. *sigh* (I'm saying this as if I've heroically made one single chocolate orange last from Christmas Day until now, but perhaps just to reassure that it is really me typing this, and not some health-freak impostor, I'd better add that AT LEAST four other boxes of chocs have also been scoffed during that time.) I'm starting to get a bit fed up of winter now. Can we have spring early, please?

Still, on a cheerier note, I started this month's book group book last night - it's The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas. Oooh, I'm enjoying this one. I loved it as soon as I picked up a copy in a book shop and saw those elegant black-edged pages and that funky cover. And once I began reading, I was hooked in immediately and have been completely bewitched ever since. It is so well-written and intriguing and the author must be some kind of bloody genius to have put it all together... loving it.

Right, an hour and a bit left while my youngest is at playgroup, must get on with some work while I can...

Greetings!

Hello world! I am back. So, how are things?

I am very well, cheers, although have so much to report since last August (eek!) that I'm going to cop out pathetically and not even try to tell you the half of it. Apart from to say thanks for all your lovely wishes and that the wedding was fabulous. Happiest day of my life. Brilliant, loved it all, and never knew being married could be such fun. Hurrah!

So... I know what you're wondering. Tell us about the Lucy Diamond merchandise, you're thinking. We need to buy some! Give us details immediately for God's sake!
Well, I'm sorry that this is post-Crimble and therefore uselessly too late for that perfect niche gift, but if you're in the mood to treat yourself, you could do a lot worse than to buy yourself a splended print of a gen-u-ine Lucy Diamond cover. You think I'm joking, don't you? You think I'm making it up as I go along. Well, I'm not. Have a look here if you don't believe me...

Oh, okay, you've rumbled me. Different Lucy Diamond. She's the original, the Lucy Diamond who wrote lots of children's bible stories in the seventies. I'm just the new pretender who nicked her fabulous name as my glamorous (well, I think so, anyway) pseudonym. But I kinda like the print, I have to say. I know it's a 100 squid so bloody expensive in these miserable credit crunch days but I might have been tempted to splash out if they'd only put poor old LD's name on the cover, where it rightfully should be. Give that author some credit, I say, she churned out loads of those Ladybird bible books, they could have named her at least.

Anyway, I belive you can also get a print of the 'Shepherd Boy in Bethlehem' cover, if you're interested, or one of Moses. And yes, yes, yes, I did stumble upon these when shamelessly looking myself up on Amazon, it's a fair cop.

Writing-wise, I have finished the second draft of my third novel, Hens Reunited and that's about to go off to copy-edit which is always a bit exciting... makes it feel like it really is going to turn into a REAL, ACTUAL book, rather than stay as a mere figment of my disturbed imagination. And I'm about a quarter way through novel 4 which I am enjoying enormously.

And reading-wise... I have just started The Beacon by Susan Hill, which I got for Christmas - signed, first edition, thank you very much! It's brilliant - such clean, spare prose and I was sucked into the story almost from the first page. Just what the hell did Frank DO that has pissed everyone off so much? I am on tenterhooks, waiting to find out.

So... tell me all. What are you up to, what are you reading, and who is going to win Celebrity Big Brother for God's sake?