Today I was at a local book fair. I was the token author among four other stalls selling second hand books. I should have taken photos of everyone, I guess, but I didn't. You'll just have to take my word for it :-) It was relatively quiet, because it took place on Regatta day, so a lot of townsfolk were down on the river. But a good smattering of people stopped by. Next on the agenda is a three week long blog tour, in which fifteen bloggers have asked me a single interview question each. I'm looking forward to sharing my answers and 'meeting' lots of new people. But first, it's England's opening Euro 2016 football match against Russia, so I'll be opening a cider, and cheering on the team. Have a good weekend! Yes, I won 3rd Place, with my story Watching the Storms Roll In. I loved this story from the moment I wrote it, and it has been thrilling to know other people liked it too. I had a great time at the award ceremony, especially meeting my lovely fellow finalists Erin Soros, Peggy Riley and Danny Murphy. And I want to thank the organisers, the judges, and everyone who read my story and voted for it. The evening itself was quite surreal for the hermit writer that I've always tried to be - teeming with authors, agents, publishers, and other literary celebrities - but I'm sure I could get used to it, if I had to! Here I am, receiving the award... It is with huge excitement and pleasure that I can finally reveal I am one of the shortlisted authors in the Costa Short Story Award.
I have had to keep this news a secret since the middle of November, and it has been so hard! It's such a relief to be able to shout about it. The winner will be announced at the Costa Book Awards Ceremony on the 26th January. I shall be taking lots of photos and sharing them here, of course. Congratulations to my fellow shortlisted authors, and good luck. I'm looking forward to meeting you next week. |