Hi – me again. Last post for the week, I promise.
The 3rd part of our trip took us to the UK for time with the fam, catch ups with friends and a couple of bookish events.
Family is everything and spending proper time with my sis Victoria, brother-in-law Mark and Alex, our nephew (plus their three cats) was brilliant fun. And we caught up with our great aunt Joan, who at 94 is still sharp and funny (and always saves room for dessert). Alex who was 13 the last time we saw him and about my height has shot up to 6 feet. But most importantly, at 15, he’s the same loving, smart and (at times) hilarious boy we’ve always known.
They fam lives on the canals southeast of Rugby and Ben and I walked them every day – always something new to see and someone new to meet, like Mavis, Queen of the Canals (the wee tiny little puppy who rides on the top of her canal boat). It’s a quintessentially English town and we did quintessentially English things, like having picky bits for tea (Mark’s incredible spread) and going to the garden centre to buy lavender.
Next up were bookish events.
Fellow author Kim Nash invited me and Kiley Dunbar to her bookshop Fiction and Fairy Lights for a reader event and it was brilliant fun. I’d met them both before and they are such gorgeous and talented women. Great chat and met lots of new readers (one of the best parts of being an author).
The following week, we headed east to attend the Hertfordshire library event for Zoë Folbigg (writing as Victoria Prince) and Kathleen Whyman. When I originally told them I was coming, they didn’t believe me (because I live across the world) but it was a wonderful event and brilliant to catch up – and spend time with my sis and one of my oldest friends, Suzi, who we stayed with.
So, a fabulous trip to the UK, but it’s also good to be home in Denmark – even though it’s winter and often cold and raining, because it’s also beautiful and sunny sometimes (and we get to play with Fergus, my parent’s dog).
And in between gardening, yoga and catching up with my parents and our friends, I’m back to work.
In a couple of weeks, I’m presenting at the Romance Writers of Australia conference in Darwin. It’s my first time presenting for RWA and I am super excited. I am also looking forward seeing author friends, learning about writing craft and the publishing biz (always learning!), dancing at the gala with Ben – and it’s our first trip to Darwin, so that’s a plus.
I’m also working on Book 9 for Boldwood, plus a secret side project that I am in love with, and I’ve got a couple of manuscript assessments on my desk as well. My Aussie women’s fiction book is on submission – all appendages crossed it finds the perfect home – and I am already plotting Boldwood book 10 (the one set in Prague).
I am BUSY!
But I do love my job.
Okay, enough about me. Get back to your day and I hope it’s a good one.
Sandy Barker | Author 