I’ve only taken just over a week off and it feels as though I’ve been away from here for way too long. Apologies to everyone who has been in touch over the past week and haven’t heard back from me yet – normal service is resuming very soon!

For those not in the know, it was my 40^th birthday last Wednesday so, after nineteen relentless (though incredibly fun) months since the launch of Blackthorn, I decided to take a break for a short while. Organised by my amazing husband, it’s been a week full of surprises.

It kicked off with a visit to my home country of Wales, where we spent the afternoon in the small market town of Hay-on-Wye. Famous for its second-hand and antiquarian bookshops, it’s also home to the Hay Literature Festival which brings in over 80,000 writers, publishers and book fans every year. A place full of quirky cobbled backstreets, unique arts and crafts and over thirty bookshops, it’s the perfect place to visit if, like me, you have a thing for ceiling-high walls of books and the smell of old paper.

Back in England, we then went on to Shrewsbury to stay in a stunning 18^th Century manor house. Having spent over ten years living in an eighteenth century cottage in rural Devon, you’d think I’d been used to a room fully equipped with angular beams and low ceilings. The first night nearly ended in disaster though when, not only did I come down with a horrendous cold half-way through dinner, a middle-of-the night-sleepy-eyed return from the bathroom had me nearly knocking myself out cold when I walked straight into the bed-post. The thunk was so powerful it even managed to wake Tim (believe me, it’s a feat!).

Managing to survive my clumsiness though, we headed into the town the following day where Tim, to my excitement, told me he’d booked a table at a local comic book store. Oh yes, let me lust after Batmobile replicas and Star Wars figurines over Gucci handbags any day. I walked into the shop, not knowing which direction to run in first, when I glanced to my right only to see a pair of hands clutching an original copy of my first book…

I’ve had plenty of heart-stopping moments in my life, and this was right up there. Because what does an author do in that situation? Do they look the person in the eye and say, “Hi, that’s my book you’re holding”? Or do they walk on by like it didn’t happen? I stood. I gawped. My instinct was to run. I reached back to grab my husband’s hand to try and subtly point out someone in that store at that exact moment had my book. Instead, Tim put his arm around me (I think to stop me falling backwards) as I simultaneously looked up only to hear him say, “I know you’re going to kill me for this, but meet Tracey.”

For those who don’t know, Tracey Rogers is one of the original Blackthorn superfans. I’ve never met her, we’ve only ever spoken via social media, but this lady means the absolute world to me. She has supported (though she refers to it as “stalked”) me ever since the close of New Voices in 2011 – the online writing competition through which I was discovered by my publisher. She is one of Blackthorn’s three original unsung heroes who remained particularly close by after the competition closed. When Blood Roses (which finalled in 2010, Blood Shadows in 2011), was eventually rejected by Nocturne after an agonising 18-month wait, she was one three ladies who gave me the courage not to return Blackthorn to my bottom drawer but try another publisher. The other two were the wonderful Amity Grays (all the way over in Idaho, U.S – we’ll meet one day, Nit!) and CC Mackenzie (pen name).

Sobs and hugs later (whilst apologising for my tears, my cold-induced sniffles and my inability to string a decent sentence together), it was catch-up time – and Ms Tracey Rogers is absolutely as lovely and funny and warm as she is online. Amongst chat and giggles, we were soon excitedly browsing superhero memorabilia when Tracey stumbled on the find of the day. Yep, definitely one for The Vampire Diaries fans!

Tracey and me, right next to the Salvatore brothers – well, kind of.

After an amazing few hours and reluctantly saying goodbye to Tracey, Tim and I moved on to Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of William Shakespeare, where we stayed in a Neo-Gothic mansion on the outskirts of the town. Claimed to be the most haunted hotel in Britain, horror-film buffs might like to know it was the setting for Robert Wise’s The Haunting (1963) – and I could immediately see why. Unfortunately there were no ghostly sightings during our stay though. Boo. 🙁

With Tim having organised lunch out the next day, we were ambling down the streets of Stratford with me still chuntering away about having met Tracey when I heard, “Lindsay! Lindsay J. Pryor!” shouted from somewhere ahead. I stared at the woman, wondering how on earth she knew who I was. It took a moment to sink in, not least because she looks so different to her online photo. But her unmistakable Scottish accent and the only one shameless enough to shout out, “Lindsay J. Pryor – best-selling author!” down the street, gave her away. Still reeling with the shock of meeting Tracey, I was then staring at Christine (CC) Mackenzie. This lady is single-handedly responsible for dragging me onto social media, giving me loads of advice in the background to the point I nicknamed her my writerly-mum and, with her utterly unwavering belief in Blackthorn, has been there to bolster me up whenever things have got tough. Needless to say, what started off as a planned couple of hours over dinner turned into a nine-hour chat marathon (a Scottish and Welsh woman face-to-face = warp speed conversation).

And when I thought I couldn’t take any more excitement, the seriously-super-lovely Fiona Chapman also arrived in on the surprise. I started stalking aspiring author Fiona via Twitter a few months ago and, again, finding out we had a huge amount in common, we struck up a friendship very quickly. Fiona tweets, RTs, shares, comments, reviews and everything else in her enduring support for Blackthorn, so meeting her was a dream come true. Thank you, ladies, for making my birthday so special. I’ll never forget it.

 Fiona, me and Christine.

Last night, my husband concluded my week of surprises with a black-tie charity fundraiser at the Living Coasts in Torquay, South Devon. If you know anything about me, you’ll know I’m a massive animal lover and a really keen supporter of animal welfare and conservation. With penguins having been my late Dad’s favourite animal (it would have been his birthday too this month), we spent the night at a Penguin Ball to raise money for vital conservation work both at Living Coasts and their related projects abroad. I had a chance to get up close with the Macaroni Penguins (fortunately not endangered) to kick-start a fantastic and totally worthwhile night. As you can tell though, this handsome little chap’s buddy had better things to do with his time than chat to me – like stare at a blank wall.

“Then I caught a fish THIS big…” Okay, it’s an old joke but I write dark not funny…

Tim – thank you SO much for all your hard work and background planning to make this a week to remember. Thank you Christine, Fiona and Tracey for being there to share it with me. Thanks to everyone who sent me lovely birthday messages. And to round it off, Blood Shadows hit No. 1 in Amazon’s US Gothic Romance charts again. Yay!!

Don’t forget, Wednesday sees the close of my giveaway to be in with a chance of winning a signed paperback copy of Blood Torn and/or the first three chapters of Blood Deep (signed by me). Huge thanks to everyone who has already joined in the fun – the cast is looking soooo good!

If you’d still like to enter (via here or Facebook), all you have to do is let me know who you would cast in Blackthorn the movie. I’ll announce the winner/s on Friday!