I’m a little behind on my blog schedule at the moment, mainly because my edits came back a couple of weeks ago and, well, getting Blood Dark to you as soon as possible seems to be the priority as far as my lovely readers are concerned!

I had to jump on here quickly though to say that I had a notification through tonight telling me that it’s my three-year blog anniversary today. Yay! That means three years ago today, I wrote my first ever post – back at a time when I wasn’t published and didn’t even have a prospect of a publisher in sight. Things have certainly progressed since then!

Above: This blog’s original banner (yep, that is me) before Bookouture’s re-vamp (pardon the pun)

With four Blackthorn books now released and number five imminent, well over 3,000 4/5 star reviews, six-figure sales, audiobooks and, most importantly, daily additions to my incredible Team Blackthorn (that’s you), this is way beyond what I’d imagined three years ago today.

My amazing long-suffering husband aside, three important people were by my side when I launched this blog. They’ve consistently supported me and encouraged me in the background, not least picking me up when my confidence has dropped as well as being there to share the laughs, the adventure and the excitement.

The incredible thing is that I didn’t know these ladies personally. They were fellow entrants in New Voices, the competition through which, in a twist worthy of Blackthorn, Bookouture discovered me. Like me, all three were unpublished authors at the time – and each of them had a passion for Blackthorn that blew me away.

Three and a half years on, they remain my inspiration. Amity Grays has signed her first publishing contract, Tracey Rogers has had five books released, and CC Mackenzie (who forced me set up a blog, oh and has her own vampire series out *wink*) has now become a USA Today Bestseller and an icon for self-published authors. Last year, for my 40^th birthday, I had the pleasure of meeting the latter two (it might have been a bit far for Amity to pop over from Idaho!). There were certainly tears a plenty because, without these ladies, I’m not convinced Blackthorn would have been with you.

Thank you, Amity, Christine and Tracey for being Blackthorn’s true heroines.

And perfectly-timed to mark the occasion, I received an email today telling me that BestChickLit.com, who previously described Blood Shadows as “fantastic”, have now read and reviewed Blood Roses, and referred to it as:

“An absolute triumph that has kept me hooked on the series.”

Thanks so much, Charlotte! <3 You can read the full review here.

Oh, and look  whose latest release was reviewed on the same blog just before me! A glowing review for Ms Rogers, of course!

Once my edits are in, I promise that normal service will resume! Take care. xxx