There are some weekends you know will stay with you for a lifetime, and this weekend is most definitely one of those for me. Not only did I visit the stunning Little, Brown offices in London to meet with my Piatkus publishing team, but I also took part in my first ever signing event.

FRIDAY 23rd February

Walking into the offices on Victoria Embankment was a dream come true for me. It even managed to exceed my expectations. The inside of that building is seriously beyond stunning. As an added bonus, the Little, Brown team are some of the loveliest people you could hope to meet. Everyone I was introduced to made me feel so welcome. Thank you hugely to Elaine, Tim, Charlie, Amy and Ellie for taking time out of your busy schedules to chat and say hello. A massive thank you too to Anna, my wonderful editor, for giving me a guided tour around the building and up onto the rooftop for a stunning view across London, as well as Sophia, my fabulous publicist, who I got to meet in person for the first time.

Above: Outside and then inside the Little, Brown offices; spotting Harry Potter in the lobby; and the views from the rooftop. 

After my tour and a meeting with both Anna and Sophia, they then took me and my husband out for dinner to end the day. Thank you both for such a fantastic evening at Vanilla Black – incredible food and superb company. I only wish we’d paused for breath long enough for me to remember to take a picture!

SATURDAY 24th February 

Above: The view from my hotel room, showing the sun rising across London in the direction of the Little, Brown offices. 

The RARE event itself, held at The Olympia in London, was more than I could have hoped for. After a quick hour of setting up, the doors opened to early entry tickets at 9.30 am followed by general entry at 11 am, with the event running right through until 4.30 pm. The day just flew by. There were 1500 attendees, visiting over 100 authors. The atmosphere was beyond incredible.

Above: Setting up my table before everyone arrives; and a quick visit to the Piatkus table (featuring Amy from marketing and Ellie from editorial). 

Meeting so many of my readers was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. The morning was non-stop, with three hours solid of signing to kick-start the day. Thank you to every single person who came to visit my table and for waiting so patiently to see me. Whether you were one of my established readers or brand new to me on the day, it was brilliant to meet you.

Above: Meeting some of my fantastic supporters; and featuring in the RARE magazine. 

So many hugs, so many smiles and lots of laughter, and a few happy tears too (I’m particularly blaming you, Julia W, Donna, Niamh and Natasha). I was more than a little overcome when superfan Natasha approached my table with one of the advertising quotes from my series on her custom-made T-shirt. Sadly my photograph was blurred, so I pinched one from Natasha’s Facebook page where she’s wearing the T-shirt. It was such a pleasure to meet you, Natasha, and your Russian accent was beautiful!

Thank you hugely to the RARE team for organising such a seamlessly well-organised and positive event. And thank you too to the Piatkus team who offered support throughout the day to their authors – we’re very lucky to have you!

Above: Signing off at the end of the day with Ellie, Anna and Amy. 

Lastly, I can’t thank my amazing husband enough for assisting me on the day and for all the weeks of support prior in preparing for this event. Thank you for being a hugely significant part of such a memorable experience. I couldn’t have done this without you.

AND BACK TO WORK…

Well, after all of that excitement, it’s a return to the writing cave for me! If there was one question asked more than any other on the day it was when Blood Broken is going to be out, so I’d best get right back to it!

I’ll be back soon!

xxx