Haven't done this for ages...

No, I don't mean updating my blog, though it has been an age, but doing one of those posts where I blather on about all the stuff I've been loving of late. First, a little catch up.While I'm waiting for my editor to get back to me with her notes for my second grown-up book, You Don't Have To Say You Love Me (which will be out Jan/Feb 2011, no matter what it might say on Amazon,) I'm working on my

Linky dink dink!

Bonsoir Mes AmisHope you are all peachy. As you know, Nobody's Girl is out in the UK now (and sorry, not a whiff of a foreign deal thus far) so I wanted to link to a couple of pieces of press I've done that may interest you.Five things about France that are tres bon at Chicklish.A guest blog on writing and loving toxic boys at Wondrous Reads.(Much thanks to Luisa and Jenny for making this happen.

Tis the season...

Greetings to one and all!Winter is upon us, Chrismukkah is just around the corner and I still haven't sent off my mammoth Amazon order to ensure that all my presents will arrive in a timely fashion and I don't have to slip IOU's into my cards.This is the season for many things:* Norwegian formula hand cream* Long-sleeved black thermal vests under everything I wear* Home-made soup * Suddenly

The beast, it wakes!

Photo by Sandra Löv.Sayonora, sweetlings!I'm back! I have survived the the mammoth revisions of the grown-up book and can say no more about the experience because it's too traumatising. I've also been doing a ton of magazine-y stuff, which I'll let you know about as and when it's out - though actually I think I have a piece in the new Grazia out tomorrow. But I feel liberated from the yoke of

Summer Reading List (Part Two - Difficult women)

Is anyone even reading my humble blog offerings anymore or are you all sunning yourself in foreign climes?Anyways, on Friday I delivered my first grown-up book, except today I decided there were at least two chapters that needed to be completely rewritten. But mostly it's done and as Dusty once sang, I just don't know what to do with myself. Tomorrow I will probably start my next teen book as I

Summer reading list (Part One - The Classics)

Finally, in the downtime between the second and third drafts of the grown up book and filing my business taxes (because being a writer is dead glamorous), I have found an hour to compile some book recs. It will be a part work, because there are so damn many of them.So, I'm starting with the classics. Those books of yore that you might even have to study at school and always end up on those 100

Nominate me!

Hello chickadeesI'm back from the Lake District, where I spent a lot of time being harassed by swans, geese, ducks and moorhens, which was very traumatising for a city girl like me. And I ate too much thunder and lightning ice cream, which is vanilla with chocolate and cinder toffee. Absolutely delicious!I've been told by the Powers That Be to ask you to nominate me to be Queen Of Teen. It's a

Welcome to the Upper East Side, Bitch

A science-based compare and contrast on which show rockeths the most: The OC or Gossip Girl(**WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR UK READERS/VIEWERS**)Marissa Cooper vs. Serena Van Der WoodsenBoth blonde girls with issues, low-rent boyfriends and an extremely low tolerance for alcohol. Serena does deserve some credit for being even more freaking annoying than Marissa, which I didn't even think was

Accept no substitutes

So, with the recent UK release of Candy, I have no new teen books coming out for a while, as I work on my first grown-up book Unsticky. And it's grown-up in that I'd be kinda horrified if anyone under 16 read it, though I guess the content is no more racy than you might find in an episode of, like, Sex And The City. And I guess you all watch that...Anyways, there will be new teen-friendly fare

I've been less and I've been more...

I know. I know! I haven't updated in ages. Mostly because I've been working flat-out on the final book in the Fashionistas series, Candy. I finished the first draft yesterday (I don't get to have the weekends off) and now I'm just about to start re-writing the whole thing and hoping that I can deliver it in time for the final deadline. Ho hum!Apart from that my life has become incredibly boring.

I must eat so many lemons...

Hello earthlingsAfter the wettest, soggiest summer since records began, I'm happy to report that London is finally sunshine-y and warm. Hurrah! Also, I escaped unscathed after getting run over by a bus but will never step out into the road without looking again.On to more important topics. Thank you so much to everyone who commented on the first Fashionista's book, Laura. I know that it seems

Welcome to the Rockalypse...

Happy Eurovision Day readersTonight I will be going to a Eurovision Song Contest Party, as is my wont to do. There's going to be a Sweepstake though I will pick the country that only get a measly un point from the Slovakian jury. But I think you can either turn up your nose and be too cool for skool about Eurovision or you can embrace the cheese. I embrace it with both arms!I also just want to

Lost in music

Salutations, my sweets!I guess that some of you may be reading this blog for the first time, having found the address in the back of my new book, Let's get Lost. In which case, I say welcome! I try to update my blog weekly-ish with news, views and lots of ungodly whining. And really, that's the main theme at the moment. Let's Get Lost goes on sale in North America (which includes Canada, yes?)

It'll change your life, I swear

Hello, gentle readersMy interpipe connection is wigging out in a quite spectacular fashion, while my broadband is upgraded. It's a cause of much vexation. So I'm going to post this in one of the rare seconds when I am actually online.It's actually probably quite good that I can't while away many hours on the internet as I'm going to Florence for a little holiday the week after next and have made

No sir, I don't feel like dancing

Greetings girlieaAh, the sun is but a dim and distant memory; it's grey and cold and all the delicious new autumn fashions are in the shops. Hurrah!Because I spend most of my time in front of dark!Wes, my computer, I tend to live in jeans and a collection of faded logo retro tees but I'm coveting and even buying some fabulous frocks at the moment. And slouchy boy trousers. And I'm still loving

Here's One I Made Earlier

This is really a drive-by post with a little compendium of favourite things I compiled earlier in the week. I have a friend staying from New York so I've actually taken the weekend off from writing (don't tell my editor) to make the most of the glorious weather.Yesterday I walked over seven miles taking in the green and rustic charms of Highgate and Hampstead and today, we hang out on the South

There's too much love...

Just eating a late lunch and drinking a glass of Welch's grape juice, which has this really gross undertaste of scented erasers. Ick!Not much to report really. I'm hard at work on the first book in my new four-volume series, which will be published next year and the year after! I'm averaging about 3000 words a day at the moment, which is kinda lame for me but I do faff about a lot on MySpace and

And so the year turns a full circle...

Happy Holidays, gentle readersI hope you all have a stress-free Crimbo, get tons of wonderful gifts and eat as much as you like without feeling bilious.I'm going to my Dad, who lives about six miles away, and will be cooking Christmas dinner for him and my sister, nieces, maybe my brother and anyone else who's around. Note to self: Remember to pick up the turkey you ordered from M & S.It's been a

Nothing short of total procrastination...

If I put my mind to it, I'll have finished the final draft of Let's Get Lost tomorrow and can spend Sunday doing fun things like going to the cinema. Instead I'm sitting here and staring out of the window at a grey sky as it tries really hard to thunderstorm and realise that I've just spent two hours faffing about now 5 minutes actually working on the book. That's not a good work/faffing about

Things that make my heart go pitter patter

* First cup of coffee of the day.* Being in the pool on a sunny day and swimming right under the skylight where the water's sun-dappled.* Being all clean and post-showered with just-shaved legs and then sliding into a freshly laundered bed and snuggling down with a good book as the rain pelts against the Velux windows.* Hanging out with good friends and giggling at whatever DVD we're watching