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A very Happy New Year to you and may it bring lots of lovely surprises. My only New Year resolution was to put the Christmas decorations away properly, rather than shoving them in any old box or bin liner and stacking them in a teetering pile in the garage. I'm feeling very virtuous as I have actually just done it, lights wound up properly, tree baubles sorted by colour and precious things wrapped in bubble paper. I did consider sorting out the rest of the garage while I was at it, but decided that was a step too far. It's too cold out there and anyway I'd rather write to my readers.
So here I am feeling fat and rather jaded from too much food and too little exercise. I always breathe a heartfelt sigh of relief when all the festivities are over for another year, and I can become a recluse again for a while and get back to serious writing.
I have just finished Faith which will be published next August. It's about a woman who is serving a life sentence for a murder she didn't commit. But you'll have to wait for my next newsletter before I tell you more, as I have more pressing things to share with you right now.
I am sure you'll remember me asking you last year to nominate people for The Lesley Pearse Women of Courage Award, sponsored by Love It magazine and Woolworths. We received hundreds of inspirational entries from all over the country, and it was a difficult task picking just five finalists.
I read and re-read all the nominations several times, moved to tears by many of them, for I could read far more courage between the lines than was actually written in the entries. There were women who had battled on after tragedy or through sickness, still taking care of their families and neighbours without any thought for themselves. I felt humbled by such courage, and at one point I had fifteen entries spread out on my kitchen table, in my opinion all worthy of a prize. I even found myself dreaming about them!
But fortunately a team effort finally got us there, and we managed to whittle it down to the top five. On 8th February we'll be having the Award ceremony lunch at the Penguin offices in London. I'm really looking forward to meeting these wonderful brave women and those who nominated them. It's going to be a great day, and the first of many more. So, if you know someone amazing that you didn't get around to nominating this time, you can do it next time.
I wanted to pop in a picture of my family taken at Christmas, but unfortunately I've encountered a problem transferring the pictures from my camera to the computer.
So instead here's one of me and my dogs while staying in a castle near Edinburgh. I hope you like the throne!
Meanwhile, in January, the paperback of Hope was published and is now in the shops. Many of my die-hard fans claim this is my best book yet. Do let me know what you think, I love to hear from you.
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