The Summer Audience Event

I could have floated back to Glasgow from Gloucestershire on a cloud of happiness rather than taken a flight with Easyjet. The Loveahappyending Summer Audience weekend was fabulous fun and an amazing success!  And it was all down to the organisational skills of the woman at the helm, Linn B Halton. I first met Linn on Twitter just over a year ago, when she said she was setting up a reader/writer website and asked if I like to be part of it. I was new to Twitter but immediately recognised this as a good opportunity. I’ve never looked back - loveahappyending.com became established - and Linn and I have become firm friends.

I’d never done an author talk before, and so I was naturally anxious when climbing the stage to deliver my Zero to my Latest Hero speech last Saturday but, happily, the support of my fellow loveahappyending.com authors and the warm vibes from all the avid readers attending the event gave me the boost I needed to talk, on a very personal level, about why and how I became a writer.

Delivering my 'Zero to my Latest Hero' talk!

The day was not only a fabulous success but also a wonderful opportunity to meet up with the seventeen loveahappyending.com authors attending and to catch up with some of my own 'Team Horton' Associate Readers and book bloggers like Louise Graham, Sharon (Shaz) Goodwin, Sue Fortin and Kim (The Book Worm) Nash.

With Kim 'The Book Worm' Nash

Thoughout the day, Kim was also broadcasting live via Stafford FM's Book Club and interviewing attendants!

With book blogger Louise Graham

With book blogger Sharon 'Shaz' Goodwin

With fellow author Mandy Baggot and my editor Kit Domino

With fellow Scottish author Chris Longmuir

Me with author & event organiser Linn B Halton and Lou Graham

One of the highlights of the day was the keynote speech by Catrin Collier, which everyone agreed was spell-binding. Catrin, under various pen names, has published over 41 novels worldwide. She has had three stage plays professionally performed in addition to publishing various articles and short stories. Her first Catrin Collier novel, Hearts of Gold was filmed as a mini-series by BBC Worldwide, and attracted an audience of 6.8 million viewers when shown on UK network TV. Another highlight came in the form of the lovely award-winning author Jill Mansell, who dropped in to select one lucky winner of a a stack of books and e-books, plus a ‘Devils With Wings’ signed poster by author Harvey Black.

Author Harvey Black with his alter-ego Jeremy - but which is which...?

The Loveahappyending Group Photo!

We polished off the day with a meal in a cosy Cotswold pub and raised our drinks to toast a fabulously successful event, each other, and to Linn B Halton and her lovely husband Lawrence for  making it all happen and for bringing us all together

Cheers!

You can read lots more about the Loveahappyending.com Summer Event, our Featured Authors and Associate Readers by visiting the website HERE

And tomorrow, Saturday 23^rd June, I’ve been asked to speak to authors in Dumfries and Galloway on ‘Building an Author Platform’.  The event, organised by The Creative Arts Business Network (CABN) in Scotland, is being held at the Urr Valley Hotel, Castle Douglas. I’m really looking forward to it and hope all this practice will stand me in good stead for doing lots more author talks in the future. I’ll report back on how it went next Friday. Wish me luck!