Long ago –  far too long ago!  - I was a Girl Scout – or  Girl Guide  as we call them here in the UK. And when I was a ‘Guide’  I remember that February 22^nd had a very special meaning. It was what was known as ‘Thinking Day’.  ‘Thinking Day’ was a special date on which all Guides were  supposed to think about  Scouts and Guides all over the world.  I used to wear my uniform to school and wonder if other girls in other countries and cultures were doing the same. It was a lovely feeling,  linking in with all those others even though I would never see them or meet them.

 

Flash forward all these years later and here it is February 22^nd again. And this time I’m linking up with people all over the world but in a very different way. Now I’m connecting with people in so many different countries, people of so many different ages,  so many different languages, so many different cultures – but this time I’m doing it through my books.

 

Every few weeks, the postman arrives at my house with bundles of books in so many different languages. These are the international translations of my books that are now sold all over the world.  I think the last time I checked there were over twenty  different ones on my shelves – French, Greek, Spanish, Italian, Polish  - even Japanese. (Especially Japanese. My books are really popular in  Japan it seems.)   And every time a new bundle arrives, I open the package and look at the foreign editions in amazement and delight. It’s an astonishing, wonderful thing to think that  the stories I write here in a small English town in Lincolnshire UK, reach out to all these other women in all these far-flung places.

 

But that’s the wonder of romance. These love stories are universal. They speak to readers of all ages, colours, cultures. They cross borders, break down barriers, unite women in their enjoyment of the story they tell.  And it’s specially wonderful to  me because  when I was growing up – and going to school wearing that rather unflattering uniform – I had a very special dream that one day I wanted to be a writer.   One day I hoped that I would see my name on a book that I had written and that was on sale in a published form. But back then so many people – teachers, parents,  sensible adults, told  me that my dream was just that – a fantasy that would never come true. I would do better to forget about it and concentrate on doing something ‘sensible’ with my life instead of wasting my energies longing for something that was never going to happen.

 

Hmmm . .  .How wrong can you be? Not only did I stick to my dreams, keep on trying to write, get a book published . . . and another . . . an another  . . .but this year is a very special one for me as I’m celebrating  something very important in my writing life. I’m celebrating my ‘silver anniversary’ as a published author. It’s 25 years since my very first book The Chalk Line was published in 1984 and after that I’ve  published over 55 more novels in the Harlequin Presents line, together with two ‘How To Write’ guides including the award winning 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance. And I have all these wonderful international editions on my bookshelves to prove it.

 

But best of all,  I have so many fabulous readers all over the world who buy my books, read them and, very often, write to tell me how much they love them. My novels go to countries I’ve never visited, into the hands of people I’ll never meet, in a way that I never ever dreamed of when  I was imagining that one day I might write a book.  And as well as celebrating  having lasted 25 years in this business, I’m also celebrating all those wonderful readers without whom I could never have done it. Because if they hadn’t bought my books then I wouldn’t still be here, still writing  - and chatting with you all on this blog.

 

But the other thing I’m really celebrating is never giving up on your dreams, whatever they are. I know that the people who gave my advice all those years ago thought they were doing it for the best, but I’m so so glad that I didn’t take that advice and abandon my hopes of becoming a writer. Because my 25 years as a published author has brought me so much more than I could ever have imagined back in those days when I was just ‘thinking’ about all those other Guides all around the world. It’s brought me friendship with other wonderful writers and the knowledge that with my books I’ve touched the lives of so many others and brought enjoyment and pleasure into them just for a little while.  And that’s really worth celebrating.

 

So I was wondering  - are you celebrating anything special this year? An anniversary, a ‘milestone’ birthday ( I have one of those coming up too – but I’m not going to admit to exactly which one!). Or are you perhaps celebrating success in exams, a new job, a new baby, a new home?  Or just the simple things in life  like having family round you – and maybe your pets?  I’d love to know.

 

My latest novel The Konstantos Marriage Demand will be out next month – it’s published in Presents EXTRA on March 16^th. And I’m thrilled to say that I’ve just discovered that this book has been given 4.5 stars by Romantic Times and has been chosen as one of their Top Picks for March 2010.  I have an advance copy to give away  to someone who leaves a  comment on this post.

 

(For those of you who don’t know – I don’t pick the winners of my prizes, my cat Sid  does. I put all the names of the entries on pieces of paper and then I put a cat treat on top of each one. The first one that Sid eats is the winner.  And the more entries there are, the more treats Sid gets to eat. So come on, make my cat very happy – post a comment!)