THOMPSON
Hello! I hope you all had a lovely Mayday
weekend. I spent mine in the
garden, chilling in the sun – if that ain’t too much of an oxymoron – and
enjoying the clematis Montana Rubens (where the resident blackbirds and
robins are nesting and making the most glorious music) and the camellias and
the jasmine and the cherry and apple blossom and the headily perfumed lilac
are all burgeoning beautifully, and I began to wonder whether it had been a
bad idea to put our house on the market, after all…
CITY CENTRE LIVING
Living in the city centre has made me a bit blasé about the fact that I can
saunter down to Grafton Street or Temple Bar in less than ten minutes, and
have fougasse in
La Maison des Gourmets or sushi in
Aya or a cocktail in the
Clarence. Another big plus is I can cycle everywhere – including to my gym.
I’ve been working out on a regular basis latterly, but the downside is that
on my way home I pass a coffee shop in the Village Quarter from which
emanate such fantastic aromas that I immediately divert and duck into local
deli Liston’s (highly recommended by the Lonely Planet Guide), for a slice
of the most delicious quiche in Dublin, and I can nip into the most
beautiful flower shop in Dublin (Adonis on Patrick Street, which was the
inspiration for Florabundance in A Perfect Life) for a natter with Paul who
owns the joint, or I can drop into my local pub, Fallon’s, for the best
doorstep sandwiches ever, or call into Saint Patrick’s Cathedral for quiet
time in astonishing surroundings, or sit by the pond in Saint Stephen’s
Green and think how very, very privileged I am to be living here. The
thought of moving fills me with terror, and part of me wants to stay safe
and sound in the house in which we have been so happy for the past eighteen
years, but the girl Clara is due back from Japan in three months’ time, and
while we love each other to bits, we both know in our heart of hearts that
it’s time for us to make some changes in our lives, and move on.
MY NEW EDITOR
I strolled through Stephen’s Green one day last month to meet up with my new editor for afternoon tea in the Merrion Hotel. Oh, she is lovely! We both suspected we would like each other, which we most gratifyingly did at first sight. We spent a couple of hours chatting and getting to know one another and making plans for the new books over the most delicious tea it is possible to order in Dublin, and I ate so much that I felt I really should to straight back down to the gym downstairs where I’d worked out so assiduously that same morning. Finger sandwiches and bridge rolls and scones with cream and jam and delectable, dotey miniature cakes – far, far too much for two people. So I wrapped some jollies up in a napkin and took them home to Mal. And then, instead of getting back up on the new book that I was all fired up about, I was diverted by a friend who wanted urgent help with an edit, and then I had a newspaper article to write, and then the page proofs for Love Lies Bleeding arrived because lo! it will be coming out in paperback format in June. So this month I will have to stop indulging myself having breakfast and lunch and aperitifs in our lovely garden because I shall have to take myself back up into the attic to get cracking on the first novel of three for Harper Collins, which is so far untitled. By the way - after announcing last month that my new pen-name was to be Lucy O’Sullivan, Harper C has been having second thoughts. We’ve come up with some ideas, but nothing definite yet, so watch this space.
LOVE LIES BLEEDING
Love Lies Bleeding is a big book. Pictured is the new jacket– it’s a rough, which means that the style and colour of the font on the actual cover will be different - but I adore the image. Those of you who have read it online will know that it’s my biggest book yet – and I think it may be my darkest, too – hence the rather different jacket look. Darling Marian Keyes says it’s my best yet, and darling Marian Keyes was looking sensational at the launch of her latest book, This Charming Man.
This Charming Man
It took place in the second floor restaurant in Harvey Nicks, Dundrum, and we had the most glorious finger food and cocktails specially created for the occasion. (I’ve just realized that I have done nothing but talk about food in this month’s newsletter!) It was a wonderful party, and a fantastic way to celebrate the fact that Marian’s Charming Man went straight into the number one slot in the bestseller lists in Ireland and the UK and Australia and New Zealand within three days of its publication. Plus, Harvey Nicks very generously sent us away with the most fantastic goodie bags full of beauty products and books and chocolates (more food!)
NEW PET
We’ve
been debating the advisability of getting a new pet, if we are going
be moving out of here and relocating to the west coast. And we came to the
conclusion that it would be a big mistake. So instead of getting a new red
Burmese to replace beloved Batty Thomas, I acquired the prettiest orchid in
the world to talk to. I got her in the above-mentioned Adonis flower shop,
and every morning I compliment her upon how gorgeous she is, and I swear,
she responds! She just gets prettier and prettier and frillier and frillier
every day, and I hope that if we move, she will prove robust enough to move
with us.
THANK-YOU
Thank-you - as ever - for taking the time to read this. As Kate Thompson and as Pixie Pirelli, I have made a lot of friends through this website.
Under a new nom-de-plume, I hope to make a lot more.
Love & ♥♥♥
from
Kate
PS: ORDERING BOOKS
to buy
By the way, while Sex, Lies and Fairytales is available to buy or to order in all good bookshops in Ireland, the UK and the Commonwealth, its companion piece Hard to Choos is available to buy direct from booksellers only in Ireland at present. Should you wish to buy the book from Amazon, clicking here will take you straight to the sales point. You can also order Hard to Choos from Pixie's site. Lots of you are wondering where my backlist can be purchased. Amazon is good, of course, but my Transworld titles are also available - with free P&P in the UK - at Bookpost. (Just key in the title name in inverted commas - ie: "More Mischief")
to buy
© Kate Thompson, 2008
site constructed by
