Still floating

Apart from the fact my little toe looks like a plump purple grape, I am still on cloud nine. Jenny Haddon (RNA Chairman) kindly posted the judges comments for all the shortlisted books on ROMNA (the cyber chapter of the RNA). So here's the verdict on "Blind-Date Marriage", as it has been re-titled:

This very contemporary short novel is funny and charming and has real heart. The hero is an original, with his two distinct personae. You're on his side right from the cracking first page. Among our pleasures were a delightfully brisk heroine, whizzy plot, her ageing rocker dad and the way the hero handles a truculent kid. We believed totally in the world and the characters, including a scuzzbag would-be blackmailer. And there were some fabulous one liners that turned us green with envy.

...And the winner - for its freshness, vitality and sheer page turnability- isTHE BLIND DATE BRIDE by Fiona Harper

Now, I should be thinking about quoting bits of this in promotional material and such like, but all I do when I read it is go warm and squishy inside at the thought the judges actually liked my writing.

I've actually been quite terrified at the thought of my book coming out. The down-side of an overactive imagination is that it's very easy to imagine the worst as well as the best. (Think nightmares of angry people with pitchforks at my door shouting "fraud!" shortly after the publication date). But getting this award has boosted my confidence no end. More than the flowers, the trophy, and the cheque (wonderful though they are), it is the judges comments that have me on a high.