Behind the scenes: Saying Yes To The Millionaire, Chapters 1 & 2

Right! The current book is IN! So, as promised, here is some of the background to Fern and Josh's story, Saying Yes To The Millionaire.


First of all, let me introdice you to my hero and heroine. Fern Chambers is a risk analyst, who is happy with the fact that the most daring thing she does on a regular basis is try a new flavoured syrup in her decaff latte. But her best friend challenges her to say 'yes' to every question she is asked for a week, and because her friend is promising money to her favourite charity, Fern accepts.


Enter Josh Adams, the boy next door. Or he was the boy next door, now he's the successful owner of a travel company and he's back in town for a bit. What a pity Fern discovers the teenage crush she used to have for him doesn't seem to have worn off. Josh is a daredevil, a wanderer, and he's looking for some excitement before he dashes off to some far-flung place. He discovers that there's a charity treasure hunt going on in London that weekend and decides that Fern is the perfect partner. Poor old Fern has no option but to say YES!


They first meet again when Fern is doing a bungee jump near the banks of the Thames. If you want to read about their first meeting click here and you can read the short excerpt on my website. There used to be a large crane set up near Battersea Park that was used for bungee jumps. It's not there anymore, but I invented a site somewhere near the Thames Embankment. There's always something being demolished or built somewhere in London and my imaginary crane was set up on a brown-field site awaiting development.


After the jump, Fern and Josh take a walk along the Thames Embankment, which runs along the river from Battersea Bridge to Blackfriars Bridge. It was built in the 1860s on the foreshore of the Thames to provide a road and walkway on the surface and room for a new sewage system and underground lines underneath. The views walking along here are some of the prettiest in London and I am totally in love with the large black lampposts with grotesque round-headed Victorian fish wound round them.

If you look carefully on the front cover of the book, you can see that the artist has used this setting. Looking at Fern and Josh on the cover, they're a pretty good match for the people I pictured in my head too!


I have another reason for liking the Embankment, a much more personal one. It was sitting on a bench there, many moons ago on a chilly October evening, that my husband proposed to me, and I still think it's one of the most romantic places in the world!