Way back in 2010 I was lucky enough to have my first novel published by Orion. KATY CARTER WANTS A HERO was a book I had never actually expected to see the light of day. I wrote it for fun - the best and only reason to write a book - and when Richard Madeley was kind enough to say he enjoyed it things took off in a way I could have never imagined.




The book was featured in every national newspaper and the first print run ran out in hours. This was in the days before ebooks had really caught on too so it was even more exciting in many ways! I went on national and local radio and did book signings as well as talks at literary festivals. Too be published was, and still is, a dream come true and KATY holds a very special place in my heart. Readers too are very fond of Katy and even now it���s rare that week goes by without an email or a tweet or a FB message about the book.







Pinchy the Lobster became the unexpected star of the book and had a fan club all of his own. People often give me lobster related gifts too. The latest is a fab lobster cushion from my boyfriend���s mum which has pride of place on the sofa. I have to admit that even to this day, unlike Angel in ESCAPE FOR THE SUMMER, I can���t bear the thought of eating lobster!

One of the questions I���m often asked is, ���Will there be a sequel to Katy?��� I thought long and hard about this because the novel did come to a conclusion. But then I thought about the person I was at 29 and the person I am five years on and decided that there was certainly scope for Katy���s next adventure.

A few weekends ago, knowing I was going to be writing the sequel, I reread the book. Goodness, but aren���t first novels autobiographical? There is far more of me in that book than I realised. Red hair? Big shoes? English teacher who wants to be a romantic novelist? Hmmm... It was also the feisty and sometimes angry voice of the person and the writer I was then. Like Katy, I���ve grown up a lot since and mellowed a bit too! LIfe has dealt me a few surprises, good and bad, and I too have a happy life in Cornwall with my hero. Using these parallels it hasn���t been hard to weave a new narrative.

Would I still be able to write as Katy? I wasn���t sure and I must admit this is one of the reason I waited to write the book. It feels like a big responsibility to shoulder because Katy means a lot to so many people and I didn���t want to disappoint them. In true Katy style though, I had to pick up my pen and just find out...

And that was this morning! The day just flew by because there Katy was and it was as though she���d never been away. Her voice is as strong as ever and the first 3000 words simply wrote themselves.

I can hardly wait to carry on tomorrow!