Catching up

A couple of things happened while I was away

Firstly, that total of countries on my counter went even higher. Yesterday, I was going to say that it had gone up to 53, but then this morning I log on and there are 54 little flags all in a row.
I've checked my list and found the new ones, so my welcome goes out to the visitor from the Netherlands whose flag is the blue red and white one.

This one is from Qatar



And finally there is a really spectacular one from the Seychelles .

All the new vistors are so welcome - as are all the older ones . And I hope you'll come back often. I have some exciting news about a big new contest coming up that you might want to know about.

The other thing that happened while I was in Wales is that an interesting article about romantic fiction appeared in the Bookseller and then was picked up and reprinted in The Book Standard. Just before I left to go on the Writing Weekend, I was approached by a journalist for a comment on her questions for this article so I was delighted to find that they had quoted a couple of my replies and that it wasn't the usual lazy knocking of romantic fiction but instead a very positive piece on the way that the UK market for romantic fiction is booming. Apparently Book Marketing Ltd's Books and the Consumer 2006 report estimates that consumers purchased five million romantic fiction titles in the 52 weeks ending September 17, with a value of £21.3m.

That's a lot of books!

Naturally, as a romance writer I'm thrilled to discovered that my own publisher reports that U.K. sales for the first three quarters of 2006 are up a healthy amount on the same period last year: its series business is up 8 percent in terms of net units sold, and its M&B imprint is up 33 percent. And, almost 1.1 million copies sold of “Modern Romance,” its most popular series, in the year to date is a record well worth mentioning.

Will it stop the 'heaving bosoms', 'all the same', 'churned out' type comments? Probably not but I've already commented on the idea of 'churning out' the books, and with sales like these, I will be laughing all the way to the bank.

Finally, also while I was away, several more people voted in the important Christmas Gift Poll to help me choose what I will give to charity as a donation and a 'Christmas Card' for my readers. The top five choice still remain the same as when I posted about them here. Essential Medicines for a village is the choice that's way out in front but with safe water, mango saplings and caring for an orphan all tying in 2nd place, I am going to have to choose between them. So please help me out - if you haven't already voted for your choice of a real Christmas Present to those who need it most - check out the POLL - which will stay open until 1st December - and vote for your choice.

Thanks!