As Abi would be the first to know. She has spent her life in the shadow of her stunningly beautiful, glamorous older sister Cleo.
Headhunted as a model when she was sixteen, Cleo has been all but lost to Abi for the last twenty years, with only a fleeting visit or brief email to connect them. So when Abi is invited to spend the summer in Cleo's large London home with her sister's perfect family, she can't bring herself to say no. Despite serious misgivings. Maybe Cleo is finally as keen as Abi to regain the closeness they shared in their youth?
But Abi is in for a shock. Soon she is left caring for her two young, bored and very spoilt nieces and handsome, unhappy brother-in-law - while Cleo plainly has other things on her mind. As Abi moves into her sister's life, a cuckoo in the nest, she wrestles with uncomfortable feelings.
Could having beauty, wealth and fame lead to more unhappiness than not having them? Who in the family really is the ugly sister?
NEWS For all my news, come and join me on my Facebook page. September 2011
Come and meet me and fellow authors Fiona Neill and Elizabeth Noble in Chorleywood on October 3rd. Details here.
And don't forget The Ugly Sister is coming out on Sept 29th!
August 2011
I'm going to be appearing at the Hampstead and Highgate Literary Festival on September 11th, in conversation with Sara Lawrence. Tickets are available from
www.hamhighlitfest.com or 020 8511 7900. Have a look at their website for all their other fabulous events too.
July 2011
Here's the gorgeous, finished cover for my next book, The Ugly Sister.
It'll be in the shops on Sept 29th in the UK.
June 2011
- I lost!!!!
Congratulations to Helen Simonson for winning the Melissa Nathan Award and thank you to everyone at the Melissa Nathan Foundation for a really enjoyable evening and their lovely policy of giving all the nominees a trophy.
And well done too to Dawn French for being named Glamour Magazine's Writer of the Year for the wonderful 'A Tiny Bit Marvellous'.
Oh well, there's always next year.
May 2011 - The Marie Claire 'Inspire and Mentor' scheme is now up and running for the second year. If you're looking for guidance, good advice and support in business, arts and media, interiors, or fashion and beauty related careers you can apply now to be mentored by one of their fabulous 2011 panel which includes women like Thea Green, founder of Nails Inc, Ruby Hammer and Millie Kendall of Ruby and Millie, cupcake queen Lorraine Pascale, and founder of notonthehighstreet.com Holly Tucker.
Aspiring fiction and drama writers can apply to be mentored for a year by me...
Have a look at all the inspirational women they have running the scheme this time around and apply online at: marieclaire.co.uk April 2011 - The nominations for the Melissa Nathan Award have been announced and I'm honoured to say that Foursome has been chosen as one of the 6 nominees. You can read all about the awards, the other shortlisted books and Melissa Nathan herself at melissanathan.com
The results will be announced on June 21st.
March 2011 - I've just found out I've been nominated for Writer of the Year in the Glamour Awards! Very excited. If you have time (and can be bothered, and, obviously, think I deserve to win) please vote for me here at the Glamour Magazine website.
February 2011 - My new book - now titled The Ugly Sister - is all finished and will be coming
out later this year! I'll post on here as soon as I have a definite
date. I'm really excited about it; I think the heroine, Abi, is one
of my favourite characters I've ever written for. Now for a couple
of months staring into space thinking up a story for the next one...
I've just about recovered from the British London 10k! I went round in 70 minutes which is pitiful but I was ridiculously proud of myself. Thank you so much to everyone who sponsored me - the Mayhew Animal Home are about £1400 better off thanks to you all.
I will be running the British 10K London Run on July 11th 2010 to help raise money for the Mayhew Animal Home in North London. The Mayhew Home takes in unwanted or abused animals, finding them new homes with responsible owners whenever possible and caring for those who cannot be re-homed. They never put a healthy animal down.
www.mayhewanimalhome.org
If you can please visit my sponsorship page and sponsor me for any amount, however small. Thank you!
Getting Rid of Matthew - Jennifer Aniston's production company along with Universal have bought the film rights to Getting Rid of Matthew with a view to Jennifer starring as Helen!
