Last Friday, I had the pleasure of catching
up with fellow authors at the Association of Mills & Boon Authors (AMBA) in
London.
I’m on holiday in the UK and I was fortunate enough to be here at the
right time for the annual get together. The lunch is held in a lovely hotel in
central London and is attended by authors from all over Britain and, this year,
two Australians (one of them me!) and a New Zealander. The other Australian was
C. C. Coburn who writes for Harlequin American and from New Zealand Alison
Roberts.
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| Harlequin Romance, Cherish and Forever Romance authors, from left to right: Kate Hardy, Christy McKellen, Jessica Gilmore, Kandy Shepherd, Scarlet Wilson, Sophie Pembroke, Ellie Darkins, Caroline Anderson, Alison Roberts, Fiona Harper, Nina Milne. (Sadly lovely Liz Fielding had to leave before we took the photo.) |
It’s so enjoyable to meet with the authors
who are all delightful company. (And it was a yummy lunch, too!) In particular, it was great for me to catch up
again with fellow Harlequin Romance authors, Christy McKellen, Scarlet Wilson
and Jessica Gilmore as we all worked together on the four-book Maids Under the
Mistletoe continuity, which launches in October. In fact it was fabulous to meet up with so many of the authors for the Romance line.
Editors and executives from Mills &
Boon and Harlequin also attended and we were glad to hear that the future of
category romance is looking healthy!
The lunch was followed by a party for
authors at M & B headquarters on the seventeenth floor of the News Ltd
building at London Bridge. The view of London, both old and new, is
magnificent. Sadly, I was having so much fun chatting with fellow authors as
well as editors and support staff I didn’t take any photos of the view. Or of
the cover of my November release Greek
Tycoon’s Mistletoe Proposal (Book Two in Maids Under the Mistletoe) when it
flashed up big on the screen. Other authors took photos of themselves next to
their covers—why didn’t I think of that!
Have you ever missed the chance to take a photo of something special? I’d love to hear about it! (I’ll be doing my best to reply to your comments but am at the mercy of intermittent internet...)
When I was in Grade 12, I fully anticipated going into Grade 13, so I declined the grad photos. During that summer, I found out that my parents weren't allowing me to go to university after all, so I went straight to a nearby college instead and missed Grade 13 and its grad photos (because Grade 13 was basically for those entering university).
ReplyDeleteIn college, I took what I thought was a 3-year course. Apparently it was 2 years of general Business Administration and a third year of specialized Business Administration. Again, I had declined the 2-year grad photos because I thought I was attending the 3rd year. Shortly thereafter I realized that I didn't need nor want to get the third year, so again I graduated without donning a cap and gown.
Bummer. Twice.
How annoying Laney, to miss out on two lots of graduation photos. They're something that can't be duplicated, aren't they! In my day in Australia, they didn't make any fuss about graduating from high school. Then when they had the university graduation ceremony, I was in London (my father lived in London so it's somewhat of a second home to me) and never had the chance to have the graduation ceremony and no photos. When my daughter graduated university I made sure we got a good photo!
DeleteKandy, the party looks like such fun! You're fitting a lot into your trip! Good on you!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there are lots and lots of things I've missed the chance to photograph - I often forget the camera. On the other hand I've got some terrific shots. One of my favourites is from a Christmas morning when the children were young. Our tradition when they were little was not to put presents under the tree until they'd gone to bed on Christmas Eve. I have a photo of them coming into the lounge room and seeing the tree after Santa's visit. Their expressions are so precious.
The party was fun, thank you Annie. I'm glad you are able to remember the photos you were glad you got rather than the ones you missed out on! Your Christmas photo sounds lovely and one to cherish.
DeleteHi Kandy
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had lots of fun and I have been seeing lots of photos on Facebook :) I always forget to take photos and get mad at myself when I was in Adelaide for RWA I think I took maybe 6 photos not enough and then often there are chances to get a good shot and of course I don't have the phone out :)
Have a great holiday and I look forward to your new book I must get the rest of them in the series as well
Have Fun
Helen
Sometimes even if you have camera/phone in handbag, you just get too caught up in the moment to think about it, don't you Helen! But maybe that isn't such a bad thing! I think you'll enjoy my November book. The others in the series promise to be excellent!
DeleteOh Kandy I love London in September! And AMBA is awesome! Thanks for sharing the pics.
ReplyDeleteNow with a phone, I'm never without a camera and I love it. I take pics of everything! Best part is I can just delete the terrible ones :-)
Amy, the weather is wonderful here, everyone is marvelling at it! The phone is marvellous for taking photos, isn't it. And being able to delete such a good thing. The days of film and getting photos developed seems centuries ago now!
DeleteOh, what a great photo! I'd love to attend AMBA one day. I think the only photos I regret not taking are from last weekend during my daughter's wedding but I so didn't want to get in the way of the photographer and I kept consoling myself that we'll get all the best shots of that day in good time anyway. I also wanted to just revel in the day and everything about it and not watch it all through a lens, which I have done on occasion and regretted later.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Yvonne, it is so easy to watch things through a lens in the interests of getting a good photo and missing the involvement in the event. That's a different kind of regret. So glad you got to enjoy your daughter's beautiful wedding. Hope all the people who were unwell are on the mend now!
DeleteLovely photo, so nice to see all those familiar faces! Looks like you had a wonderful time.
ReplyDeleteI often forget to take photos while I'm travelling, too busy enjoying the sites! I sometimes even forget to take my camera out, but luckily the one on my phone makes a good substitute in a pinch :)
What a lovely photo, Kandy, and an even more wonderful memory. I've been loving your FB pics of your trip. :-) I always forget to take photos...but I tell myself it's far more important to immerse oneself in the experience.
ReplyDeleteHappy and safe travels!