Do you ever have times when it seems technology turns against you?  Every time I switch on a light at the moment, a bulb goes and the entire circuit cuts out.  My television has stopped working, for reasons best known to itself, the fuse in the iron has blown, a whole shelf collapsed in one of my kitchen cupboards, the shower door is broken and yesterday I had to admit defeat and go out and buy a new printer.  I am getting a little anxious in case my bad technological vibes extend to the plane next week!  I am a nervous flyer at the best of times.  I’m that white-knuckled passenger next to you who spends take off with eyes squeezed shut and hands gripped tightly together.  Pathetic, I know, but think of me on Thursday as I fly off to San Francisco… 

I have reached the stage when it seems impossible that I will ever get to the airport on time.  There is still so much to be done, not least the all-important task of deciding what to pack. Will everyone be super smart?  Do people really wear their pyjamas to a pyjama party?  Would it be silly to take my jewelled sandals?  More importantly, will it be hot or cold?  My guide book tells me San Francisco tends to be cool in summer  but when I checked the weather forecast it said there was full sun and temperatures up in the 80s.  And I guess it might be doing something very different in Yosemite, where I imagine the dress code is different again … so many outfits to wear, so little room in the suitcase!  Still, as my mother was always telling me, ‘nobody’s interested in you, dear’ so it won’t matter in the end what I’m wearing. 

The whole idea of the RWA conference seems very daunting at the moment, but I am sure I will enjoy it when I get there.  I’m looking forward to putting faces to some familiar names, and especially to meeting Barbara Hannay and Barbara McMahon.  We’re going up to Yosemite together before the conference and will no doubt be fine-tuning our workshop in between gawping at the scenery.  The workshop is called ‘Emotion, Emotion, Emotion: Writing Romance with Global Appeal’ and we’ve spent the last few weeks batting ideas backwards and forwards between three continents.  We’ve got a two hour slot on the Friday morning, and are planning plenty of audience participation and group work, so if you’re going to be in San Francisco, do come along! 

I’ll need to spend this last week rewriting my current book, which has fallen rather behind schedule with everything else that is going on.  I limped to the end of a first draft with a very rough version of the last three chapters, went through the usual dispiriting reading of the entire manuscript and have now gone back to the beginning to start the rewrite.  Am feeling better about it since I had coffee with my friend Julia and thrashed out exactly what the problem was between my characters – a little late in the day, I know, but I didn’t realise what was missing until I started to talk it through.  Who says writing is a solitary business?  I couldn’t do it without my friends! 

No more from me now then until early August.  Donna Alward will be here on 4th August with a guest blog about her new book, so do come and keep her company until I get back!