Did I mention my trophy?

So, last weekend was the Romantic Novelists Association annual conference, which is always one of my favourite events of the year. This year it was in Sheffield, land of my forefathers, up in the Frozen North. Except, confusingly, it was quite the opposite of frozen, which is why so many pictures of us all are a bit...shiny. 

The Choc-Liteers glammed up for the Saturday gala dinner, including our lovely two new recruits, Rhoda Baxter & Alison May (front right).

As ever, it was a fab mix of informative and useful talks (thanks especially to Julie Cohen & Fiona Harper who helped me figure out a few things about my Wip, and Janet Gover who told me what not to do in radio interviews), and lots of socialising. Maybe a bit too much socialising. No...you're right. There can't be too much. 

Of course, on the Saturday night, the Elizabeth Goudge trophy was presented. This is open to all conference attendees, regardless of published status, and is entirely anonymous, which is really lovely. This year, the entry was the first chapter of a novel on the theme of ice. I wrote mine in about five minutes and raced for the last post, then forgot about it.

Then it won. 

No, look, it won! I won a trophy! Did I mention my trophy?

After the conference I needed to sleep for a week, but instead went on to Derbyshire for a few days holiday in the Peak District. It's quite astonishingly pretty up there, although I might have wished for slightly cooler weather--still, it's a wonderful excuse for a pint of cold lager in the afternoon!

Back to work now (well, maybe on Monday) with plenty of ideas for a new, improved Wip. Strengthen the theme, improve the structure, and don't forget to describe the heat oppression in those summer scenes.

Now, did I mention my trophy?