Despite the humiliation of coming fifth (out of, um, six) in the Bromley Tennis Centre Elemis tennis tournament – not to mention failing with my Kickstarter AND failing to win the London Book Fair’s prestigious UK Selfies in adult fiction, for the second year in a row... I’m still finding lots to celebrate.

For a start, my fellow competitors for the UK Selfies were fantastic. With two, in particular, I suspect that I’m destined to be lifelong pals: one a rival in the adult fiction, the other a finalist in the children’s fiction. (For my cheap-and-cheerful guide on how to survive the London Book Fair, click on the link below!!!!)

In short, the London Book Fair is NOT as glam as it sounds.

Your friends will regard you with ill-placed envy upon hearing of your being invited, imagining you swanning about, chin-wagging with top agents and swiping the autographs of celebrity authors such as Osman or Colleen Hoover.

In fact, if you want two seconds with a celeb you have to queue up for decades, and though the top agents are there (you get nudged, ‘Wow!!! Look, isn't that Wiley!!!?’) they only deign to speak to their fellows, while the less-famous agents sweat in rows of desks a mere elbow’s-width away from their hard-pressed colleagues, in hot and humid holes the punters never wander into. And - apparently - not even these lesser-spotted agents can be seen without an appointment.

In short, unless you ARE a celeb or an agent, this is NOT the place to ignite your career.

You can spot the newbies because they have hopeful expression and books to sell. (Sadly, not even Penguin Random House sells BOOKS at the London Book Fair!)

The LBF guide advises shoes good for walking, but what they cannily refrain from saying is that you won’t be walking so much as STANDING… There are seats only for the lucky few, and all of us Selfie finalists were sitting on the floor, lol. You have to queue for ages for a coffee, or for the loos, or for an interesting panel (some of these were great) but often you’ll be standing to listen, if they're really good. At times, the crush of people just gets to be  too much and you slink into a dark corner, plop down on your winter coat and dig out your Kindle.  (Yes, you escape from the London Book Fair with a good book!)

Though you feel a little guilty at this pleasure, as you feel you ought to be networking with your fellow scribes, collaring a translation deal in Bulgarian or laughing at a panel discussion (one, hilariously, was a lesbian erotica author selling so many cartloads per month from her website alone that she’s had to HIRE A WAREHOUSE. Believe me, I’m in ENTIRELY the wrong genre!!!)  

(See my video: Alice’s cheap and cheerful guide to the London Book Fair!!!)

First Promo!!!! Rather hilariously entitled: Life and love after forty.

Well, most of my friends are over forty, and what they don’t know about life and love is not to be told!!! Soooooooo....

(Of course she dies. But did it have to be quite so young, O God!!??)

I didn’t just well up when she died –  I burst into tears. Because it really must have been something like that, between the sisters, as Cassandra devoted most of her life to supporting her beloved Jane. Had either married, the bond would have still been strong but felt rather different... Jane, as we know, had a brilliant offer from a rich-but-dim suitor. She felt obliged to accept, but repented the very next morning. Cassandra, by contrast, was engaged to a naval officer, who died before they could marry.

And these kinds of outcomes, among young ladies of the gentry, were extremely common during the Regency. Thanks to all the wars, there was a very general shortage of young men, and the Meryton ball disaster – too few male partners for the ladies attending – was probably happening all over Britain.

But Cassandra in Hornby’s version – acted sensationally well by Keeley Hawes – was such a sympathetic character: caring and generous-hearted as well as ironic.

Some commentators were disappointed with the casting of Jane Austen, though she was played with delightful piquancy by Patsy Ferra. These moaners probably had idealised notions of Jane Austen's looks. In reality, she was apparently VERY like Ferra: swift, small and dark, interesting-looking but not a beauty. (Cassandra was nearer to being a beauty than Jane.)

In fact, the casting, the costumes, the lighting, the direction, were all perfection. Yes, there were a few Hollywoody moments in the script-writing but… still highly recommend to my US readers, once it makes the leap across the ocean!!!

But… prepare to be deeply moved!!! PBS. May 4th, 2025. Hankies at the ready… Go!!!!!!

(Read about Bigg-Withers’ proposal to Jane Austen HERE)

Honoured to report that PRIDE AND PERJURY, in addition to making this month’s Selfies finals, is a finalist for Chanticleer’s International Book Awards (short story collection category) in April.

AND – if possible, even more thrillingly – it's a finalist too in Foreword Indies’ “Book of the Year” award in June. If you’re wondering whether or not to give PRIDE AND PERJURY a try, here are a few excerpts:

Mr Bennet shook his head. ‘I have very little hope,’ said he, ‘of disposing of even one of my daughters much before luncheon.’

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‘What,’ inquired Lady Catherine, ‘is the point of a racehorse?’

‘I believe,’ said her daughter Anne, ‘to eat a great deal, and most of it money.’

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‘She is not too old! Instead, she is exactly the sort of age when a young lady is wishing to give over practising the pianoforte in favour of consultations with her housekeeper, and quite longing to cease attempting vague sketches of roses, in favour of embroidering baby caps.’

(Also, if you have read, please review it!!!!!!!! 🤩🤩🤩

Second giveaway!!!!

As usual, these are all historical fiction, though still hugely varied, from James Conroyd Martin’s Napoleonic epics to an Ivanhoe sequel and the Tudors. (My SUSAN included). Someone asked me what the author gets out of giving away copies, and it’s not sinister. It’s just an opt-in to get my newsletter once a month.

BUT book funnellers are excellent reviewers, too. You’re not just shooting free books into the void. It is really worth it, for the reviews!

You also bond with your fellow writers: James Conroyd Martin is first-rate!!!

ALSO...

Check out my colleague Amanda Kai's newest novel here:

LINKS

Alice’s video about the London Book Fair

Read Alice’s article in Historia magazine here