Lunch and A Launch! by Valerie-Anne Baglietto

The Teapot Cafe

The Novelistas had their Christmas lunch in early December, always a festive and fun event, with a little silliness thrown in, as if we've all been hitting the vino rather than the tap water.


It was a huge shame that due to illness/Dog's illness Juliet Greenwood and Trisha Ashley were unable to attend. It was also a shame that our usual lovely venue had been hit by the terrible flooding in St Asaph, so we had to find somewhere new at short notice. (Thank-you, Erika, for sorting this out so quickly and efficiently, especially at this time of year, and thanks also to all the staff who took care of us.)

I have sparkly-jumper envy, but I was too cold to dress up!!

Ten of us met at the Teapot Cafe, and as well as our usual Christmas fun and games it was the launch of my latest book on Kindle - Once Upon A Winter. I really wanted to share my gratitude, and some chocolates, with my ever-supportive fellow Novelistas, because without them I'm not sure I would have ever got to this point. I also wanted to thank the Amazon Kindle bestselling author, and good friend, Louise Marley (shown on the right here with me) for all her invaluable help and advice.

Warming up with coffee

It was a bitterly cold day, which I suppose fitted in perfectly with the book title, so I shouldn't complain. There was a scramble to bagsy the chairs next to the radiator, but we soon felt brave enough to start peeling off the layers (coats, scarfs, gloves, hats etc. - before you get any strange ideas). Out came the Christmas crackers and some portable decorations kindly provided by Cheryl.

Our own festive palm tree . .. . um . . .

teeny weeny wine

We soon got all chatty and loud and before long we were snapping crackers and tucking into our meals. I wasn't driving, so had a little bottle of wine to celebrate the launch, bearing in mind I had to look lively and alert for the school run later.

Anne Bennett & Ruth France

photo op - catch Erika looking my way!

We discussed the progress of our Advent story, which you can read here on this blog under 'Christmas Countdown'. It's a joint venture by a few of us to see if we could write a coherent tale without any structured plot and with lots of little cliffhangers along the way. Soooo not as easy as I'd thought! But it's proving fun, and it's honing my editorial skills as I try to make it flow with each daily post. (I was given permission to chop or add, as and when required.)

goodies galore *rubs hands with glee*

It's become a tradition for the Novelistas to have a Christmas raffle, too, where we each bring a gift. So no one goes home empty-handed. I was lucky enough to nab a gorgeous scarf and some chocs (thank you, Ruth).


All in all I went home a happy girl. And I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have already bought Once Upon A Winter. I hope you enjoy it. It's not a Christmas book, and it's not about vampires. Or werewolves. Or angels. Or ghosts. But if, like me, you enjoy TV programmes like Once Upon A Time and films like Stardust and Enchanted, then it might be right up your street.

Quick link, direct to the book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AKGF48W

teeny weeny tree to go with the teeny weeny wine

Next week I'll finally be blogging on The Next Big Thing, after being tagged by Louise (see post below). I'm reading 'Breathless' at the moment, and finding it hard to put down, so I'll blame Louise if my kids go hungry and gift-less this year ;-)

Until next time - best wishes and lots of love,

Valerie-Anne x