A little bit about me, huh? Well, okay then . . .

 

I live in Newcastle, NSW, and am a married mum of two boys who frequently drive me to the brink of sanity. I have my own freelance editing business, Delphi Rose Editing, and co-run the blog Booked Every Night.

 

I've always had a love of books. Like, forever. My family not only fostered my reading obsession, but they cultivated it too. My grandfather (whom I am very close to) used to buy me at least one paperback a week, and I would devour it. Growing up, I read everything from The Secret Seven and The Famous Five, to Goosebumps and Harry Potter.

 

One of my favourite authors as a child was Enid Blyton, and it was through her that I really started to see reading as an escape. I am positive I'm not the only one who wanted to go to boarding school after reading the St. Clare's series! As I grew older my reading tastes changed. I started to "test" myself, and would frequently pick a random shelf in the library and challenge myself to read at least three books from there. In fact, Storm Warning by Jack Higgins is still one of my favourite books, and I never would have come across it had it not been for my warped competition with myself.

 

The school holidays were like heaven for me. Although a tomboy who could often be found jumping off the jetty, or building dens in the rock formations by my house, or climbing trees, the holidays were an opportunity for plenty of uninterrupted reading time. During one family holiday to Ireland, I was forced to share a bedroom with a collection of porcelain dolls. Yes, it was as creepy as it sounds! To stop myself from falling asleep (because everyone know that's when they get you) I picked up a book from the bedside table and began reading. I didn't even bother to read the blurb, but from the very first chapter I was hooked, and the Flowers in the Attic series by Virginia Andrews remains on my bookshelf to this day. If you haven't read it, please do. There are a few themes that some may find a little hard to stomach, but it is one of the most gut-wrenchingly beautiful stories of survival that I have ever read.

 

In terms of getting into the romance genre, I have my mother to thank for that. When I used to visit her house during the holidays, I would always take myself up to the attic and look at the shelves and shelves of books; often spending more time deciding what to read than actually reading! One day I came across some new titles. Mum came up to see what I was up to and pointed out a few books that I was, under no circumstances, NOT to read. So I did what every teenage girl does and waited for her to leave the room before I picked up one of those books. I mean, if she didn't want me to read it, there must be something pretty awesome in it, right?! So I dived right in, marking my place by writing the page number down on a blank piece of paper so that I could return the book to the shelf without Mum figuring out what I was doing. 

 

And that book? The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous by Jilly Cooper. I am not ashamed to say that I now own ALL of Jilly Cooper's books, and used to read them when I was up at stupid o'clock in the morning, feeding my youngest son, just because I knew I would get so lost in the story that I wouldn't fall asleep. Again, if you haven't read them, please do. Anyone who likes themselves a bad-boy-gone-good will fall in love with the infamous Rupert Campbell-Black. Ugh. Rupert . . . 

 

But I digress. 

 

My love of romance novels took off from there, and I don't regret it for one second. That's not to say I only like romance; I am a big fan of crime fiction, and any story based on true events. My favourite book of all time is Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. I have seven copies; including a first edition. The pages of this book are made of rice paper were hand-cut. It was a present from my husband, long before the movie was ever in the works. (As an aside: I will not watch the movie of a book I love. I made that mistake with Memoirs and I won't be fooled twice. The books are ALWAYS better. Yes, that includes Harry Potter. I will go to see FSOG, but that's mainly because I want to see how Jamie Dornan fits in. I'm not a fan.)

 

 

Anyway, enough about my reading habits. 

 

Sydney 2014. My baby. I started planning this event in February 2013, so by the time the event comes around it will have been almost two years in the making. I won't make any money out of the event. The planning has involved many, many trips down to Sydney, a crazy number of phone calls that I make each day, infinite amounts time that I spend sat at my computer, replying to private messages, sending emails, updating the page. But I am doing this for the love of it, and for the sense of achievement I know myself and the other organisers will feel when we see the fruits of our labour.

 

The thing I am most looking forward to?

Can I say two things? Yes? Stuff it, I'm going to. Firstly, I want to see the faces of the fans when they walk into the room and get their gift bags. To see how they react to the event. Secondly, I am VERY much looking forward to the huge, fishbowl-size cocktail that Anabel has promised me (Yes, Anabel, it's on the internet now, for all to see!) on the evening of the 29th.

 

Can't wait to see you all there!