Finally, I am getting around to telling what happened during my trip to London for the Association of Mills & Boon Authors' luncheon! Fellow Presents author Jennie Lucas and I hatched a plan that worked perfectly. First, we planned our flights so we'd arrive and depart Heathrow within an hour of each other. Then we rented a flat with a gorgeous view of the Thames, Shakespeare's Globe Theater, and the Tate Modern. From our roof terrace, we could see the dome of St. Paul's — though we spent so much time doing so many wonderful and fascinating things that we never actually spent any time on the terrace. Ah well!

Here's the Globe at night from our flat, btw. There's also a tour boat in the foreground. 🙂

The first night there, we had dinner at a restaurant where we sat at a window table and gazed out at this. Can you believe the view?!

Jennie and I were so tired, but we were determined to stay up as long as possible and go to bed at a decent UK hour. We sat here, eating, drinking wine, and talking about how tired we were and how glad we were to have finally arrived after such a long trip. Sitting with a view of St. Paul's was completely surreal, and just what we both needed to feel like we were on an adventure.

The next day (Wednesday) was our trip out to Richmond. I've posted elsewhere about our time at the Mills & Boon offices, so will skip on to other events!

Thursday morning, Jennie and I met up with Kate Walker and Abby Green and took a train to meet the fabulous Sharon Kendrick. Here's me and Jennie with the Winchester cathedral in the background.

And look at this marvelous lunch that Sharon cooked for us! It was absolutely delicious, and I can't tell you how wonderful it was to sit around a table with these women I admire so much and talk writing and books and life. It's like being admitted to an exclusive club that you've always wanted to be in. For those of you who adore Sharon's books, I got to see her writing room where she makes all that magic happen. 🙂

After a great lunch and conversation, we caught the train back to London and headed back to our respective hotels/flats to prepare for the dinner that Kate and Michelle Reid were hosting for the Presents authors that night. I have no pictures of the evening, though I hope to get some from the others who promised to share!

We had a marvelous time, and I got to meet so many people for the first time. India Grey, Sara Craven, Michelle, Natalie Rivers, and Sarah Morgan to name a few. After dinner, the hotel gave us a private room where we were able to sit and chat until about midnight, at which time Jennie and I decided we were tired and needed to get back to our flat if we were going to be presentable for the luncheon the next day.

And that's it for Part 1 of my London trip! Soon, I'll be back with more photos and more adventures to share. 🙂 Now tell me about an adventure you've been on lately! One lucky commenter will win a book!