June3
Many years ago, when my writing was still a guilty secret, I’d periodically bombard friends with group emails. They inevitably started with an apology, sauntered into some story and crescendo-ed with an outrageous anecdote (like gate crashing the Grammys, skydiving in Brazil or being conned into perming my hair). I’d feel guilty about assailing my friends until I realized that these group emails were actually enjoyed, and when they stopped friends asked about them. Which is sort of what I’m hoping will happen with these newsletters, that they’re enjoyed! And they’ll be posted on the website, so that I don’t clog up your inboxes with photos etc, which might save frustration if you’re like me and operating on a dodgy laptop with a sticking L-key and surviving a temperamental internet connection that sometimes just throws its hands in the air and says “your home is in a dip, suffer baby!”
Sooooooooooooo… it’s our 6-month wedding anniversary on Saturday (!!!) and life has changed beyond even my wildest dreams.
In a nutshell…
I’ve kicked my corporate stilettos to the back of my closet and embarked on a writing sabbatical, this time to complete my second novel. To keep me sane, exercised and happy, Andrew capitulated and Greta (our gorgeous teenage German Shepherd) arrived to wreak havoc among my shoes. To celebrate everything we did some jet setting: Andrew for a deal in London, and me just for the joy ride (I love London) and gloriously managed to squeeze in Paris (too short!). Which had the unexpected upside of some gorgeous shopping on Rue St. Germaine for some rather lovely little things…
… which really leads to the highlight of all the gorgeous news, which is that we’re expecting our first child: a Scorpio baby due 1 November 2009. We’re keeping our baby’s gender a surprise, so my shopping in both London & Paris revolved around trying to find the cutest, sweetest white baby clothes (almost impossible as everything is blue and pink!) and really did my credit card damage in Paris. That being said the baby now has the most gorgeous hand embroidered tiny white outfit for returning home from the hospital, while I’m still cringing at the audacity of how much I spent. The greatest shopping coup was unearthing the prints for the baby room at the most glorious boutique called merci in the marais where all the profits go to a kids charity in Madagascar (click here to read fabulous FT article on the store). This was of course thanks to the uber-stylish, uber- sophisticated Ilya (my best friend from NY) who I’d zapped under the channel to see!
So about this Scorpio baby…
Well, Andrew said he knew I was knocked up when I started matching him plate for plate. Which he might have thought, but never said (lovely man!). And he smiled fit for a king when I broke the news (doubly lovely man!). In truth it was actually the fabulous book club chicks that got me thinking I must be pregnant (clever them!) and had me delightedly bouncing into the chemist, thinking life was about to change, only to have the excitement fizzle ridiculously when no little blue line appeared. But I was still hungry (ate more than a horse, an elephant maybe?), still suspecting and still trusting home pregnancy tests (obviously pregnancy brain kicked in early!). Until 4 tests later, a tiny, weeny, almost unbelievable blue line appeared. Being a doctor’s daughter, I dashed off to get a blood test and then zooted home to tell darling Andrew (this was the Cheshire cat moment) and we drank tea to celebrate! The funniest thing is that the blood test results had to go to a doctor, so I thought quickest response would come from my dad (grandfather speed, you know). A doctor’s a doctor right? Not so, grin. The Prof of hand surgery had to ask what the test results meant, had no clue whether I was or wasn’t. I quickly found myself a most fabulous OBG… So with much muddling, loads of excitement, and huge amounts of celebratory bubbly (not me!) it’s absolutely confirmed: Scorpio baby in November.
And so what about White Knights?
Well, its been flying off the shelves. My gift to Andrew and our wedding guests has metamorphosed into the most gorgeous surprise for me! We did a second print run at the end of Feb (wow!), had two smashing launches (Jozi & CT, pics and scoop below), have had loads of yummy press, including this month’s cosmo!
And then… London! Amazingly, wonderfully and fabulously, Daunt Books in Chelsea are stocking White Knights. Which is simply too glorious for words, as essentially the gorgeous, forward thinking (and totally dishy) buyer for the store, Max Porter, gave me a break! He loved the wedding story, loved the novel and said YES! Which in the huge, concrete, metropolis of London was akin to having a stranger giving you a flowers while you’re standing amongst a bevy of supermodels! So if you’re in London, and are looking to lay your hands on White Knights, you should scoot over to Daunt Books at 158-164 Fulham Road SW10.
And timing couldn’t be more perfect as White Knights was reviewed in The South African newspaper yesterday (grin grin). You can check out the article (it’s very cool) or the newspaper (also cool, what can I say!).
The other really fun thing that we (that’s me and White Knights) got up to was the Women & Home Photo Shoot, which was pretty mind blowing. Frith Thomas and Kerry Phillips, the utterly stylish and gorgeous W&H editors, came to the Jozi launch and asked to include the story of White Knights story in their August issue (you’ll have to buy a copy!). After a divinely fun interview with charming Kerry P amidst thrown together packing on the afternoon of our departure to London, she mentioned to expect a call about photos. Divine, I thought, I’ll rummage up my passport photo. I’ve never been so thrilled to be so completely wrong! The wonderfully organized, gorgeous stylist Cleo (even her name is perfect!) calls me up, fills me in and on Friday last week I find myself on location in Kramerville, with Cleo introducing me to the hair and makeup guru, cameraman, stylist and Jill-of-everything. Ahem! Three hours later, I’m trying to keep a straight face as I pose, leaning languidly against a wrought iron gate, with shiny slicked back hair, enormous khol-lined eyes (think Sienna Miller in Layer Cake!) and wearing the most ridiculously gorgeous black pleated chiffon Max Mara dress (click here for sneak peak of the dress!) with white vintage shoes (model’s own!) and fishnets… and understanding why our Scorpio baby simply needed to have a French designer outfit for its first major outing. It’s in the genes!
So, it’s all been super fun and White Knights has been doing fabulously well. And there is one last hurrah, which is the Cape Town Book Fair. Which I’m very excited about, because last year we couldn’t attend as it was a big birthday for Andrew and I threw him a surprise birthday party (which was gorgeous and had a big chocolate cake that said “Fabulous Fo…” oops!). But essentially I’m bunking out because…
… well, I’m officially back in my writing hole, squirreling away on my next FABULOUS novel!
So about the next fabulous novel…
Which I’m having so much fun with! It’s modern, set in the converging worlds of current Jozi, London and New York and is all about the perceptions, money and power which drive decisions in the new scramble for Africa. Because really, how can a chick live in such a thriving, gorgeous, multidimensional city and not write about it? How can one not record the deal making, schmoozing, politicking, wangling, networking, socializing and backstabbing of the wanna-be’s? And the love affairs! Whew! I am having a ball… and the book is going to be fabulous. It’s all about the seen and the unseen. And society crashing into itself, interacting, sorting itself out and carrying on again. The novel weaves between different people, their lifestyles, their choices and the masks they wear. For behind these masks, it the personal experiences, values and goals that dictate the decisions they make when their worlds start disintegrating. Which is precisely what happens when a love affair ends, a government meddles and someone disappears…
grin grin. bounce bounce. until next time! loads of love…A + bump
