Fanfare! Country Lovers is out in paperback today, Thursday 3^rd September, although I confess it’s unusually quiet around here for a publication day…

The whizzy fibre optic broadband that was recently installed in our rural backwater cut out a few days ago when a tractor accidentally snapped the cable, and it’s still dead. With just a patchy mobile signal as back-up, it’s a spooky case of life imitating art: the cast of Country Lovers often do the one-armed phone dance as they try to find a connection in the sleepy village of Compton Magna. Like the book’s heroine Pax, I can only check emails if I perch on a hummock by the compost heap and must drive to Waitrose car park to upload anything as big as this blog…at least that’s my excuse for slurping coffee and munching on a pastry while writing this.

I might be socially (media) distanced at present, but it’s just as exciting as ever to see a book in print, especially after the lockdown delays meant Country Lover’s original paperback publication was postponed. I’m very grateful to all those of you who have patiently awaited it, and also to those readers who’ve already read it in hardback or ebook – or even listened to me narrating the audio version – and taken the time to write a message to let me know how much you enjoyed it.

‘Stuffed full of star-crossed lovers, misunderstandings and horses’ to quote iNews (who selected it amongst their books of the year), Country Lovers sees Ronnie Percy struggling to save the family farm whilst embroiled in daughter Pax’s disintegrating marriage, her new stud manager’s shady past and a lot of riotous village gossip. You can read more about it here.

I do hope galloping through pages of fresh air and frolics proves the ultimate escape. There have been few times in life that I’ve loved reading more than this one, and today is a true bonanza. It’s the busiest publishing day of the year, and what a crowd of us there are! With more novels coming out this week than any other this year, bookshelves will be heaving and bedside tables piled high as the annual hibernation of curling up with a good book starts early. I’m hugely grateful to everyone who wants to curl up with mine.

I always urge readers to support independent booksellers if you can. But with so many books vying for space in shops, I appreciate it may be easiest to have a copy delivered to your door, in which case, here are the links to the buy Country Lovers in paperback on Waterstones and Amazon.