The phone box is a symbol of the UK, and we thought this was one was perfect as it had “Love” printed on it!  I took my book to some iconic spots and will share photos in another blog.

On September 13, APCO Worldwide hosted a wonderful evening event at their office in London. I signed both of my books, Love Reconsidered, which was published on August 8 and is just being issued in the UK, and Hostile Takeover:  A Love Story, my first book, which was published in October, 2016.  A big thank you to James Acheson-Gray and Alex Bigland of APCO for hosting me and to Margery Kraus and Brent Crane for their wonderful support.

It meant the world to me that Liverpool family and friends made the train ride down to London for the event, returning that very same evening. My sisters-in-law Karen, Pat and Karen and niece, Leanne, are in this photo, as well as Karen’s sister, Jackie, and friend, Collette. Thanks to all for making the journey!

It was fun signing both of my books in London.  I hope everyone enjoys them!

James Acheson-Gray introduces me to the crowd. That’s a nice pile of books on the table!

It was wonderful to meet a number of the APCO staff; you can see some of them behind James. Thanks to all of them for attending. At the table, you can see my sister-in-laws Pat and Karen, with our niece, Leanne with the phone in the middle.

James makes a joke, and I clearly liked it. The Liverpool crew really enjoyed meeting James; they thought he was very witty in his comments–high praise from those from the North to someone from the South!

I read a dramatic passage from my book; a few folks mentioned that the reading intrigued them and made them want to read the book, so I was thrilled. Standing next to the APCO staff is Henry, an actor and friend of Roy’s who lives near London.

My husband, Roy, and I were thrilled to see many dear friends including Steve, Jenny, Helen and Andy from Northampton; Barrie and Viv from near Tunbridge Wells; Neil and Bernie from Stoke Bruerne and their daughter, Alex, who lives in London. There was actually another American in the crowd, Matt, who was with Alice, a friend from Liverpool who has lived in London for a number of years. They both work in the financial industry. This may have been the exact moment that Matt spilled his wine when I called him out! You can see many of these friends in the photos above and below, as well as Liverpool family and friends.

Standing room only!

I signed books before and after speaking.

We walked back to the train after the event and took a photo on the Waterloo Bridge in London.  The lights were fantastic!

After the event, a number of us went to dinner.  That’s Stephanie Ayres, Sen Sami and me at Sen’s family restaurant, Salieri’s, which is right near the Savoy in London.  Please try it!  Many thanks to Steph and her husband, Mark, for hosting Roy and me at her home, and Sen and her Dad for providing our large group with a wonderful dinner!

The Liverpool crew missed the dinner at Salieris, as they had to run to catch their train back to Liverpool. They came prepared with food and drink for the train, carrying everything with them from Liverpool.  As you can imagine, their train car was the really fun one, and they had lots of comments from fellow travelers! You can see Jackie behind the sandwiches and crisps. I can’t thank them enough for taking the time to attend the event to kick off Love Reconsidered in the UK. They got home after midnight, so it was a long day for them.

They had quite a spread. Liverpool folks are resourceful and prepared!  They had a great time on the journey home, as you can see.

The London event was held in the APCO offices near Covent Garden, so I took the opportunity to get this shot in the London underground Covent Garden station.  My husband, Roy, snapped this shot.  Little did we know that there would be a bombing in the London underground the next day.  Thank God no one was killed as the bomb didn’t fully deploy. Even though we weren’t in the underground station of the bombing (neither were any of the Liverpool family and friends traveling to the event), it does give us pause.  During our last trip, we were in and out of Manchester around the bombing at the Ariana Grande concert, and family members and friends from Liverpool go to that concert venue frequently. While we try to be vigilant, we will continue to travel internationally frequently and go about our lives as normal. In this way, terrorism does not win.

Thanks to everyone who attended the event.  I am extremely grateful for the support of Love Reconsidered and my writing.