On a cold and miserable February morning, June Kearns, Mags Cullingford and I set out to catch the 11.32 from Leicester to St Pancras. We had our friend Maisie with us and were looking forward to meeting our bestie, Jan Brigden later that day. Why were we there? Why, only to attend the BEST BOOK LAUNCH PARTY – EVER for Adrienne Vaughan’s latest novel, That Summer at the Seahorse Hotel.

The lady herself

come to the Sea Horse Hotel

why a Tarot card? Read on

‘Seahorse’ is Adrienne’s fourth full length novel but she has also written a book of poems and short stories, and produced two collaborative works. You can find out more about Adrienne, here.

After lunch at the fabulous Betjeman Arms we sallied forth for some retail therapy, homing in on the new MAC shop where I bought some makeup brushes and WHISTLES where Mags bought a fabulous tunic . An Author has to look glamorous, right? And the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s  annual awards (aka the RoNAS) are just around the corner. Anyhoo, I digress . . . At 4.30pm we rocked up the a private room in the Betjeman Arms where Adrienne was waiting to greet her guests.

As friends, family, and fellow writers gathered, the excellent and attentive staff made sure that no one’s prosecco glass went unfilled. Adrienne, her agent and publisher Lisa Eveleigh and Natalie Keene, Associate Director at AVA PR,  had ensured that the room looked fabulous and books were available to purchase. Many of us had already downloaded Summer at the Seahorse Hotel but were keen to obtain a signed copy for our bookshelves.

Tarot Cards

why a Tarot card? Read on

Adrienne, husband Jonatham and agent Lisa

Upon arrival, each guest was asked to choose a tarot card from a set proffered by Adrienne. I drew The Emperor and then settled down as Adrienne read extracts from ‘Seahorse’. Click  here  to read the first few chapters of That Summer at the Seahorse Hotel. You will also be able to download a copy here, too. 

Earlier, Christina Courtenay had drawn THE KNIGHT OF SWORDS from Adrienne’s pack and that was declared as the winning tarot. Her prize was a copy of ‘Seahorse’ and a some chocolate to take home. Readings over, books purchased, we all queued up to congratulate Adrienne, and then had a great time catching up with friends. RNA members in attendance were: June Kearns, Mags Cullingford, Lizzie Lamb, Sue Moorcroft, Jean Fullerton, Cathy Bramley, Pia Fenton and Julie Vince.

Adrienne and husband Jonathan

Maisie and Julie Vince

Natalie Keene and Lisa Eveleigh flanked by two guests

June Kearns, Jan Brigden and Mags Cullingford

All that remained was to gather New Romantics Press together for one last photo before catching the train back to Leicester.

Fabulous blogger Anne Williams who’d written a review of ‘Seahorse’ earlier that week was also in attendance. You can read Anne’s review here. Two other bloggers/book reviewers have also reviewed Adrienne’s novel, Many thanks to Rosie Amber and Jessie Cahalin for their support.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, I’ll be spending mine within the pages of ‘Seahorse’, I can smell the briny and hear the waves crashing on the shore from here.