I loved writing The Silver Ladies Do Lunch, and the stand-alone follow-up, The Silver Ladies Seize the Day. I enjoy writing every novel, immersing myself in characters and plots and emotions, and I suppose there are different reasons why each novel feels just a little bit different. This one is number twenty four, but I never get tired of the thrill when a new book’s being published.

I always feel blessed. In the seven years since my first book, I’ve enjoyed an incredible writing journey and met so many wonderful people.

The Silver Ladies is set in an Oxfordshire village, very similar to the one I grew up in, on the banks of the Cherwell. It’s the story of Cecily and her three pupils of many years ago, now all grown up. Cecily is in her nineties. Josie, Lin and Minnie are in their seventies, but life has treated each of them so differently.

Cecily, as a teacher, gave up the chance of romantic personal fulfilment because she loved her profession. She never married, although her heart still belongs to the man she was engaged to in her twenties. Eddie,. His one mistake changed everything between them.

Lin married her childhood sweetheart – when he was ten, Neil gave her a love heart in the playground with the words Be Mine and now, children and grandchildren later, they are enjoying their golden years, happily married.

Josie is recently widowed and now of the opinion that the rest of her days will be spent alone. She misses Harry so much. But she has friends, good neighbours, Middleton Ferris is a great community of kind people. She believes she’s happy enough.

Minnie’s life changed from poverty to independence, thanks to Cecily’s intervention. Her father thought education was not for girls. But Minnie became a professor in Oxford, loving books and life, having no time for the many men who continue to find her alluring. Until she met Jensen, a theatre director from New York, who has presented her with a dilemma.

And Florence, in her twenties, has baby Elsie now, and is living with her beloved Adam, who isn’t the baby’s dad, but means more to her than anyone ever could. They share the secret of how Elsie came to be. Florence’s father, mechanic Dave, dotes on his princess and he’d be furious if he knew the truth about what really happened.

Other characters in the village bring so much to the story. George the farmer and his pet pig Nadine. Fergal Toomey, who lives on the barge and has a special friendship with Josie. Tina, Minnie’s sister. Jimmy and Kenny who live across the road. Dickie Junior and Dickie Senior, who run the pub. Odile who owns the café.

This brings us to my new novel, the second one in the sequence but a stand-alone: The Silver Ladies Seize the Day, which is Cecily’s story. Almost ninety two, she has one last chance to discover what she really wants to do with her life. But it involves taking a huge chance, a leap of faith.

I owe an awful lot to the real-life people who inspire my characters. It’s important to me to show that, although everyone is ageing, we can enjoy each moment to the best of our ability, especially if we remain blessed with good health.  

My partner’s cousin, who is in her eighties, walks thousands of steps a day. She is single, indomitable, independent, and travels the globe by herself. Other women I know in their late eighties are sharp, witty and able bodied. One particular lady who’s eighty eight cuts her huge garden each week with a strimmer, hacking hedges down, wearing a crop top, a pair of cut off denims and a smile,.  

Once, I met a woman at a party who told me she was ninety two. She pointed to a man across the dinner table who was in his eighties, winked mischievously and said, ‘That’s my toy boy.’ Then she drank everyone else under the table and got up to dance.

These people remind me that we have to seize every moment. Not everyone is as fortunate, of course. I try to reflect that in my books too.

I’m always writing a couple of books ahead, so that I meet deadlines. I’ve finished another Elena Collins, another ‘golden’ novel, and I’m about to start a new cozy crime later this year. Whatever the genre, I try to make each moment on the page count, so that my readers are involved in something exciting, something filled with romance or tension or jeopardy or turbulence.

Making each moment count.

I’m sure all authors would agree, we never know quite how a new book will take off. I hope all my characters will become readers’ friends, that they’ll take each one into their hearts and love their story. I’m always really touched when readers message me about how novels have stayed with them after the last page, how characters’ dilemmas tug at their heartstrings. But we can never predict how a reader will respond to a new book. Different strokes. That’s as it should be. I’m always filled with gratitude when someone reads my books and enjoys the stories. A huge thanks to you all.

But my seize the day message stays uppermost in my thoughts. Each of us is precious, each moment is a drop of gold. And Cecily’s story is there to remind us that even at ninety one, her time is treasure and her heart is filled with the potential to be happy.

I hope you enjoy The Silver Ladies Seize the Day as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.