Cheerio!

I have a lot of reasons to love the UK:

Our first apartment... After college, my husband and I lived in Cambridge, England, for a year. Our apartment had a few flaws. The closet was over the bed, which meant that the only way to get our clothes was to stand on top of our bed. Odd. Also, the walls molded midway through the year. But I loved it because it was the first place we lived together as a couple. We cooked our first Thanksgiving turkey there (we didn't know you were supposed to remove the giblets) and learned why you separate laundry (I turned half our underwear a lovely light blue).

Lots of daffodils and old stuff... We bought my engagement ring in London and took it on a photo tour of the major sites: Big Ben, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and parks packed with daffodils. Also memorable that day: as we walked toward the Tower of London, a bird pooped on my shoe. If I had shifted my weight forward a little sooner, the whole mood of the day might have been different.

My Ring at Westminster Abbey

My Ring (and very classy Eeyore watch) at Buckingham Palace

Cadbury's caramel bars... The Tube used to have (and maybe still has) Cadbury bar vending machines. I bought one every time we went anywhere in London. Any place that produces yummy chocolate treats has my undying affection.

And now I have a brand-new wonderful reason to love the UK:

ICE will be published in the UK!!! I just found out that there will be a UK edition of my next novel, ICE!! It's scheduled to come out on November 2, 2009, about a month after the US edition. And it already has its own Amazon UK page. Click here to see, and to read the lovely new book description (complete with the British spelling of Arctic research centre!). This makes me as happy as Mary Poppins.



Not to be confused with the scary Mary Poppins:



Cheerio!