At times it felt like the wait would never end! Months of research, writing, editing … and now my book’s birthday has arrived! London Belongs to Me is now available for you to purchase. Any excuse to eat my weight in cake, right? Like that ever stopped me …

We had a fantastic book launch party last night at The Wickson Social in downtown Toronto (If you live in my wonderful city, or visit, stop by this terrific bar/restaurant. The food, hospitality … top notch!). Friends—both new and old—along with my family enjoyed beef sliders, mini fish and chips, chorizo spiced gougeres, crap cakes, bacon bunnies, and mushroom and Stilton toasts. And THEN dessert! Not just any dessert … four different kinds of cookies, squares and ice cream tubs. It’s not a party until the ice cream arrives. I wanted to move into The Wickson Social and never leave.

And who doesn’t love a gift bag? They were so popular, we ran out! In honour of London Belongs to Me, the bags contained sweet and savour treats straight from the pages of the novel, as well as several fun London goodies: Tube maps, Union Jack pins, and postcards.

Clockwise from left: Multi-platform content strategist, and writer, Simone Castello and Jacquelyn; books, books, books … ready to be signed; Jacquelyn and LBTM; a little visual taste of London on the bar’s TV monitor; I spot Monster Munch! Gift bags ahoy!; mini fish and chips; yummy cookies.

We also sold all of our copies of London Belongs to Me. We actually needed more! We thought we were safe with thirty. How wrong! It was such a pleasure to see so many booklovers last night. At one point in the evening, it was standing room only. Incredible. I am so grateful that I was able to share the launch of London Belongs to Me with such lovely, enthusiastic guests. I can’t wait to hear what they think about the book, and I hope you share your views, too! In the meantime, there’s another slice of cake waiting with my name on it …

(Thanks to BookSparks for the lovely birthday banner. Party photos by Jacquelyn Middleton)