Alice in Theatreland Out Now
27th April 2017
Prologue – September 1976
Alice closed her eyes, battling the feelings of nausea that washed over her in waves. The stench of vomit with its acidic undertone always had this effect on her. How long will I be able to hold my breath before I start to feel faint? she wondered, breathing in through her mouth as deeply as she dared to minimise the pungent aroma. An image of Mr Wilkins, her swimming coach, filled her mind as her lungs expanded with air. The repetitive practising of underwater lengths had given her an edge over the other competitors in the regional finals that he was so proud she had won. A tear squeezed out of the corner of her eye. He wouldn’t be so proud of me now, she thought.
Alice was fearful of taking her next breath but she knew she had to. Her stomach contracted, and bile started rising in her throat. The retching resumed, adding only tiny amounts of clear fluid to the pool of her own puke in which she was lying. Bits of it were already drying on her face and stuck in her hair, but Alice was beyond caring. The effort of vomiting doubled the excruciating pain in her lower abdomen. Her hand moved down across her belly towards the top of her thigh and connected with something warm and sticky. She knew without looking that it was blood.
I don’t want to die, she thought, drifting back towards unconsciousness, but perhaps that’s the best thing for everyone after what I’ve done.
‘Alice, are you in there?’
She recognised the voice but couldn’t place it.
‘Alice! I need to pee. I’m busting. Open the door.’
‘Help me,’ Alice murmured to the only person who could save her, before darkness enveloped her once again.
Mixed emotions…
25th April 2017
It’s a very exciting week with the birthday of my fourth novel, Alice in Theatreland, on Kindle but that is tempered by a not so pleasant anniversary the day before. On the 26th April 2012, I met for the first time with my consultant, Professor Goldstone, at UCLH to be given the news I dreaded but in a way expected. The bone marrow biopsy, performed ten days earlier, confirmed that I had Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia. Nothing prepares you for a cancer diagnosis, even in this day and age where it is more common and far more treatable, and I must admit to leaving the hospital that day in a trance-like state, knowing that my life would never be quite the same again. Despite being somewhat unfortunate to have developed CML, there are only six hundred confirmed cases in the UK each year, I know I was incredibly lucky to get it then rather than ten years previously when the treatment was much more invasive and the survival odds much lower. I have been on a ‘wonder’ drug (oral chemotherapy) for the past five years and probably will be for the rest of my life, and although it does have side-effects for me they are fairly minimal. Which is why I celebrate every 26th April since 2012 as another year that I might not have had if it hadn’t been for the wonderful charities like Bloodwise who raise money to fund research into the latest treatments. This year I am baking a celebratory cake! It’s a Luscious Lemon Cake – the way I see it, if life gives you lemons, bake a cake with them!!! If you’d like to try my recipe, it’s very easy:
4 oz self-raising flour
4oz butter or margarine
5 oz golden caster sugar
1 medium size egg
1 lemon
Finely grate the rind of the lemon. Add to the margarine and 4oz of the sugar in a small saucepan and melt together over a low heat. Allow to cool slightly.
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg (I use a balloon whisk) then add the melted mixture gradually, all the time whisking. Fold in the flour and pour the batter into a 7 inch square greased & lined tin and bake for 25 minutes at 180. When cooked, prick the sponge with a fork and pour over the syrup made by boiling together the juice of the lemon and the remaining 1oz of sugar.
That’s it! Very simple and very scrummy.
It’s a sobering thought that if I hadn’t been one of the eighty per cent of people who survive a CML diagnosis, none of my novels would ever have been written. The idea for my first novel only came to me a year after the 360 health check that probably saved my life and now we are about to publish the Kindle of Alice in Theatreland, my first truly standalone novel. Early feedback from the few who have read advance copies has been amazing – I’m always nervous sharing my books but pretty ecstatic when people like them. If you’ve pre-ordered it should arrive on your Kindle just after midnight.
We’ve never hosted a virtual launch party before so this time I thought why not? It would be great if you could join us on Thursday 27th April from 8pm – 9.30pm on my Facebook page JuliaRobertsTV and then click on the event tab. You’ll be able to ask questions about ‘Alice’ and also have the opportunity to take part in fun competitions to win chocolates and beauty products. There should be a bit of 70’s music and I’m hoping someone will treat me to a bottle of something bubbly!
If you are a paperback reader we are looking at June for publication so not too long to wait.
Finally, in case you are not signed up to receive my newsletter, the winner of the competition on my last blog was Alison Kelly. Congratulations Alison, I hope you will enjoy reading about Holly & Co.
Much love
Julia xx
