How it all began...

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It all started way back in 2002. I was in WH Smith browsing for a fitness magazine, they didn't have it on the shelf so I had to ask one of the assistants if they had it in stock.While she had gone to look I was browsing around and picked up Ronan Keating’s new CD from a display in the middle of the shop. I knew I liked a couple of the songs that were on the album, and so I decided to buy it, along with my magazine. When I got home I played the album, and found I kept playing it over and over again, something I had never done before with one artist’s music. From that moment on, I was completely and utterly hooked.

That year I went to see Ronan in concert a couple of times, and used his official website to keep up with all his news.

One day I had been away on a training course with my work, and I posted a message on his website’s forum about playing Ronan’s music while I’d been staying on my own in a hotel. Another girl responded – Karen, who had also just come back from a training course for her own job and had done exactly the same, and we began a silly late night conversation on the forum. Over a few days this conversation began to develop into a story which we kept adding new instalments to every night, until we began to realise that more and more people were logging on to the message board simply to find out what happened next in our tale. It sounds incredibly bizarre I know, but its true – the website often used to crash because there were so many people waiting for their nightly fix! Fans from around the world would wait impatiently until I got in from work late at night (because I worked in fitness then, I often worked evenings.) demanding the next part of the story. This went on for some months until eventually we had to bring the story to an end.

We then had so many requests to make the story into a proper book that we decided to do it for charity. I collated, with help of some friends, all the many instalments that were on the forum, edited them into a novel, and then sold email & disc copies of the story to anyone who wanted one.
I then had further requests for more stories, so on my own this time I went on to write two more novel length stories along the same lines – posting them on the message board in instalments every night – then selling them at the end as a complete novel on disc or email attachment with the proceeds going to charity. 

Today Ronan's website has it's own dedicated section to what are called 'fan fics' but back when I was writing mine, there were no others, and it was on the main page of the forum. 

In total I raised over £1000 for Ronan’s cancer awareness charity – The Marie Keating Foundation with my stories; made a fantastic friend – Karen, the girl from Glasgow I wrote the first story with; and most importantly realised that writing was not only something that I enjoyed doing, but something that other people seemed to enjoy reading too.
So I then decided it was time to have a go at writing a ‘proper’ book, and it was my third attempt at this From Notting Hill with Love...actually which will be my first published novel. And in a strange twist it has a Ronan Keating link – in that Ronan sings the theme tune to the movie Notting Hill, a song which features in the story.

In the years that followed I met Ronan a number of times, and now  can't imagine writing stories about him. But back then he was someone I didn't know -  a fictional character to me, like any other of my characters you now find in my novels.

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Just wanted to say I have enjoyed the story so very much, its brought me happiness, sadness, anger, excitement what more could you want out of a brilliant book!

Dale (New Zealand)

I have enjoyed the story so much. I missed out on reading it for a week as we had been away and I had to go to a friends one day and borrow her computer just to have a wee catch up. The withdrawals were unbearable! Anyway you have done many an amazing job, and I do look forward to more stories from you in the future.

Helen. (UK)

Well this might sound really silly but the job I was in up until last week was making me really unhappy. I won't bore you with the details, lets just say if was a difficult boss and other things. The night I found your story I had been for an interview, I really liked the job but couldn't take it cos of travelling difficulties so I was very upset. I went on the net and found the story which really cheered me up.

Anyway the work situation got worse and I was getting more and more upset because I couldn't find another job. I'm visually impaired so this made it harder to find work. The only thing that has kept me going over the past few months is coming on here and reading your story. It has been the best medicine I could have asked for. I found another job and started last week and I hope I'm going to be much happier now.

I just wanted to say thank you to you. I hope you can put this  in the book with the other messages to show how much the story has meant to us.

Thanks again and I look forward to future stories from you.

Mandy (Australia)

"This romantic fantasy has left me laughing, crying and at times stunned and totally breathless!"

Sandra (UK)

Every day we gathered all over the world from Belgium to South Africa and even Australia. We sat and waited impatiently for the stories next instalment. I laughed, I cried and I nearly wet myself quite a number of times! A fantastic thrilling read that put me right there in the action.

K-Lee (UK)

This story is such an amazing pick-me-up and its bought many smiles to my face not to mention the tears. I want to thank you for the book because it’s a brilliant story and amazingly written.

Debbie (UK)

The story is fantastic and very addictive, once you start reading it you have to read more and more every night!