An announcement.

Things seem to be rather looking up. I went into my spinning class today and my exceptionally enthusiastic America instructor told me I looked happy.

This is a good thing.

I have two things to report. I will start with the one I mentioned last week. Some months ago I entered a short story I had written in a competition run by a national newspaper. As I heard nothing, I assumed it had been unsuccessful. I wasn't too fussed, after all, there must have been thousands of entries. Last week, while I was in Thailand, I got an e-mail from a book publishing company asking me to call their senior publishing director in relation to my entry to the competition - but not until Tuesday.

I was extremely over-excited - this was a really big publishing company and this woman had read my story. Big deal (no sarcastic overtones). So I called her. It turns out that they have narrowed all the entries down to the last 16 - of which my story is one. And they were ringing to ask my permission to publish my story, with the other short-listed ones, in a book going on sale on World Book Day next year. An actual, real, paid for book that you can get in WHSmiths and other book sellers.

I'm going to be an actual published author! I mean, the story's only brief and apparently may have to be edited slightly because the book is aimed at people with a low literacy level (their words, not mine) but you will be able to find this book on a shelf and look inside and see my name. I know my name is read by 11,000 people in the newspaper I work for every week, but this is different. This is what I've been wanting probably ever since I read Emily of New Moon. Bloody good book. And maybe someone will read it and think "Oh look, this girl is better than sliced bread, she's like toasted bagels and everyone likes them" and ask me to write lots more stories for money. Well, maybe not, but still, I'll be in a book!

Plus, I still have a shot at winning the competition and accompanying £1,000 tower of books.

Woohoo!

The other news is more personal.

I am now engaged.

HF finally popped the question in Thailand (it was romantic but naturally not as straightforward as it ought to be - he has difficulties asking simple four word questions, he prefers the 83-word procrastination). So after six years together, we're going to get married. I sort of knew he was going to ask, but he kept letting perfect opportunities slide (perfect sunsets, moonlight walks, star watching etc) then he did it on our last night. Which was still romantic, as we were on a beachside restaurant and I had just eaten the best prawns ever. Unfortunately, I probably wasn't looking as ace as I normally do because we had checked out of our bungalow and I was wearing what I had been wearing when we went hiking up a VERY STEEP waterfall - a green bikini, a vest top of the non-sexy kind, and some shorts. Rather disconcertingly, the sweat had left a manky boob mark on my top. Clearly, HF saw beyond all that to the fabulous person inside.

Anyway, my fiance is waiting in bed for me (I mean that in an innocent sense, honest) and I am a trifle tired. Anyone got any good ideas for where we should get married? I currently have a budget of £3.50.

More on that story later.