When I wrote Dancing With the D.J., it came from the heart. Like my heroine Kate, I had a wayward daughter who was always having love-life disasters. After one such break-up, she rang me and between sobs said, ‘The thing is, I just can’t face another New Year’s Eve dancing with the D.J.’

‘What do you mean? “Dancing with the D.J.”?’

‘Like last year. When midnight struck. All the others were slow-dancing and kissing and I was dancing outside the D.J.’s booth – the only one not in a couple.’ (Sob).

And so Dancing With the D.J. was born.

Heroine Kate has her own problems. She’s recently undergone a mastectomy and a messy divorce. Not exactly a recipe for comedy, you might think! But feisty Kate is taking all life can throw at her in her stride. She’s ‘given up men’ and she’s moving to Paris to sort daughter Justine’s life out for her. All Justine needs is the right man, and Kate is going to find him. So Kate puts Justine’s profile on a computer-dating site and prepares to select from the candidates. Among the no hopers comes delectable Orlando. He’s French, he’s dishy and, according to Kate, the perfect match for Justine.

Kate contrives to have Orlando meet Justine ‘by chance’. Magically, they hit it off and soon Kate is soon pulling the strings in Justine and Orlando’s relationship. Unfortunately, the downside to Orlando is that he’s penniless. But he has excellent prospects. If Kate needs to lend him the odd bit of money from time to time to treat Justine to the dates she deserves, it’s all in a good cause.

By now you might be having doubts about the wisdom of Kate’s venture, and so is Wendy, Kate’s best pal who lives in Leeds. Wendy casts a cynical eye on Kate’s romantic fantasy, and through emails and phone calls provides a dead-pan commentary full of Northern good sense.

What Kate doesn’t realize is that Justine is meanwhile matchmaking for her. No-one has taken Kate seriously about her ‘giving-up-men’ – least of all Eric (a name that’s oddly cool in France). Kate’s love-shy relationship with charmer Eric forms a cross-generational contrast to thoroughly modern Justine’s chaotic sex-life. Add to the mix Kate trying to translate a pornographic novel, failing to train an over-indulged cat, and attempting to buy a dream apartment tucked under the rooftops of Paris (all things I’ve done, by the way) and you’re getting the drift of Kate’s challenge.

Dancing with the D.J. is light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek and, I hope you’ll find, a load of laughs.

Get your copy of Dancing With the D.J. HERE!