I first visited England with my family as a gawky thirteen year old (see the photo of us in London on my Bio page) and have returned numerous times as an adult. What is it about England -- and that great city, London -- that captures the imagination so thoroughly?

For many Americans, England remains the mother country and we thrive on the history and the strong relationship between the two. While we wanted to abolish the monarchy, we're still fascinated by kings and queens and royal lineage.

And not to be simplistic, but there's nothing like a good old medieval fortress to win one over. I'm a sucker for tall, dark handsome men, as well as hulking handsome castles. Even my little boys who have yet to visit England love the idea of the place. Knights? Soldiers? Robin Hood? Yes, please! Jousts, fights, suits of armor? Give me more!

Never mind that castles are cold drafty places. Who cares if most knights in the Middle Ages were barely five feet tall (or perhaps it was that heavy armor which smashed men into the ground?). England is exciting. England is rainy and green and home to literature, chivalry, and Harlequin Mills & Boon.

It's impossible to give one a grand tour of England in just a few pictures and paragraphs, so I'll leave the facts to the guidebooks (see my list of favorite resource books at the bottom) and show you how I enjoyed my last visit to lovely, lovely London, England.

England: Home of Harlequin Mills & Boon

As much as I love London, visiting the city last September wasn't all play. I spent a day with my editors from HM&B -- Tessa Shapcott and Lucy Mukerjee I got a grand tour of the HM&B office, met more of the great staff I work with long distance, had a relaxing lunch overlooking the Thames before sitting down in the conference room to discuss my upcoming books.

One of the reasons I scheduled my trip for the third week of September was to allow me to attend Harlequin Mills & Boon's annual Author Day. The luncheon was lovely and I was delighted to meet so many of the authors. Everyone gave me a warm welcome and I was thrilled to sit near Anne Weale and ride home in the same taxi with Sara Craven!

Those Amazing Harlequin Authors

Harlequin Mills & Boon Authors aren't just great writers, they're also great people. Sophie Weston hunted down terrific resource guides for us, including books on accessibility and mailed an enormous parcel to me before our trip.

Both Sophie and Mary Lyons treated us to theater-again researching seating for wheelchairs, including asking all those tough questions like where is the nearest accessible bathroom, and are there any steps between the entrance and our seats?

2001 Rita winner, Liz Fielding, and her daughter Ami, met us at our hotel for drinks in the Polo Lounge before we all headed out for a bistro dinner.

I'd been to London before, but enjoying it with new friends made it a treasured experience.

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