Author comes to the rescue (From Witney Gazette)

Author comes to the rescue

9:00am Wednesday 15th November 2006 in Witney

AUTHOR Annie Waller came to the rescue when local fundraisers found themselves without their star speaker at the last minute.

Annie, who lives near Buckingham, stood in for TV presenter Sandi Toksvig, who was forced to pull out of her speaking engagement for the Witney fundraising team of the Harwell-based charity Against Breast Cancer (ABC) due to illness.

Witney Team secretary, Denise Barkley, called mum-of-two Annie at 5pm on Thursday, after hearing that Sandi could not make it - just a couple of hours before the charity dinner at Eynsham Hall, North Leigh, was due to start. It was an absolute long-shot," said Denise, deputy magazines editor for Newsquest Oxfordshire, which publishes the Witney Gazette. "I was frantically scanning my contacts book, and remembered that when I interviewed Annie for a magazine feature, that she was a lady full of amusing anecdotes, who had written a brilliant book called Married to Albert, based on her life as an RAF pilot's wife.

"I was amazed and delighted when she agreed to come along and entertain our guests. She had just moved to a village in Buckinghamshire, with two small children, and her husband was away on a course - but that didn't daunt her.

"Luckily, my 21-year-old daughter, Joanna, agreed to go over and babysit - and we had our after-dinner speaker! I can't thank Annie enough."

The 'ladies dinner' was much enjoyed though, of course, guests were disappointed that Sandi, a patron of ABC, had been unable to attend. It is hoped to have raised more than £1,500, taking the ABC Witney fundraising team's total to more than £7,000 during October - National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Annie's first novel, Married to Albert, described as 'a turbulent tale of marriage, mayhem, and the military', was launched a year ago at Waterstone's, in Swindon, and she quickly embarked on a nationwide book-signing tour. Last spring, Borders invited her to speak as one of their four 'authors of the day' at the 2006 London Book Fair - which she did, wearing her wedding dress and husband's flying hat. She has been signed by a top literary agency, and the first edition of Married To Albert has sold out - with ten per cent of profits going to the RAF Benevolent Fund. The second edition is in print, and Annie is working on the sequel, which is almost finished.

Married to Albert is available from Waterstone's and Borders bookshops. To find out more, visit Annie's website: www.anniewaller.com