I’m getting properly excited about One Small Act of Kindness, which will be published on April 23rd – an auspicious day, since it’s Shakespeare’s birthday and St George’s Day, which is definitely celebrated in Longhampton with some sort of special menu in the local gastropub (Broth-ello, followed by Leek and Ham-let Pie, and Midsummer Night’s Cream. That type of thing.)

The main theme of One Small Act of Kindness, is, unsurprisingly, that it’s the little things you can do to help other people that really make the difference to the world around you, and if you’re kind to others, it comes back round eventually. Libby, the heroine, is a kind-hearted sort of person who naturally stops to help someone in an accident, and it ends up changing her life. And it’s true – once I made a point of noticing examples of everyday kindness (because Francesca my editor told me to, for reasons I that’ll become clear below), I found myself not only stopping to help other people when I could – after all, what’s two minutes out of your day? – but I really noticed when someone went a tiny way out of their way for me too. Turns out people do it all the time, but we’re often too busy even to see it.

I’m not talking ‘Secret Millionaire’ acts of kindness, like, I don’t know, funding an entire cat therapy centre, but easy day-changers, like helping someone down the stairs with their buggy, or giving a stranger 20p for the ‘no change’ parking machine when they’ve only got pound coins, or telling a stranger they look great when they’re uncertainly trying on a new dress in a shop. It makes them feel better, and the really amazing thing is, it makes you feel better too.

One of my favourite parts of this novel is the Tree of Kindness Libby the heroine spots in Longhampton Hospital. It’s a sort of interactive collage, where people are encouraged to stick notes up, thanking friends or strangers for things they’ve done to help out. If you’ve read any of the other Longhampton books, you’ll know what Libby’s mother-in-law Margaret means when she says ‘it’s so Longhampton.’ (It really is. I would love to live in Longhampton – between the helpful builders, the lovely dogs, the fantastic bookshop and the cosy red-brick architecture, it’s my ideal town.)

Can you imagine how thrilled I was, then, when the team at Hodder told me that as part of the publication excitement, they were making an actual Tree of Kindness on line? It’s at www.onesmallactofkindness.co.uk – you can submit your own personal thank you, and the best one every week wins a copy of the book in the run-up to publication. And – AND! – one story will be picked as the overall winner, and that person will be swept off to a luxury spa day! You don’t have to take the act of kindee, but I suppose it would be, um, kind…

So, please do have a look and share your own story – I’ve been reading them as they go up, and some really do give you a warm glow. Some, I have to admit, brought a tear to my eye! Go on, www.onesmallactofkindness.co.uk