Good Afternoon,
From a bitterly cold Bristol. Welcome new subscribers.
I’m pleased, not to mention very relieved, to confirm that Enough, #15 in the Meredith & Hodge series is with Sharon, the editor. Hopefully, it will wing its way to proofreader, Jill, early in the New Year and is on Amazon now for pre-order on 30th January 2024. You can order HERE. I would also thank those of you who have pipped me at the post and already ordered. I was quite surprised when I opened my reports this morning. You certainly don’t mess about! I’m guessing you want to know the names. . . I knew it – I was right!
Not only that, but the audio version of The Abduction, is now live. Please shout if you would like a free code to download. Thanks as always to the talented Lee Beddow & Perdita Lawton. You can listen to a sample here.
I am now going back to work with JJ Jenson and An Ill Wind. A serious, kindly, and soon to be private detective. I’m enjoying ‘meeting’ him. The very talented Lindsay has put together some covers for me, and I think we came to an agreement yesterday – more news on that to follow.
As we’re now in the run up to Christmas, and I went to my granddaughter’s nativity yesterday, so am feeling particularly festive, I’m going to be doing a few special offers, so I’ll keep you posted on that. Talking of post, for all of you who requested signed paperbacks as gifts, I would confirm they’ve been loaded on sleigh and should be with you in good time.
That’s it for now. I’ll be back with the first Christmas special offer shortly,
Happy reading (and shopping!)
short end of the stick, cos hubby is watching the football.
I don’t write a review if I don’t enjoy a book, but accept that if everyone did that they would be worthless. So it’s fair play to give an honest opinion if you didn’t like it. If an author has used the wrong terminology or language for the story, fair point. Should they end on a cliffhanger and you don’t like it, have a moan. If loose ends aren’t tied up, say so. But if you’ve read a post-apocalyptic zombie horror story, is this one star review fair?
chocolates and a bottle of wine, from a lovely young lady whose name I don’t know. The other week, hubby and I were watching the TV, and it was almost our bedtime when dogs were upset by banging outside. Long story short, this lovely young girl had locked herself out of her car with her keys in the ignition and she was trying to break-in. In his favourite, plush Tottenham dressing gown, he went out with a hammer and she gained access. But during the getting in process, she cut her hand. I wasn’t brave enough to venture into the street in my nightie, and came across her coming down the drive, hand held high, telling me, “I don’t do blood, I feel sick.”
unnecessary, of course, but most welcome. What a lovely young lady. Restores one’s faith in human nature.
until I’m bored or I’m looking for something specific. Do you do that with my emails? Anyway, I digress. One of those sites is called 
And here’s the thing that caused even more distraction. It’s given me some statistics that I’ve never worked out. Because having left the corporate world of stats and reports far behind me, I avoid stats unless absolutely necessary. Here’s what Fantastic Fiction told me, without having to do anything but scroll.
In other news: Not much writing has been going on lately. I’ve been dealing with daily chaos! I went on
holiday, had a poorly husband…and then the builders arrived to sort out the back garden. It didn’t help that I was stuck on a plot issue in An Ill Wind, first in my new series, and I wanted to bottom it out, before I continued writing. (I usually ignore such issues until I get there.) Then, from nowhere, a new plot came to me for Meredith & Hodge #15. I know how I ended 
The Murder
really interesting man who’s led quite a life.
Having travelled through such dark tunnels, Adrian recognised the benefits of creativity in photography and left his job to become self-employed. Unfortunately, lock down came a few
days later. Undeterred, Adrian used this opportunity to learn, and to run online photography for well-being courses for adults with learning disabilities.
His personal passion is street photography at night, and he continues to explore the nature of darkness and contrast in his images.
despite the weather, we’re getting lots of pictures of them having fun. I thought I’d share a few. Because I have no interest in getting wet, here I sit, writing. Writing what? I hear you cry, or at least I hope I do. This morning I started on chapter ten of the latest 
months or years after publication, so there’s a strong chance that I’ve uploaded the wrong documents. Again. I know everyone makes mistakes. Even my favourite authors. Last night my bedtime reading was a Val McDermid, and in the very first chapter it used the word single instead of signal. But, although my editors, Sharon and Jill, do their best with me, the end product is down to me clicking all the right buttons. So, here I am, asking that you let me know if you spot anything. Correcting the odd typo doesn’t take long. I can amend the documents on Amazon fairly easily (especially now I delete the old ones.) If you notice a typo, please shout and help another reader have a better experience, and make a harassed writer’s life easier.
to know about, any secrets they might be hiding. (Can even be you if you like). I can’t promise I won’t have to tweak them a little, but those selected will appear alongside Meredith & Hodge. I will acknowledge your contribution in the book, and a £10 Amazon voucher will be yours as a thank you.
and then). Grandchildren (There always seems to be a holiday from school, not that I’m complaining on that front) Admin – It’s okay writing books, but you have to edit them, promote them, work with designers, editors, proofreaders, narrators etc. (Again no complaints, it just takes hours out of the day) Houseworky stuff (A flick round with a duster takes time.) And around all that, you have to find time to sit down and get your head back into what world you’ve left on the laptop. For most of this year that’s been
Web of Deceit
From Pippa Domitruk – Single mum, Michelle Neil. Mother of two children who she adores, and a party animal. Now free of her abusive spouse, and confident enough to leave her children with babysitters, she intends to have some fun. She’d have more if she could, but money is tight, and those kids just won’t stop growing.
arriving on an ereader near you! The lovely Lee Beddow is just finishing off the audio version of 
for a day out. Little Compton does of course have a pub, The Swan, a mini-market run by the lovely, Derek Vaswani, a posh delicatessen, or as village matriarch, Alice Green would call it, the cheese shop. There’s also a bakery, a cafe, a pizzeria, and of course the church and church hall, which houses the village’s library. The map shows only Lower High Street, and a few of the roads which lead off it. But you can see where accountant Tom Large, and cleaner Liz Thorne live. An unlikely sleuthing duo, but it won’t surprise you to hear that they’re quite good at it. In the top right hand corner, is the area or woodland where poor old Denise Knight met her end, and in the bottom right, the Chow’s home, outside of which, Rhianna Chow was abducted. I’ve put the names of a few other residents on the map, all of whom you will meet either in 
proportions over the last few weeks, I’ll wait and see. But to be fair, the daffodils are out, the tulips in bud and the hyacinths are positively blooming. All this and the promise of an Easter egg too! It’s not only Easter eggs that are promised either. (Can I hear a drum roll…) My lovely editors Sharon & Jill have almost finished working their magic, their wands must be worn out, and 
December 2022. Then came 
date. All this means that in an eight-month period, I will have published four books! Not only that, but I already have the basis of 
The audio version of 
I have finally finished the edit on The Murder, the first in the Little Compton Mysteries, and later today it will be off to editor Sharon. This is a more lighthearted murder mystery, introducing amateur sleuths, Tom Large and Liz Thorne, and I love the cover. Lindsey has done a fabulous job yet again! I had great fun writing this one, I love ‘meeting’ new characters, these two didn’t behave themselves either, but we all got there in the end. As soon as I have a return date from Sharon, I will be putting it on pre-order and I’m looking for Beta readers. Today I’m going to start working on the next in the series, The Abduction. This also has a great cover, which I will reveal to you next time.
With a 
of getting it a title, and I have to do a read through of the follow up to 
My amateur sleuths, accountant Tom, and cleaner Liz, have only gone and solved the mystery! Yes, you heard correctly. In record time, what was my latest WIP is finished. It’s new, so all the usual concerns about whether it will work for you, the readers, are bumping around, and there is still the issue of a title. I have several ideas on a series name, (if I ever get that far), but I’m still stumped on the title. I’ve sent it off to three trusted friends, all of whom will tell me if it’s any good, and hopefully get the inspiration that I am lacking on what to call it. I’ll keep you posted on that.
day?”
“I’ve only just found out she’s been murdered. Oh God I need a drink. I’ll put a drop of this in our tea.” As bold as brass she opened his bedside drawer and took out the almost empty bottle. She held it up as though inspecting how much had been imbibed. “Hmm.”
This particular exercise, started with the main character, moved from the setting, through to ‘the’ incident, the antagonist, the ally, etc., etc., until your outline was complete and ready for you to flesh out. As I completed each section a nice little mystery took shape. My plot outline involved a middle-aged retired woman, who turns into a bit of a sleuth, (similar to Miss Marple, but younger and common), and thought I that might make a nice little cosy mystery, I’ll come back to it.
hotel resort built in an olive grove. The designers were very clever and sympathetic to the olive trees which were incorporated within the design and build. It was an all inclusive break, and too much food and far too many cocktails were enjoyed! But as well as being a picturesque setting, it was a little haven of peace and quiet and I managed to write every single day!
fireflies in St Mary Mead. Whatever next! The next book was by the very talented Jane Davies –
much so that even when the book reached its natural conclusion with Ruth Ellis being hanged, I still wanted to know what happened next to the three central characters, who were an unlikely trio of friends. An excellent read, and highly recommended.
It’s been a busy summer, mainly looking after my grandchildren, (photos because they’re cute), but I have managed to do some writing – about time, I hear you shout – and the new Meredith & Hodge, as yet untitled, and I have yet to decide which of the three suspects ‘done it’, is over half way there. If I carry on at this pace it should only take a couple of months to finish. Although there is a cheeky break in Halkidiki to get in at the end of the month.
to you as soon as it goes live. Here’s a ‘Did you know?’ tip. If you have read an ebook you like and would like to listen to the audio version. If you purchased via Amazon and the audio version is available on audible, you can buy it at a fraction of the cost. Bargain!
EVERY day as my daughter-in-law is on an intense four-week training course. I can’t remember my own kids being this exhausting. They might look like angels in this picture, but they are very demanding. I have a dog with an ulcerated eye, which after three procedures hasn’t healed, so I’m 
on first name terms with all the staff at the vets. That said, we’re off for another check-up in an hour, so please keep your fingers crossed. She is not happy wearing the cone, which has been a fixture for almost four weeks and it’s driving her mad.
most important man in our family passed away. David John Hawkes, our dad, and I think most importantly to him in his later years, Gramps, and great Gramps.
Dad loved his family, children, dogs, telling stories and bad dad jokes, music, dancing (in his younger days), a bit of karaoke, and Spain. And he was much loved in return. He had old fashioned values, good manners, and a positive outlook for the best part. Although, I should mention he did predict that Russia was going to do something terrible. An avid newspaper reader, and follower of news, he spoke at length about
his concern only the week before he went into hospital. He read reports about Russian military planes being escorted out of British air space, of submarines supposedly off course off the coast of Scotland, and wagging a finger at me said, “When Russia are in the news this much something bad is going to happen. You see if it doesn’t.” He was right.
only had this wonderful man who was the centre of all things family for three more days. To say we were devastated is an understatement, but logic tells us that for him it was a much better outcome and he was ready to go. I don’t dwell on those last few days, instead I think about the laughter, the hugs, and the comfort that just knowing you had him brought. But now we don’t. Now we rely on the wonderful memories we have, and I have to say it is almost impossible to have any sort of conversation about him without a smile, or more
likely a laugh. Dad told a good story, and he had many, some we’d heard many times, but you never minded, because for the best part, they were either amusing, interesting, or shocking. Sometimes all three.
quickly as possible. My dad, used to the search lights filling the night sky, would be balanced on the handlebars. One night he decided to help, shining their torch at the shadows of the planes overhead. As you can imagine this cost him a severe slap around the ear and he didn’t do it again. For the latter part of the war he was evacuated to Weymouth. He loved it there, and tucked under a floorboard in the loft of the house is a note with the names of the group of evacuees and the date, with the message they were evacuees from Bristol. He often wondered if anyone had found it.
remember his shoes being pawned until payday when they were retrieved in time for church on a Sunday, before the process started all over again. The tales of the wooden clogs when one of us needed a new pair of shoes was aired on many occasions. While her children were still young, my lovely grandmother spent a year in hospital with TB, and they had to go to a children’s home. Although my grandad visited every week if he could, my dad and his siblings agree it was the worst of times. Their guardians, in his words, were ‘cruel swines, who had not an ounce of care or compassion for their wards’.
As a consequence, during the service, which was a real celebration of his life, and so many people attended they had to stand at the back of the chapel, the songs we played for him were: Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers, Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler, The Green, Green Grass of Home, and Delilah by Tom Jones. The latter two he could belt out flawlessly.
get me home before I left the house if I was going out for the evening, after all I was working and considered myself very grown up. I hated the way he’d ask boyfriends where they kept their guide dogs, but I hated it all with a secret smile, because that was my dad being my dad, and I loved him.
and then winked at me.
presents are being wrapped, and someone has started on the sprouts. ?
And so to broken promises . . . I promised myself a break from writing until after Christmas, it turns out that’s pretty impossible, and I’ve started work on the next Meredith & Hodge AND Bearing Witness. I won’t be writing flat out as I did with the last one, but at least I have something on the go to keep me out of trouble.
Many thanks to all those who took part in the last competition. As promised, the draw took place on publication day, my granddaughter Edie did the draw ?and Nanny forgot to take a photograph! Drum roll . . . .and the winners, in no particular order, and drawn at random are:
