There was an agoraphobic accountant and a cleaner . . .

Good Evening,

It’s been a grey and dismal day here in Bristol, or so hubby tells me, but I’ve been busy, we could be snowed in and I wouldn’t have noticed. Because, one of the things I do between writing (or when I need a break from the latest project), to clear my brain but keep the old grey cells focused, are little writing exercises. Long story, short, (fat chance I hear you shout!), I did one recently which sent daily prompts to outline a story. As most of you know, I rarely outline, I just start writing and see where the characters take me.

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.

With Web of Deceit up for pre-order, and the editors beavering away making it readable (more of that later), I opened a blank document and started writing it. The result? Nothing like the plot I thought I had, but here I am a week later, and I’m about a third of the way in to writing a novel length mystery. But, there’s no middle-aged, Marple, common or otherwise. But there it Tom Large, an agoraphobic accountant, and his cleaner, Liz. When their friend, Denise Knight is found dead, and the police are treating it as misadventure, Liz convinces Tom it’s murder. And so begins their own investigation.

I’ve really enjoyed meeting them. and I know there’s more they will reveal in the coming chapters.  I have no idea if it will ever get published, or, as I’m imagining at the moment, it will become a mini-series. What I do know is that it’s been an enjoyable trip away from the usual. I’ll keep you updated as to the progress.

And back to Web of Deceit. With the manuscript away with the editor, Lindsay, my talented cover designer has made ready the covers for the paperback, the hardback, and of course the audio version. They are lovely and I can’t wait to see the real thing. I’ve spoken with Lee Beddow, and he tells me he can’t wait to ‘be’ Meredith again and recorded a little (unedited) extract for me to share.

SPOILER ALERT (although you knew it was coming), Louie and Linda got married, and this clip is Meredith looking at the recordings of the wedding trying to find out whether anything unusual was captured on film. It includes the father of the bride speech. I hope you enjoy it. As is always the way with my techy attempts, I’ve had issues, so if you don’t get the full clip the first time, click it again. It worked for me ….. I can’t check with Lee, the lucky devil is in Morocco as I type.

That’s it for now, I’m up for a Saturday night take-away, and I can’t decide what to have.

Happy reading,