No place like home!
No place like home!
After a busy year, it is good to stay put for a while...
It is with a heartfelt sigh of relief that I shoved my suitcase back on to the top of the wardrobe to settle into a period of ‘just being at home’.
My latest travels have been to South Australia for the Romance Writers of Australia conference (book signings, cocktail party, dinner and fabulous workshops), followed by a few days in the lovely Clare Valley at Wuthering Heights, a rustic B&B managed by one of the members of our writers group (good food, good company, author talk). It was a fun, exhausting, productive time away… but there is no place like home!
Meanwhile at the coal face…
The structural edit for AGONY IN AMETHYST… or should I say complete rewrite… is now done and it is now with my lovely copy editor who, I have no doubt, will also have a few things to say. I don’t think any book is ever, actually finished!
On the subject of the Harriet Gordon Mysteries, I am the delighted recipient of my first ‘fan art’… (thank you to that clever reader!). I deliberately leave descriptions of my characters vague so readers can form their own pictures in their mind so I hope these don’t muddy the waters, but I have to say they are pretty close to what I imagined… especially Curran. I think I am in love…
Expect to see these two making an appearance in my social media!
OTHER NEWS
I hinted in my last newsletter that there were things afoot for GATHER THE BONES… and I am delighted to announce that the ebook rights have been licensed to a new UK publisher dpDigital Publishers. I am particularly thrilled as I have always felt this book deserved a wider audience and the UK is a market that I have longed to reach out to.
The ebook will no longer be available from me but for the moment I am retaining print and audio rights so nothing changes there.
The new edition will be released on 3 October with a fresh new cover.
New Books/New to you Authors
This is a special ‘new book/new to you’ shout out for my friend Beverley who normally writes as Beverley Oakley.
For those who don’t know my background, I was born and brought up for the first 10 years of my life in Kenya and Beverley, likewise, was born in Lesotho where her father was a District Commissioner. Her connection to Africa was never completely severed and after many years she has finally written a series set in Africa, drawing (just a little) on her own life and experiences. I am still gathering the courage to write my own Africa set story.
The first in the series WHISPERS IN THE KALAHARI by B.G. Nettleton is released on 31 August.
A little about the book:
From the sleek offices of Melbourne to the dusty frontier of Maun, Botswana. Follow Verity's journey in 'Whispers in the Kalahari' as she uncovers deadly secrets beneath the African sun.
Buy links are here: https://tinyurl.com/yv7t8c53
And what am I reading/listening/watching…?
Reading: In War and Peace - Napoleon advances on Moscow… Meanwhile, I am reading THE DEATH OF DORA BLACK by Lainie Anderson. It is set in Adelaide in 1917 so just the right sort of story for me! A charming, uplifting cosy murder mystery inspired by the true story of Australia's pioneering policewoman Kate Cocks.
Listening: In between W&P I am still enjoying the BBC dramatisation of the complete SHARDLAKE series (C.J. Sansom).
Watching: I do need to finish MY LADY JANE on Prime. A reimagining of the story of Lady Jane Grey (one where she doesn’t lose her head after reigning for 9 days) with magic realism and interesting casting. It’s fun but you have to be willing to suspend knowledge and belief! Also watching KAOS on Netflix - a modern take on the Greek Gods, myths and legends with Jeff Goldblum as Zeus. It is the best thing I have seen in ages!
What’s your favourite read/ listen/ watch for the month?
All from me… please feel free to comment directly on the Substack post :-) I love hearing from you and if you are not already a subscriber, consider subscribing to my posts and look out for a link to a free download of the Harriet Gordon prequel novella THE UMBRELLA in your inbox :-)
Best regards
Alison
Hi Alison. I really enjoy reading your newsletter so thank you. I couldn’t agree more about the pleasure of putting the suitcase away after book tours and the RWA conference. I am hoping I don’t need to pack again for at least a month. There really is no place like home. And thanks for the recommendation for My Lady Jane. I have added that to my must watch list
I really enjoyed My Lady Jane even though it was so far away from my normal watches. Love the fan art… Curran is hot!