New Year... new beginnings...

But it's January, high summer, so I will get back to things in February...

Happy new year.

As I sit here, bunkered down in the airconditioning, I can’t believe last newsletter I was grizzling about how cold it was. Today it is 42C!

Before I begin, a big thank you to everyone who joined my Secret Substack and downloaded the Christmas at the Convent preview. Your positive feedback has given me the confidence I was looking for and, all things being equal, I am planning to release the novella in June. I have some overseas travel planned for the first part of this year and one of my new year resolutions was to pace myself a little better. (The second… Stop doomscrolling… lasted 3 days!).

WATCH THIS SPACE for preorder news.

I do hope you had a restful and enjoyable festive season. It was an odd one for us… our first Christmas day without family - just the two of us (plus Fig). I read that a good way of coping with the loss of a loved one, particularly on important dates (such as Christmas) is to establish new traditions and I have to admit we rather enjoyed our ‘orphans’ Christmas. It made for a leisurely start to the day followed by a simple but delicious meal of oysters followed by fresh salmon, rounded off with Christmas pud. Easy to prepare, hardly any washing up… and a lazy afternoon dozing in front of the TV.

Of course, January is the height of our summer holidays so that sense of ‘what day is it’ drifts into most of the month. I have been watching cricket and indulging in some new needlework. Next week it is tennis. Oddly, I have little interest in tennis for the rest of the year, but I love the Australian Open (and yes, I will be going).

NEWS

• If you would like to read the first four chapters of CHRISTMAS AT THE CONVENT, it is still available to download until the end of January but you will need to sign up to ALISON’S SECRET SUBSTACK. The subscribe button is below.

• The audio edition of THE POSTMISTRESS was released on 1 January and is now available from your favourite audio retailer.

  

  🎧 Listen to the secrets whispered in the Australian goldfields... Adelaide hides a dark past. Caleb is running from his. When their worlds collide in isolated Maiden's Creek, survival demands more than grit—it demands trust. Perfect for your next immersive listen! 🇦🇺

• DATE FOR THE DIARY: February 21-22 I will be attending the Book Fair Australia … the biggest book fair I have ever been a part of and I have also been invited to participate in a panel! I am looking forward to seeing huge crowds … I just hope they find my corner of the exhibition space!

  

SPECIAL OFFERS, NEW RELEASES and SHOUT OUTS

• Kobo is running a ‘Start a New Series’ promotion from 8-22 Jan and you will find THE POSTMISTRESS is on sale for $2.49 as part of that promotion. Click HERE to see the range of books on offer and HERE to go straight to THE POSTMISTRESS (not available in Aus/NZ)

MONTHLY SHOUT OUT:

WILD, BEAUTIFUL AND FREE by Sophronia Scott

From author Sophfronia Scott comes the story of one young woman’s bold journey to reclaim her birthright and carve out her own place in a world that tells her she doesn’t belong.
Born the daughter of an enslaved woman and a Louisiana plantation owner, Jeannette Bébinn is raised alongside her white half sister—until her father suddenly dies. His vindictive wife refuses twelve-year-old Jeannette her inheritance and sells her into slavery.
Now on her own, Jeannette must fight the injustices she faces because of her mixed race. She escapes enslavement and travels from Mississippi to Philadelphia to New York to Ohio, all while searching for purpose, love, and her place in a country torn asunder by the burgeoning Civil War.

Sophronia hosts A Morning Walk here on Substack… a series of brief weekly videos featuring author and contemplative thinker Sophfronia Scott as she offers observations on living life with love, joy, and inspired intention. Find her HERE

Reading/listening/watching…?

Can I start by saying, I share what I read, watch and listen to because, like you, I am a reader, watcher and listener. All reading is subjective, so the thoughts I share here are my own. If I do express an opinion you can feel free to disagree with me, but be kind!

Reading: My daughter in law has loaned me JUST STAB ME NOW by Jillian Bearup. I would call it a historical fantasy but it is also a genre bender as the fourth wall comes down and the characters and the author hold heated conversations! It is great fun and I have to confess to having many heated conversations with my characters at times.

Listening: I finished THE HALLMARKED MAN, but I have to admit to skipping a huge chunk of the middle :-( I don’t think I will persist with Robert Galbraith! (Or wait until the TV adaptations come out!) By contrast I whizzed through Kerry Greenwood’s A MURDER IN WILLIAMSTOWN.

Watching: Just for a change we went to the cinema to see THE CHORAL… One of those feel good films the British do so well, with a star studded cast of fine actors and a bitter sweet story set in WW1. My TV viewing would have been mostly cricket but it has been a very disappointing test series! I know Americans must scratch their head about 5 day cricket matches… but I love them (and is it any wonder my characters, Robert Curran and Julian Edwards, are keen cricketers!). Loved the new Knives Out movie (WAKE UP DEAD MAN). One of the more interesting shows we binged was the Spanish mystery series CITY OF SHADOWS - set in Barcelona (Netflix). Highly recommend. Currently watching BALLARD (Prime) - maybe it’s because I am a writer but I can see where it is going and it’s not gripping me. I am much happier indulging in the new TRAITORS series!

What are you reading/watching or listening to this month?

Finally…

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 :-)

It is important to keep writers caffeinated and, as most books sell for less than a cup of coffee these days, in the interests of transparency, some of the links I use in my newsletter may be ‘affiliate links’ which earn me a small (very small) commission.

Enjoy a safe and happy festive season!

Best regards

Alison