Yesterday was the second anniversary of my first published book, which in turn marked the point when I decided that if I wanted to be a writer then there was a calm period between storms so I needed to get on and give it my best.
I’d been writing for a twenty year period where I may have held the record for jinxing publishing companies because I had 3 contracts with firms that either folded or were taken over, so this time had to be different. Thanks to Kindle Unlimited, I’m now earning a decent amount from it while, as they say, living the dream, that I couldn’t live without all the lovely people who read my books, leave reviews, and interact with me via this blog. It really makes my day when I know that someone’s been amused by the thing I’ve wanted to do as far back as I can remember.
Because you see, I was ‘that’ child. The one with her nose in a book, curled up in a quiet corner, preferably in a garden or on a beach. I was an early read and an avid one, and insomnia means that I still am now, although a lot of what I read these days is for research purposes. For a chunk of my childhood, I lived in places where there either wasn’t TV or the reception wasn’t good, so libraries and bookshops provided me with my route to adventure, and my place to meet the heroines I could model myself on.
I wasn’t a ‘girlie girl’. I’m not a girl at all now. I’m a woman, who’s current aim is to be mature. I like to look nice, but I hate hairdressers and beauty salons and shopping trips. A friend once compared my clothes shopping to a SAS strike raid, and I’m proud to say she’s not far wrong. Identify target, scope out hostiles, precision strike, straight to the checkout and run for cover in a bookshop is pretty much my modus operandi. I have an excuse note for that too these days because of my wonky immune system, so I stalk clothes that match my expensive tastes on eBay and have an everyday wardrobe that’s built round stripy tops and jeans or denim skirts because I live by the sea, so the coastal grandma thing suits me nicely. If you haven’t heard of it, then you can find it here - https://www.simplystartliving.com/simply-start-living-blog/why-the-coastal-grandmother-aesthetic-is-what-we-need-now
I didn’t know I was embracing this until someone I hadn’t seen for a while congratulated me on nailing it, so I accepted the compliment gratefully because don’t you hate people who can’t do that? And, just occasionally, you know, I do get things right, so it’s nice when other people notice.
For this season of my life, I have, to quote the sailor’s saying, calm seas and a following wind. I’ve had my share of storms and I expect I shall again, but that makes enjoying this period of my life all the more important. So thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who’s read and enjoyed. You mean the world to me.
Which leads me neatly on to this weeks special offers at 99p in the UK and 99c in the US.
One set are from my Shadows series, which I write as Eleanor Neville. They’re based around the fictional MI16, who are the people who hide in the Shadows and judge their successes by what hasn’t happened. They live by Rule 1, which is do what has to be done to keep people safe, and are usually assigned in carefully matched teams of male and female agents. That may explain why they’re not quite as good at keeping Rule 2, which is no personal involvement! So there’s Fallen Angel, Haunted Angel, Running Scared and Running Home, and I hope you like Guy Stannard, because he’s enormous fun to write because he does all the things I’d like to but mostly am too nice too.
The second pair are from my Lucy Williams series. She’s a former spy, because I’m fascinated by what spies do when they stop being spies because it’s not something you can put on a CV, is it? She’s a widow with a young daughter who still does data analysis while trying oh so hard to be inconspicuous because she’s living under a fake identity. Then her daughter’s head teacher is murdered, her daughter is hurt in a bullying incident and she and her best friend Sally uncover a dark world beneath the Parent Teacher Association… Those two are Child’s Play and A Fete Worse than Death.
Today’s picture is of the police boat out on the harbour, keeping a weather eye out for troublemakers while HMS Cattistock, a minesweeper is in port. They were given the freedom of the town on Saturday and you can read about that here…https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/24299935.hms-cattistock-given-freedom-poole-quay/
Have a great week, and we’ll catch up on Sunday…
