I did the pre-order for the first in the Harbourside series on Monday afternoon. It’s due out on the 7th of March and it’s set in the same world as Lavender House, but with no ghosts.
Anyone who’s read that series will remember Michael Halliday’s dream of building a retirement complex for people who don’t want warders as he put it, and how he promised his wife the perfect craft shop, and to make a bakery that’ll be irresistible.
Now it's finished and the residents have moved in and are enjoying having a small supermarket as well so everything they need will be close at hand. There’s Hannah, who’s in charge of the admin and looking after her beloved godmother, and Liam, who’s a former intensive care nurse who burnt out and doesn’t know where he’s going. There’s also retired Sergeant Major George, who’s out to sabotage matriarch Katie’s plans and a whole host of other characters whose lives will intertwine as they share joys and laughter and fears.
The views are lovely, the boats dance on the water, the windsurfers don’t fall in too often and it’ll be the ideal book for those of us who need a dose of summer to keep us going till the real thing comes along.
I’m excited about it because as we live longer we have to face different stages in relationships and pick up the pieces after losses. Sixty these days isn’t what it was thirty years ago, and I love exploring these characters and how they interact with the younger ones who think they’re looking after them.
But that’s to come. This week’s special offers are 99p in the UK and 99p in the US and they’re the first 3 Oldcastle books. These are cosy romantics set in a little Dorset Market town and there’s the Christmas Sparrow with an inadvertent matchmaking cat, and A Whole New Life and Having it All, which tell the stories of cousins Gemma and Kate, who both need new starts and find them at a bed and breakfast on an old farm
So, on to today’s picture. I took it on Monday, when I was out for a walk down by the sea, and found that the mist had settled so I couldn’t see Brownsea or Corfe Castle or very much else to be honest! The tide was in, the wind was up, and it was cold and reminded me that winter hasn’t let go after all.
Still, I enjoyed the few days tasters of spring and my first crocus and snowdrops are both out. With any luck we’ll have sunshine again when we catch up on Sunday, but take care till then…