Old memories and a new book

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Once upon a time, because that’s how all good stories start, isn't it? Once upon a time, a woman who hated her job signed up for an evening class. It didn’t run, but one on Writing for Pleasure and Profit did so three of us got into one woman’s car and headed across to a different adult education location. I did ring my husband, honestly I did, but he didn’t see the message, so when he came to collect me (this is pre-mobile phone era) it took him a while to find me. He wasn't very pleased about that, but I won on points because I could show him the answering machine message.

And so, as I’ve said in my Amazon biography, it began. I’d always written and told stories in my head but then I started selling slushy short stories and the sort of twist endings that were so satisfying because you could do things in fiction that you’re never allowed to in real life. Not to slugs and snails though. I got told off by an editor for dropping them in a bucket of boiling water but she was fine about me killing people in fiction. Life’s odd, isn’t it?

The book that’s being released tomorrow is under my Eleanor Neville pen name which my Mum and I chose to remember my little sister who died at birth and reflect our shared love of Richard the Third, and no, I don’t think he killed the Princes. The likeliest culprit was a Tudor and he had Shakespeare and Thomas More doing his PR which has to be an unfair advantage. We were sitting in her garden when we came up with that name and she was so proud of me when I not only sold stories but sold enough to be able to afford to take redundancy and write full time. I signed a confidentiality agreement so I’m not allowed to tell you where I worked but I can promise you that it wasn’t as exciting as that makes it sound.

Sweeter than Honey was the first novel I ever wrote and it’s been revised a lot since then, but I feel very odd about it going out into the world because it makes me remember my Mum reading it as if it was a serial. We lived in Germany during the 1970’s which is when and where it's set so she was a massive help with the details. Sadly, she didn’t live to see the books published, but my big sister has been a massive support.

It’ll be out tomorrow, and here’s it’s cover picture. I’m not promoting the other books this week because I want this one to have a good start. And if you do happen to have an aspiring writer in your family, please, encourage them because the rest of the world won’t.

The basic plot is agents and double agents in 1970’s Berlin and a naughty little honey trap called Ursi Schmidt and a man who thinks he’s a hardened special agent. It’s a world where you can’t trust anyone but you can fall in love even or maybe especially if it’s the last thing anyone sensible should do.

See you on Sunday!