NOVEMBER UPDATE

A bit of a white rabbit moment ‘I’m late, I’m late for a very important date…’. This post should have been published a few days prior to the end of last month, but sadly got held up. However I’m here now with some big news.

COVER REVEAL!

Yes, at last my twelfth novel and third part of my Cornish trilogy has moved a step forward. I can now reveal the cover for The Secrets We Keep. Set, as the other two novels have been, in the fictitious estuary town of Kingswater on the south Cornish coast, it’s sad to be leaving. I’ve enjoyed my time there and will miss them all. But new situations and characters beckon and I’m eager for a fresh challenge.

A special thanks to Jane Dixon Smith, who has designed an amazing cover. There will be more news about the publication date and pre-publication purchase options soon. Watch this space!

ooo0ooo

Can it only be a month ago that we were celebrating Guy Fawkes on 5th November, and fireworks were bursting across the night sky? Now it’s all about Christmas markets, festive food lists and writing and posting cards.

November has been a quiet month. Mostly there’s been rain; lots of it, which thankfully didn’t affect us as we live on a steep road, so no flooding. Nevertheless, it left its indelible print as the leaves came down and settled in soggy piles on the lawn. Thankfully, in those last days of the month we were able to clear them away and get the garden ready for winter.

The Christmas Market opened in town in the last week of the month and as usual, is busy. It does bring in a lot of visitors as well as locals and is one of the big events of the year.

My writing journey is almost at an end. It’s one of those times which pulls in a mixture of sadness that I’m leaving my characters and relief that the project is complete. On this occasion, I am doubly sad as this is the third and final book in my Cornish series. I have enjoyed writing these three novels, which in the beginning was only planned as a single book. However, once Shadows On the Water had been published, it occurred to me that there were two more individuals who had their own stories to tell. As my central character Ava Warren’s two closest friends, I felt they deserved their own ‘fifteen minutes of fame’.

The first, featuring Ava’s childhood friend, Keira Merrick, was an easy journey. Progress was good and A Kingswater Summer published in August 2021. The third and final instalment of the series, which ran with a number of titles, but finally ended as The Secrets We Keep featured single mother Hayley Young, another of Ava’s friends. I wrote this during the winter months, hoping to finish it and publish in August 2022. Unfortunately, some unexpected health issues interrupted the writing, turning the whole thing into a stop-start, and completely disrupting my progress. I can’t remember a more frustrating time during the years I have been writing. But never one to give up, I knew I really needed to complete this series. Now I’m looking forward to getting down to novel number 13 after Christmas. This time, I’m coming home. I’ve set books in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall and now it’s the turn of Wiltshire, the county where I was born and raised. Can’t wait to get started.

NOVEMBER READS

And lastly, my review reads for the month

So that’s it for November. Holidays are over for the year, there’s all the organising for Christmas to get on with. I have only had one read and review for December, which has been a blessing with so much else to do. I’ll catch up with you again as we look forward to 2023 and all that brings us. Take care and Merry Christmas to everyone!