August 2023 – JO LAMBERT

August had the potential to save summer. To inject some sunshine into those last thirty one days before September arrived. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Okay, there were moments of warm sunshine. Days when the beach beckoned, or eating in the garden was possible. But somehow the rain just kept coming back, bringing with it gloomy grey skies. I’ve always seen the August Bank Holiday weekend as the gateway to autumn. Having said that, both September and October can often surprise us with unexpected sunshine and unseasonably warm days. So, who knows, maybe this year, an Indian summer awaits us. We can only hope!

AUGUST READS

August has been a quiet month for reading. I’m still working on the outline for my new book, which I plan to begin writing at the end of September. I think that probably cut the number of reads. All in all, it proved to be a month of quality rather than quantity, with Kate Ryder’s Echoes on a Cornish River definitely coming out on top as my favourite read.

September starts with a holiday. Our long awaited trip to Italy. This was booked in February, which seemed ages ago, but suddenly, here it is, less than a fortnight away. We are returning to Desenzano on Lake Garda. It’s my first trip abroad since 2018 and the fated ankle break while staying in Menorca. It was followed shortly after by Covid, which curtailed our ability to take holidays, even in the UK. It will be our fourth trip to the lake and second to Desenzano (where we stayed in 2016) . Italy is one of my favourite holiday destinations. I love everything about the country – the weather, the food, the people…and, of course, the history. I’m so looking forward to this trip, which will be followed by our Ruby Wedding Anniversary in October. And then, we’ll be thinking about Christmas…

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll be back at the end of September. In the meantime, wherever you are, enjoy the coming Bank Holiday.

So here we are again, the end of yet another month. Seven down, five to go. This year has been a strange one. We’ve had only a handful of lunches on our back patio and as for the seating on the decking? Well, the covers have yet to come off. As I sit here, there’s rain against the window once more. I’m hoping that August will restore my faith in the weather and bring some of that much missed summer sunshine back to the UK.

July was a quiet month with not much to report. I’m still working on my new writing project, but don’t plan to begin until we’re back from Italy later in September. Desenzano, on Lake Garda, where we will be staying, actually features in A Cornish Affair, which was published back in 2019. It definitely ticked all the boxes when I was looking for somewhere for my two star crossed lovers to meet and resolve their differences.

I’m planning to write a piece on my writing blog about using real places in my fiction. I have done this many times in the books I’ve published and on one occasion, when I needed a heroine to walk around Verona, I used Google Map. I had actually visited the city, but my memory, coupled with photos I’d taken at the time, weren’t really sharp enough to make the scene convincing. I’ll be posting on FB and ‘X’ as it is called now (not sure I can get used to this strange new name, but that’s another story) later this month.

MY READING MONTH

And finally…

From the covers below you would be forgiven for thinking I’ve been locked away in a room for the last 31 days and done nothing but read. Not so, but it’s my biggest monthly reading challenge so far this year. Some books, depending on the story, I’m able to finish in a couple of days; others take a bit more time. All of these were great reads, but there were three which I felt really stood out – two crime and one coming of age novel set in the States.