Delighted to be number 16 on Sandy’s “Bucket List”
It was a real pleasure to finally meet Sandy while she is in Swaledale concentrating on her studies. Sandy had messaged me to say that she has bought every one of my books from the post office in Reeth and it was number 16 on her Bucket List to have them signed by the author. Over coffee at the Dales Bike Centre (a favourite venue of hers and mine) we chatted about her desire to move to Swaledale, something that had been on my own list of things to achieve. It gives me a real buzz to meet...
Winter is a time for writing
Suddenly Swaledale has a wintry feel and the dark evenings are perfect for writing without distractions. For me there is an annual cycle of plotting, writing, and editing because I try to finish a novel for publication in the middle of the year. It starts at the end of the summer holidays when my visiting family return home – then I begin to plan the themes that form the skeleton of my new novel. It takes several months of research – as well as hours of just thinking! Once the...
What a great way to spend an afternoon
This month I discovered that talking about my new book and signing copies over tea and cake was an excellent way to meet readers new and old. I am used to speaking about my writing in church halls and village institutes around the Dales but in the past weeks the surroundings have been rather pleasanter. In the Garden Rooms at Tennants, Leyburn, I stood at a lectern complete with a carved mouse at the base. The Stripey Badger Bookshop in Grassington includes a tearoom that provided a cosy...
Join me in Grassington on 29th October
When I was interviewed on Drystone radio last week, Steve Brown asked if I would be coming down to the Craven Dales. It seems I will be, sooner than expected. It was Independent Bookshop Day on 5th October and I was visiting the Stripey Badger Bookshop in Grassington to deliver some of my books. Linda was offering cake as well as the opportunity to give a talk on 29th October, when tea and scones will be served. We are also very lucky to have a lovely new indie bookshop in Settle. I visited...
Book signing and talk with local author at The Garden Rooms, Tennants
An aspect of my writing that I really enjoy is talking to groups of readers, both formally and informally. In addition to the occasional local book festival, during the course of a year I will be talking to a number of small groups, including members of the WI and the U3A. My talks are well received, particularly when I describe my work on high profile murder cases. My experience of forensic work includes matching soil from footwear to the crime scene, testing hair from a victim of arsenic...