Thank you to all of you who got your copies of Killer in the New Forest and for your feedback. It is much appreciated and I hope you enjoyed the third encounter with Callum and the team.
This is the time of year when I am drawn to the log burner, a good book and a hot brew. I have a particular weakness for a hot chocolate with all the trimmings. Luxury, but probably not good in excess. I do tend to feel a bit like a cave-dweller though when it is dark outside in both the mornings and the evenings. To counter this, I begin my assault on the tower of ‘To Be Read’ volumes stacked on my bedside table. There is always an upside in any situation if you look hard enough for it. Reading those will free up space for more books.
(I have just realised that this is exactly how DS Daisy Donaldson looks at every situation – there is always light at the end of the tunnel, and if she is lucky, which she often is, then it is not just someone bringing her more work, they have also brought her a hot chocolate with all the trimmings.)
Interviews.
Following the release of Killer in the New Forest, I was interviewed by the wonderful team at Beneath the Page for their monthly podcast. Steve Couch and Sophie Beal were both professional and approachable. They were very relaxing to work with, plied me with good coffee and asked me some interesting questions. We had a great morning, and the podcast of the interview is available to view on YouTube and other platforms. Here is the link to YouTube if would like to view it.
While I am mentioning interviews, the publisher Joffee Books posted an interview with me on their website, more a Q&A really, following the publication of Killer in the New Forest and this is the link if you want to take a look at it.
https://joffebooks.com/blog/an-interview-with-carol-cole
Christmas.
Am I allowed to mention Christmas yet? Is it too soon? If it is then I apologise, but I have begun to think about gifts and, inevitably, my mind turns to books that my family and friends might enjoy reading. And if I I change my mind after I have bought a book, or see a different volume that they might prefer, which has happened on occasion, then I can always keep the book myself, and enjoy reading it. Purchasing books always has a happy ending. But I may need to build more bookcases.
I will be going to a fair at Bransgore on 11th October, and to the Verwood Literary Festival on 18th October. If you are around on either of those dates, come and say hello.
I have a few more outings and book events planned for November and December but will add the dates on the November newsletter. It would be great to see you at any of them. Come and have a chat, and if you have a book you want signed, then bring it with you and I will sign it.
Book Four.
Researching a book is fun, interesting but it can become a bit distracting. Writers often refer to ‘rabbit holes’ when researching, that interesting snippet of information that leads you away from the thread you were following and drags you away in a different direction. I am all too familiar with the concept. Although in my case, some develop into sink holes, large subterranean existences that have very little – or nothing – to do with what I was researching.
I was taking a look at The Moot Gardens in Downton because Callum and Daisy will meet somebody there when they are after information about one of their suspects. Wooden forts, tolls to use the ford across the river, livestock grazing the moot and so much more. It had never occurred to be that there was a life before bridges. Only a fraction of this information, perhaps only a line or two of text will appear in the book when it is finished, but it was very interesting to discover this unsuspected past of a familiar place. Now I appreciate why research takes up such a large part of the time that it takes to prepare a book for publication.
Below is a picture, not of the Moot, but of the entrance to the church of St Laurence and the churchyard where some of the action takes place.
Next month I will add a few more venue dates and perhaps look into the background of another member of Callum’s team.
Happy reading.