It is very nice to have the lighter days upon us. The dawn chorus in the garden is limbering up much earlier in the mornings and their scale exercises are coming along nicely. They have a few new recruits and are pretty impressive to listen to.
I am not quite so enthusiastic about the jackdaws who seem to be engaged in early morning tap dancing classes on the roof – just above my bedroom – just above my head. They have a new sport. One bird sits on the chimney and caws ‘go’ and the rest run along the roof ridge to the gable end and back again. We have a Usain Bolt amongst the flock whom they all cheer. They are very entertaining to watch, and it is a privilege to have them around.
Shot in the New Forest.
Update. The manuscript is now with the publishers, Joffee Books, and the contract has been signed. Currently Shot in the New Forest is going through the editing process, and they are anticipating a launch date after the summer. I expect it will be on pre-release before the actual publication date, and I will keep you updated as I receive information. I am looking forward to seeing the sample front covers they suggest for this book. It is said that a picture paints a thousand words and a front cover can say much about the book itself. It can ground the location, the mood of the text and the genre, amongst other things.
Live Radio interview
That was fun. I joined Kevin Lawrence for a chat live on air, on Radio Odstock. What a nice fellow he is. We discussed why people write stories, locations, characters and so much more. He asked when I started writing and why. I think is began with the excuses surrounding missing homework when I was at school. I believe our dog was unjustly blamed for the lateness.
People are curious by nature, and this is how we learn. Curiosity and nosiness are close bed fellows, so we are interested to know about the way of life of other people.
And we all tell lies – to each other and to ourselves. We tell others what we think they would like to hear, and this is just a step away from writing about characters and giving them the lives we think they should lead.
If you want to hear the interview, then it is available to listen to on their catch-up service. Below is a picture of the relevant information and the details of the link.
Audible release
All three current books will be released as audible books. After listening to actors reading texts, we have agreed on a particular actor, who has the right weight of voice for the narrator, and he has been engaged to read the manuscripts. Again, I have no idea yet about the time frame for this. It depends on many things and in part on when the particular actor can fit the readings into his schedule. Joffee Books have asked me to not mention his name yet, but he has read for many authors and has lots of audible books under his belt.
Book 5
Book 5 now has a working title of Death in the New Forest but, of course, the publisher may wish to change this in the future. The plot is coming together and research is ongoing for all those minute details that ground the story in time and place. It is interesting how these research trips always seem to end up in some form of eatery or drinkery…
Craft fairs
We are doing two craft fairs in April. Burley is a three-day event over the Easter weekend on Saturday 4th, Sunday 5th and Monday 6th and then on 18th April we are in Lymington. If you are around for these, do drop in and say hello. We will have signed hardback copies of all the books available if you want one. Signed copies of paperbacks will obviously be available, too. I am told that the Burley event is very popular with lots going on over the weekend if you are looking for a day out.
Happy reading,
Carol
