In Praise Of Accent Press

I've never written so many blog or newsletter posts. Not sure what's got into me... Anyway, this post is as a result of a remark made by a member of the reader group who obviously hadn't read of the history of me and Accent Press. Gosh, you will say, how did she miss that? You've been ramming it down our throats for years! But no, there are newer readers (I love them) who probably don't know, so here goes.

Once upon a time, there was a writer of features, press releases, plays and short fiction (me) who decided, for no good reason, to do one of these new fangled Master's Degrees in Creative Writing. East Anglia had been set up a few years previously and various other universities were doing the same. In order to avoid attending the same uni as my younger daughter (Bath Spa, who offered me a place) I chose the Carmarthan campus (Trinity) of the University of Wales. I commuted every week, staying in a pub in the middle of nowhere which belonged to some friends of friends. One of my fellow students was a lady, a former business woman, who was a little frustrated by being rather tied to home by her very small triplets.

At the end of the year, we were asked, as a group, to produced a collection of short stories, as the previous year (the first the course had run) had done. Somehow, my new friend ended up directing the whole project, and refused to allow it to be an amateurish photocopied job as last year's had been. So we ended up with a proper paperback, and we even did events with it - and readings. I did fewer than anyone else because I lived so far away. This, remember, was long before the proliferation of self publishing and the digital revolution.

We enjoyed it so much, that my friend decided we would do another one off our own bat, so to speak, this one a charity book. Within weeks she had convinced the Breast Cancer charity we would be good for them, and I (it was just the two of us doing all this) had started recruiting writers of short stories. Luckily, I already knew some fairly famous novelists who agreed to contribute, and what eventually emerged was this:

Amazingly, it's still on Amazon, second hand only, and lists all the writers, with me as editor. Hazel Cushion, for dear reader, it was she, proved an indefatigable partner and organised a launch at The Groucho Club:

(That's us in the front row on our knees, me in pink, and Hazel next to contributors and friends Sophie Weston and Caroline Mackworth-Praed.) My husband is also there at the back somewhere, as he designed the cover, which became the trademark of the Sexy Shorts collection. We also had a Welsh launch at the National Library of Wales at Aberystwyth and other events in bookshops all over the place.

I remained connected to what was now Accent Press for the next short story collection, but took a back seat, and detached myself after that as I had an urgent need to earn some money! I took a job at the Crown Court, which was fascinating, if upsetting at times, but great for observing behaviour under examination. It was a year or so later that Hazel phoned me one afternoon, not long after my husband had died, but she assured me it wasn't charity, and said: "You remember that story you wrote for your dissertation?" "Well," I said, "it was only the first 20,000 words, actually." "I know," said Hazel. "Have you written any more?" "No." "Will you write another couple of chapters and let me read it?" "Yes."

That story became Murder in Steeple Martin. It was an experiment for both of us, as Accent Press were only just branching out into long fiction. We both attended a conference at Caerleon in Wales at which she showed me first cover designs and told me, quite rightly, that I couldn't call it Past Imperfect. And she said "Do you think it could be a series?" It wasn't even finished, then...

We've had ups and downs since then, what relationship hasn't? And I had to get used to the fact that I wasn't the only author, nor am I the best selling author. I foolishly introduced my friend Christina Jones into the fold, and let's face it, you don't get much better than that. I've been tempted away a few times, but I've stayed. Hazel and I took a chance on each other, and she's stuck by me, even though I'm hardly the most fashionable of authors in the most popular of genres.

And finally, we collaberated this last week on the cover, delivery date and publication date of the next novelette for Christmas. In less than 24 hours, this was up on Amazon (and presumably the other platforms) for pre-order.

So thank you, Hazel, and, although you didn't realise it at the time, thank you University of Wales - even if meeting Hazel was the only thing I got out of it, except the letters after my name...

Book launch and New Covers

I sit here in my conservatory gazing at my wilting garden and worry. About the drought crisis and the plight of the farmers, the failing NHS, the homeless, those reliant on the food banks... And on and on it goes.

Still, in my own personal world there is some good news. First of all, my copies of Murder and the Glovemaker's Son have arrived:

And, to cheer me up after falling book sales, my publisher, Accent Press, decided on a little bit of rebranding and designed some new covers.

These have been judged a little dark by some of my readers, but apparently they follow a current trend of having decorative borders, and it's hoped some people who haven't yet sampled the delights of Steeple Martin, Nethergate and the inhabitants will be persuaded to give them a try.

Next week our local bookshop, Harbour Books, will be hosting a book launch for me:

There will be Prosecco and little cakes, I believe, so anyone who is in the area at the time is welcome to come and have a drink with me. I have my doubts about how many books will be sold, but it should be fun. Maybe. You might also get to meet some of my offspring, including son Miles who is so generous with his ideas...

And then, when I come back from Turkey on September 27th, I and some other Whitstable authors will be attending BroadstairsLit's Party Night, hosted by Waterstones at Broadstairs Pavilion on the Sands where I used to sit and eat icecream with my parents when I was a teeny, tiny girl. 

Oh - and I have a new hairdresser...

Writing For The Stage

It’s 2018 and time for a new start. At least, that’s the received wisdom, but I have to say I don’t usually agree with that. After all, the date is arbitrary – everyone complaining that 2016 was a terrible year for deaths – yes, it was, but it wasn’t the year’s fault! Anyway, I’m going along with the whole business for a while for several reasons. First – as the world of publishing – and, indeed, the world – has changed over the last few years, being a traditionally published novelist is no longer rather a feather in one’s cap, and my sales have dropped as have those of many of my contemporaries. So marketing and visibility becomes essential, and the blog is  important. But you have to make sure people are reading it, and with so many bloggers out there, how can you stand out? Well, blog more frequently, for a start, and regularly. So I’m starting my new regime today with something I wrote in 2001 – long before social media and blogging. Slightly rewritten, of course, and I can’t think why I wrote it, now, unless it was part of the course I was teaching at the time, for either the Kent Adult Education service, or the WEA.  And, as both my mystery series have a theatrical back ground, and in a recent poll on my Facebook page readers were asking about Libby’s writing for the stage, so I thought I’d treat you to my thoughts on this. You never know – there might be a budding playwright out there!

So, how do set out to write for the stage? The same as any story.  Think up beginning middle and end in the same wave pattern that you would for a novel or short story.  Work out a synopsis, what’s going to happen in each scene.  Work out your characters - give them a  motivation, remember to think about what they’ve just been doing before they come on stage.  Remember that although you and the actors will know what’s happening, the audience will be seeing it for the first time and have to have everything made clear, but not in the “As you know, our father, the multi-millionaire who made his fortune in non stick zips for American troops, has just left our step-mother, the tart with a heart of gold...” etc.  Introduce the characters individually, so that the audience knows who they are, don’t overcrowd the stage (or the audience’s brain, collective, you notice).  Don’t forget any of the characters.  Don’t bring someone on with a big scene and then leave them out of the rest of the play.  Just as in a novel you don’t name the waiter unless he has an important part to play later on, or the audience (or the reader) will be wondering where they’ve gone and whether they should have noticed something.  They won’t trust you and the construction of the play will be undermined.  And when you’ve finished, go through and make sure you haven’t left anyone on stage when they should have been off, or given them a line when they aren’t on.  Remember viewpoint, just as in a novel, one character can’t know what the other is thinking, even if you do!  Your voice, the voice of God, cannot come through, except in any message you’re trying to put across. 

Give your characters something to work on.  Don’t make them bland.  Make the dialogue self evident, so that the actors know how to say the line without a stage direction telling them:  ie “softly” “intimately” “angrily”.  Try and use “natural” dialogue leaving out the ums and ahs as in a novel.  However you can indicate people cutting the other off or “line capping”,  where one character breaks into another character’s speech. And just hope the director remembers to tell the actors not to leave too long a gap between the lines!  There is no time here to go into different styles of playwriting, so I will assume a straightforward narrative play, rather than “Pinteresque” dialogue, where the audience are being asked to make a connection between one line and the next that is other than the simply mundane.  This sort of dialogue can sound completely inconsequential or nonsensical unless very carefully handled.  Think Godot and Caretaker. (Beckett and Pinter, for those wot might not know.)

Technical:  work out how long each page of dialogue takes to perform.  Rough rule of thumb, 2 mins per page.  Not always, because if you have a lot of stage directions, they read longer than they take to perform, usually.  Think about the set.  You don’t have to design it, but have a picture of it in your head, at least and make sure that it is workable.  Don’t have a grand staircase in the middle with a huge window at the top if there’s nowhere for the actors to go when they get there.  Remember, what goes up must come down, preferably on foot.  And, if you’re writing for the small stage, make sure you have enough but not too many entrances/exits, and don’t keep changing scenes or the back stage crew will go on strike.  If you must have scene changes, make sure you have thought about them first - don’t have a full scale Victorian sitting room complete with grand piano and fireplace and a quick change to the knot garden complete with knots.  A play these days is usually two acts, so if there must be a scene change, try to keep to just one and use the interval for the scene change.  If there are small scenes between two people that should take place other than on the main set, use stage directions to take the actors right downstage left or right and light them in isolation, while keeping the rest of the stage dark.  Try to keep these sections in the same place ie dsl for a passage in the mansion, dsr for the millionaire’s office.  Don’t keep changing the venue, or the audience will be thoroughly confused (see seeing it for the first time).  Time passing on a single set can be fairly simply achieved with lighting changes ie blackout, during which “props” (property master or mistress, tasked with providing properties and “dressing” the set.) come on and replace daffodils with roses, roses with holly etc.  Steel Magnolias does this as throughout the play the seasons change.  (Different curtains, cushions, simple costume changes).

Stage directions:  dsr is downstage right, dsl, self evidently, is downstage left. Up and down down centre – back of the set or right down the front!  Tabs are curtains, and there are often more than one set.   Don’t forget to give stage directions (exit left, lights cigarette - non pc these days) and make sure that the set design in your head allows the moves to be made.  Each director will redesign your play according to the facilities and their resources, and the same with the moves according to their interpretation, but you must make sure that the play will work if done exactly as per script.  Your directions should also include lighting and sound effects, and again, make sure these are workable.  Don’t demand the entire aurora borealis if the play might be performed in the village hall.  If you are writing for a specific group or company, then you will know their limitations and strengths, but if you’re writing for publication then many different companies of differing abilities might perform it, so suggestions for simplification will not come amiss.

Don’t ask for a purple bottomed baboon as the pet of the lady of the manor.  Props will not thank you.  Make sure that props are thought about and listed at the end.  The playwright has to provide a props and furniture list, a lighting plot and an effects plot at the end of a script.  Remember to go through and make sure you have included all the props in the list, or you will have the heroine coming on to find the handkerchief the hero has dropped - only she doesn’t.  Possible end of play.  

Remember that the props might be personal ie taken on by a character and state that in your list.  If you are going to use music, check that you, the company or the venue are covered under PRS, so suggest music but make sure (all I’ve said is make sure) that there is a note in the script to point this out.  Don’t have a concert pianist playing the piano in full view of the audience.  The Piecrust W I Players might not have a concert pianist.  Don’t specify ethnic minorities or religions unless it is specifically written for a company made up from these.  (Remember The Crucible and Tituba? It is essential that Tituba is shown as a South American Indian slave, and some casting directors might have a problem there!  The Crucible is a classic.  You’re not writing a classic yet!  or you wouldn’t be here.)

When you’ve done all that, go back and go through it with a tooth comb to check that the characters come on and off where they should, you haven’t had Fred meeting Joe for the first time and saying “Hello, Joe!” when he doesn’t know his name.  (Yes, I know it sounds stupid, but it happens.)  Make sure you’ve indicated the sound of the Rolls Royce pulling up on the gravel outside before  Lady Fanacapan says “Hark, I hear a car.”   Then make sure (again) that the running time is roughly two hours.  That’s as long as an audience used to East Enders will sit still without asking you to push the pause button.  You’ll give them 15 to 20 minutes in the middle to refresh and relieve themselves, so count that in.  And yes, I know that Nick Nick (Nicholas Nickleby) runs for hours, but Dickens and the RSC are a law unto themselves - and so are their audiences.

Have fun - anything I haven’t said?

I expect a lot of this is in my book Writing a Pantomime, a few illustrations from which appear here, done by my talented late husband.  (Badly photographed by me!) The book is still available from Accent Press and is in (I think) its third edition. Well, there we are. I’ve started. Next week I’ll have to think of something else, so do let me know if there are any aspects of my life, or Libby’s, that you would like to know about and I’ll do my best.  Thank you for reading. Oh – and a Happy New Year.

Keeping up to date - new books!

Quite a lot's been happening recently. Murder By The Barrel Murder By The Barrel came out a couple of weeks ago, and after a panic about the print books, we got them in time for Harbour Books to sell them at the book launch, held once again at The Black Dog. And then publisher Hazel announced that the seond of The Alexandrians, Entertaining Death, was out in paperback - which means both of them are. And hard on the heels of all that, we discussed the NEXT Libby, number 19, which will come out next August, and sorted out the cover, which I think is the bext yet.

I

I expect you can guess what it's about!. And then we even mentioned - in passing - book 20. Son Miles is currently trying to think up ideas for that one.

So I've been doing a lot of blog tour guest posts and interviews, all of which are linked on my author page, https://www.facebook.com/LibbySarjeantMysteries/.

On the other hand, I've been having trouble with the Back and The Diabetes, so I've been feeling somewhat aged and decrepit. although I have finally gone back to the hairdresser and the Manicurist, which definitely makes me feel better.  Over the past few weeks I have given thanks for my publisher, my doctor and the kids (even if they're not exactly kids any more!). I have an excellent support network, which includes both RL and online friends, and my readers are absolutely wonderful. So thank you all.

Arrivals and Departures news

It's Sunday morning, sunny and very warm. And I have to work.

Just over a week ago I finished Murder By The Barrel and sent it to my editor. Friday evening he sent me back the edits. I was expecting practically a full rewrite, but no, bless him, he was as encouraging as ever, although there is a fair amount to do. Unlike almost all other writers I know (except my friend Bernardine Kennedy, who does what I do) I don't like rewriting and creating multiple drafts before submission. For a start, I don't have time. For instance, this book is due out on October 8th, and the next one in June 2018. You work it out. And the edits are to be in by Wednesday...

So this week, while waiting for the edits, I started the research for book 19. Yes, we have the title. I thought of it, liked it, put it to the powers that be, who all liked it too, and that was that. Then I realised I needed a story to fit it. Difficult. A challenge, in fact. There are certain subjects about which you think you are well informed; perhaps they constitute a part of your particular interest (that'll give you a clue) so that you know quite a lot, until you realise that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Sorry about the cliché, but, all fired up, I thought I had the perfect basis for a plot, until I realised that it now posed more problems than it solved. So there's a lot more research to do. Auspicious sources have been emailed, I have received a modicum of encouragement, and now I've got to stop while I work on the Barrel.

As if that wasn't bad enough, I have committed myself to a little theatrical enterprise, directing three women in three linked monologues at an event on September 9th. The trouble is, the monologues are still in their original form as short stories that all appeared in magazines years ago and subsequently in my short story collection, Bad Behaviour.

This means they have to be rewritten. And, as you can tell, there isn't that much time for the girls to learn them, or rehearse. So that's got to be done fairly sharpish, too. Luckily, I know the three actors well (two of them actually have cause to be grateful to me - and I know how to pull in a favour) so I don't anticipate too many problems, but nevertheless, it's an added pressure.

On top of that, my dear old laptop is on its last legs, and this very morning I have bitten the bullet and ordered a new one. This will obviously necessitate a lot of re-learning, as, although I have been a dedicated Mac user for as long as they've been in this country (blame the old man - he was one of the first "Apple Trainers" over here), each new one has different features and a different operating system. And my brain is very like the laptop - not accepting any new systems. So I'm hoping eldest son Miles, who arrives back in Whitstable some time today after a week's jolly in the South of France with his sister, Phillipa, will find time to help me get to grips with it. Sadly, youngest son Leo is currently residing in temporary domestic bliss with his girlfriend in New Jersey, but if I'm still having problems in September, he'll be back then and I shall force him to help. Luckily, kids were trained by their dad, and Miles actually worked in the industry for a few years. 

So there you are. One book going off, another one starting, and me getting back to the theatre - in a small way. Kids going away and coming back (yes, they're all fully fledged adults, but...) and me not actually going anywhere - no Turkey this year. (See new laptop above.) And in the last six weeks we've had the funerals of one much loved cousin and one old friend. However, to balance that, Louise and I (and grandchildren) will be attending the wedding of another cousin in a couple of weeks. So more comings and goings.

I shall try and remember to let you all know if anything startling happens in the next few weeks, meanwhile, roll on October.

Almost back to normal!

Well - I'm back to working in the office - my messy, untidy office - and doing emails etc on the laptop in the kitchen in the mornings. It's such a relief to be back to normal, I can't tell you!

Added to which, I've finally got my appetite back and started getting interested in food again, which is bad for the waistline (what waistline?) but good for me and for current house sharer Leo. Dug out my 20 year old recipe books and revived some of the dishes he remembers from his childhood. Don't know why I've bought so many new ones since...

And I've walked, too. Half a mile to the hairdressers to get my colour done, and half a mile back on Tuesday, and the same to get my nails done on Friday. Without the stick. Back still aches like billy-ho, but I can do it.

And finally, my dear friends Darren and Peter Simpson, who played my Ugly Daughters in Cinderella a few years ago, have invited me to do a book signing to coincide with World Book Day on Thursday at their wonderful new establishment - see picture at the top of this post. I can vouch for the excellence of all their freshly prepared food - and the size of the sandwiches, which meant Leo and I didn't need dinner when we went to visit them this week! So If you're in our area and free on Thursday afternoon, I shall be ensconced in "The Den" at the back, next to the woodturner, with some books to sell and sign - and of course, I'll sign those you already have if you bring them along. And while you're there, have a cup of superb hot chocolate, a slice of Darren's home made cake, a muffin, perhaps, or even some ice cream. And, in case you don't recognise us if you come along, here we are arguing with the Prince. I'm the one on the far left. Ahem.

Writing on the sofa

Gloria and Lady Godiva, to give her her full name, no longer cuddle up on the sofa, perhaps because it now has a new overcoat. They still sit here, but not together. In the mornings, Godiva sits beside me and drapes herself over my left wrist, despite the fact that she gets jiggled up and down while I'm writing. Gloria sits on the cushion behind my back, gradually wearing a groove in it and occasionally eating my hair.

This is my new regime. I tried working at the kitchen table, but it was hopeless, so I went back to the office and my back suffered. So here I am in the sitting room, working on the sofa with the cats. It's slightly tidier in here, there are grapes and chocolates to hand and a vase of daffodils on the table. And I've actually got more done over the last few days than I have in the last month. I may well abandon the office for ever.

It reminds me of two things. One - the summer I spent with a cracked foot up on the sofa finishing a writing project and two - finishing the first Libby Sarjeant after Hazel Cushion had asked for it. I've always maintained that I needed a dedicated office space to work, and of course, in the past, I have. In our last house, my late husband and I actually had an office each once we'd chucked the two elder children out. Even before that, he had one and I worked in our large utility room. This was essential with four children with ages ranging over ten years, and my liking for working to music probably dates from that time - in order to block out extraneous noises.

But now I've realised I don't need it. I do have one returning child - the current slave - living with me, but he spends most of his time in his room composing music and poetry, only coming out to eat, take the bins out and get the coal in. And it's much more comfortable here, and surprisingly, less distracting. So - advice for writers. As if I'm qualified to give advice... Write where you're comfortable and not where you think you should. No, I'm not going to remind you of Jane Austin, but I might remind you of the opening line of my all-time favourite novel: "I write this sitting in the kitchen sink..."

What I've learnt since damaging my back - a cautionary tale.

Last Tuesday, 1st November, I went to lunch and the theatre to see The Woman In Black with some friends. Thoroughly enjoyed myself, and it was just as well. That evening, on my way to bed, I was trying to shut the cats into the kitchen when one of them - the naughtier one, Lady Godiva - decided to have a game of hide and seek. Now both my sons have said since "How can you fall over a cat?" I put it to every cat owner I know: "How CAN'T you?"

I fell - and badly. Hit my head on the sink (butler) on the way down and landed on my right hip. It didn't occur to me at the time that I was - er - getting on a bit  and hips are a bit dodgy, especially with mild osteoporosis. I managed - somehow - to get to my feet and get upstairs to bed, aware that I was more or less in agony all over. By the morning I felt as though - well, actually, I don't know. I had to phone my poor son Miles to come and get me up - after all, the loo waits for no one. Luckily he lives round the corner. He stayed all day, collected a prescription for me (I phoned the doctor) cooked me dinner and generally made sure I was all right.

The following morning was very little better, and to my shame, I called daughter Louise in tears. She appeared very quickly (good job they are both musicians and not working during the day) and was there to let in the paramedic (yes, really) attached to our local GP practice who arrived to assess me. Torn back muscles is the diagnosis - and I was lucky.

So, what have I learnt? I have learnt that my children are wonderful (as if I didn't know that already) and that Facebook is terrific for keeping the immobilised in touch with the world. My friends have had to put up with inane postings every five minutes. I have also learnt that advice is freely given and not always appropriate, but nevertheless appreciated. My friend Suzanne and I both already knew this, as migraine sufferers we have received much well meaning advice in the past.

The other things I have learnt have been more practical. I regularly go and have my nails painted with gel polish, which does not respond well to ordinary polish remover. And I currently cannot go and have it removed, with the consequence that my nails look quite interesting at present. I cannot stand, so I find it difficult to cook anything - and peeling potatoes! Well. I haven't been able to wash my hair. As someone who has tried, despite age, to keep looking presentable, this a blow. I have to throw the cats' bowls at them as I can't bend down. I couldn't put the bin out. (Enter Miles again.) I can't get up and attend to a sudden banging noise - or to anything else. And I'm dead worried about other things which are coming up - looking after the grandchildren next Sunday while Louise does a Children In Need event with Len Goodman at The Waldorf, going to an audition, going to a friend's special birthday dinner and going down to Wales for my special publisher's party. Will I be able to travel by then?

I also discovered that constant pain is very wearing and actually makes you feel ill. It affects the ability to concentrate and has therefore put the writing of the next book on hold, although as we have a nice long deadline that isn't too much of a problem.

And one thing that surprises me, I hate the fact that I can't do the automatic tidying or sink cleaning that we all do all the time, even if we aren't great at housework. (I'm not.) I can't pick things up. I can't reach up to hook my dressing gown on the back of the bedroom door. I can't make up the fire.

I have a much better appreciation of those people confined to a wheelchair permanently, like my friend Caroline, and I want a zimmer. And I was touched at how many people, some of whom I haven't known long or well, offered genuine help.

And another thing - are you still reading? - I have been presented in a variety of ways with several - yes, several - plot ideas. One involving Thames mud. (Courtesy of Judy Astley.)

And actually had a real think about my own books and writing style. It don't 'arf focus the mind, damaging the back. Or it does when the mind clears enough to think properly.

Today, I am dressed. It took forty minutes to do it, but I do feel better for it. I am just about to make the difficult journey from sofa to kitchen and find something to eat. And now I've written this blog post, I almost feel like having another go at the next book.

Oh - and I forgot the side effects of three different sorts of pain-killers...

New Year, New Books

Happy New Year to all my readers!

First, of course, is the news that the first in the new series, The Alexandrians, Death Plays A Part, was released on Boxing Day and has collected some lovely 5 Star reviews on Amazon.

Next, the sixteenth in the Libby Sarjeant series, Murder Dancing, is now up for pre-order, and both print and ebook will be released on March 24th. I've just worked out that this is actually my twentieth book, not counting the short Libby, Murder at Mallowan Manor, which came out for Christmas last year. Sixteen Libbys, two romances, How To Write a Pantomime and Death Plays a Part. Blimey! I think that deserves a celebration, don't you? Oh - and not to mention the pantomimes and the musical. My dad would have been so proud.

I hope you all have a healthy and successful 2016, and thank you for buying the books.

Women's Day - Make It Happen

Women’s Day post

The theme of International Women's Day this year is "Make It Happen", an appropriate tagline for the Libby Sarjeant mystery series - and in fact for any crime series with a female protagonist - because that is what the eponymous heroine does. Not that she commits the murders, but she makes the crime solving happen.

Another thing women have made happen is the ability of adopted children to find their birth mothers and vice versa. This is one of the themes in my book Murder In The Blood, to be published in June. It frequently comes as something of a shock to young people ( I mean, under fifty!) that babies were almost forcibly removed from young women who had the temerity to “get themselves pregnant” before marriage. I love “get themselves pregnant”, don’t you? A man had nothing to do with it, then? I mean, I know we’re good, us women, but we’re not that good. So that’s another thing women Made Happen. Illegitimate birth.

These days, of course, there is no stigma and children born to unmarried parents frequently bear both surnames. Posh, eh? And, these days, women can make it happen – by going to a sperm bank or finding a willing donor – but (whisper it) the donor has to be male. But now we can live alone, or with a friend and no one cares. Well, not much. The one thing we haven’t made happen, despite all the recent legislation, is general acceptance of the same sex couple, particularly female couples. It’s legal for same sex couples to enter a civil partnership and has been for years, and more recently, they can even get married. (I’m still not sure I know the difference, but there.) But although my married male friends appear to be accepted widely, my partnered up female friends are still viewed with a certain amount of suspicion and disapprobation by the broader community and they tend to socialise among themselves. This is most definitely something women should Make Happen. Complete acceptance by everyone.

I do my tiny little bit by bringing this into my books. From the very first couple of  pages in the very first book, I introduced Peter and Harry, who have become much loved regular characters, Harry, in fact, having his own fan club (all females, incidentally). They had their civil partnership at the end of the third book in the series, with Libby as their Best Woman. Now we also have Patti, an Anglican vicar, and her friend Anne, who are forced to live apart due to Patti’s calling. I’m hoping I shall be able to rectify that situation in coming books, and now we have our very first woman Bishop (another Libby, I’m proud to say) I’m sure women will make those stuffy clerics change their stance on their own colleagues.

So what else could we make happen this year? I’m proud to have been associated with Accent Press since its inception by the indefatigable and dynamic Hazel Cushion, our Managing Director, a prime example of a woman making things happen, and along the way, I hope I’ve helped make things happen too. So I hope all of us at Accent can make things happen this year. For the company, for ourselves and for other people. I thengyew.

Launch of Murder Out Of Tune and news

Well, Murder Out Of Tune was well and truly launched.

Three of my children attended  - and yes, the middle one was holding a book, and the one on the left did it on purpose.  The presentation is for downloading 200,000 e-books, the group shot is part of the crowd, and finally, that is me before the wine kicked in! The ebook stayed at number one in its categories for nearly three weeks, which is pretty exciting, and is still riding quite high, I'm pleased to say.

In other news, the short story which was going to be in an anthology is now going to be released on its own - ebook only - on December 15th and is called Murder At Mallowan Manor. I shall post a cover picture when I can work out how to get the pictures and text where I want them!

The downside of free downloads

Apparently, the free offer of Murder By Magic was taken up by thousands, on both sides of the Atlantic. Great - except that it means no money for either Accent Press or me. In the week after the free download, Murder by Magic and Murder in Steeple Martin were both put up as 77 pence downloads and sold a reasonable amount. The downside is that people who would normally never buy your books trawl the free download charts (and I got as high as number 8 in the top 100) and that's the problem. I have now attracted two lousy reviews from people who, by their own admission, would not normally buy my books, even accusing me of lifting the idea of the series from another author. As the other author and I actually discussed the similarity of our series before either of them were written, this was infuriating. I have subsequently had a comforting email from that author (albeit from the Pelopponese where he and his wife are sunning themselves - sigh) and I know it shouldn't worry me. But it has shown me the problems free downloads can encounter. If my books are at a normal price, then people who like them and other books like them will find them and buy them. If they are cheap or free, anyone will download them, possibly to their detriment. So I think, perhaps, we won't do it again!

What a Week! What a six months!

It's been a bit of a week all round. Last week a piece I wrote for the magazine Mature Times appeared online. The editor of our local paper spotted it and asked if he could use it, too. Not being mercenary, and knowing that all our local papers are teetering on the brink, I agreed. The chief reporter told me he'd already nicked it! Surprisingly, it appeared in full with a rather old picture of me (they have quite a library of pictures of me at our local paper) on Thursday. Yesterday, Friday, a friend with whom I was having a text conversation told me it was in another Kent paper, so I have been syndicated. Gosh.

Then, also yesterday, simultaneously on Twitter and Facebook, two friends told me I had a Full Page Ad in The Bookseller, which is THE industry publication. The one that does the REAL best seller lists and we all want to keep on the best side of. (How's that for bad grammar?) Anyway, without me knowing, my wonderful publishers, Accent Press, had taken this full page ad to promote the re-jacketing and the publication of the tenth book in the series. Cue huge reaction from friends both in and out of the business. Children thrilled, but rather surprised. As for me, well, I spent the evening - alone, naturally - fizzing with happiness, especially as I suddenly saw the way to finish the current epic.

To crown it all, my copy of Romance Matters, the beautifully produced magazine of the Romantic Novelists' Association, arrived on the mat this morning. A very special issue, as it not only had coverage of the RoNA awards, in which four (count them, four) of my friends were winners, but the obituaries for the very wonderful Penny Jordan, who died on December 31st and was a dear and generous friend. What I had forgotten was the editor had interviewed me for this issue some time ago, and turning a page, there I was. In wonderful technicolour across a double page spread.

So in the last six months my public profile has, as another novelist friend, Elizabeth Chadwick, says "reached the tipping point". I've been featured in a double page spread in the Daily Express, in Kent Life magazine and Writers' Forum, appeared on The One Show and The Alan Titchmarsh Show and now - everything that's happened this week. I appeal to my nearest and dearest to make sure I don't get above myself. Which is unlikely, because in Real Life, here in sunny Whitstabubble, nobody is impressed. I do not make a dent in their lives, I'm simply that woman who occasionally appears on stage and the mother of four hugely talented children who are far more visible than I. Of course my friends know what I do for a living, but it doesn't come up much.

So, in conclusion, I'd like to say thank you to everybody who has encouraged and exposed (!) me. And most of all, of course, Hazel Cushion and Accent Press, without whom, as they say... Oh, and as a cheerful post script, I finally found a hairdresser to replace Caroline. That'll impress you all.