Whilst I’ve long known that Charles Dickens released his stories in serialised format before they were published as books, I’ve been surprised recently to discover how long this practice has been going on and the extent of its use.
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I’ve recently started sharing some of my favourite covers from the books in my collection. I don’t have as many books as I once did, but there are still around two thousand, so there are plenty to choose from. But going through making my initial selections prompted another thought. Book spines.
I am currently writing book two in my Alexander Templeman espionage series and having a whale of a time doing some research as I go along (remember, I’m one of those writers who mostly makes it up as I go along rather than planning everything out in advance).
Sometimes, when my time and attention is focused on other things, I can forget what a simple joy it is to be writing. This week, after spending several days mostly focused on marketing activities, I got back to devoting most of my time to writing and it was wonderful.
Most authors I know like to have a settled base for their writing, turning up at the same place at the same time each day. In the past I used to leave the office each lunchtime and head for a cafe a little way up the road. When that eventually closed down I started using the library, which was not much further away.
I have a friend who told me recently that it took her 14 years to read one particular book. She enjoyed it but kept getting side-tracked by other tempting reads. I have to admit, that’s quite a slow read.
We were on holiday last week, at a nice little place on the south coast overlooking the English Channel.
Who would have thought golf could be such a deadly game?
When two players stumble upon a dead body in a bunker on the thirteenth hole of their favourite golf club, their discovery is about to set in motion a series of events that will lay bare some of the less savoury aspects of the human condition.
Inspector Leslie Dykeman and the irascible Sergeant Stanley Shapes find themselves engaged on a case that will drive them to distraction as they begin to investigate the murder of a man who seems, at first sight, to have had no enemies. But first sight, they will discover, can be a deceptive thing, especially when deceit, greed, envy and desperation are at work.
