Starting Miss Underhay book 7

So, book 7 is officially underway and the first 8k is down on paper! This story takes us out of Torbay and into Yorkshire to a castle no less! Lots of fun to write and research. My first delivery of materials has just arrived. I had planned an in person trip for last summer to coincide with the Theakston Crime festival. Alas those plans bit the dust so I'm relying on memory of previous trips, famly knowledge and my lovely shiny new books and maps.

Murder at Enderley Hall is an Amazon US bestseller!

Huge thanks to my fabulous readers! Murder at Enderley Hall is in the top 50 today on Amazon US. HERE snuggled up next to Julia Quinn's Bridgerton books!!

Sounding the bargain Klaxon!

Whew! Lots of stuff going on here right now! Today is the last chance to get Murder on the Dance Floor for 99p Here But! Murder at Enderley hall is 99p/99c just for a few days so you have the chance to grab that one Here For those of you following Kitty and Matt's adventures, Murder in the Bell Tower is out tomorrow! Eeek!Here And finally Murder at Elm House had a cover release this week and can now be preordered! Here Flipping heck! I'm exhausted just reading all that! My publishers have been very busy bees.

Murder at Elm House cover reveal

Cover Reveal and preorder is live for Murder at Elm House! Order here

One week to go!

One week until release day! So excited now to share this with you all.

Hoping you will all enjoy it. The first reviews have been fabulous. Here is what one reviewer had to say, 'Helena Dixon carefully weaves the tale and the mystery to it's denouement in true Christie style and you could briefly imagine that Poirot was sitting in a corner nodding sagely at Kitty.' Joanne D Netgalley. This made my heart leap!

Book 6 has a title!

Drum roll please! Book 6 in the #MissUnderhay series will be Murder at Elm House. Now I just need to finish polishing it up ready to send to my editor.

Guest Blog - Georgina Cross

Georgina's fabulous book, The Missing Woman is out anytime now. She is the author of the incredible book, The Stepdaughter which came out in September. Here is the blurb!

Erica thought Sabine had it all. The glances Erica makes to the other woman across the pool, envying her life, the looks going unnoticed, until the day Sabine stares back and she holds the stare a little too long. A cold feeling clenches inside Erica’s chest, a fearful warning. And before the sun sets and the pool lights turn on, Erica knows something is about to go terribly wrong. Hooked? Here's a bit more! They live in the big houses on the pretty street. Those other women, as we call them. And to think I used to want to be like them, to have their money and happiness, to live and laugh and play like them. Not any more. It’s the fourth of July and the whole town is gathered at the local pool. Through the sweltering afternoon, we single mothers don’t mix with the other women––the ones with the perfect lives and happy marriages. Women like Sabine Miller. But when Sabine shoots me a desperate look across the water and suddenly disappears, my blood runs cold… Running to the back gate, all I find is a silver charm bracelet she dropped on her way out. I convince myself I’m imagining things until Sabine’s husband Mark appears. When he realizes she’s missing, he phones the cops straight away. “Someone has been threatening Sabine,” he says. “Now they’ve kidnapped her.” Hours later, I wish I’d run faster. The whole town is searching the streets, calling Sabine’s name over and over. On the TV, Mark is begging for someone to bring his wife home. The truth is, I was the last person to see her alive––and it’s killing me inside. Now the cops are at my door asking questions. I’m terrified they’ll find out what happened years ago between me and Sabine. Something I’ve never told anyone. But I need to tell someone. Can you keep a secret? Get your copy Amazon Apple Kobo Google

Happy New Year

Wishing all of you a safe, happy and healthy New Year! To start the year off on a bright note, Murder on the Dance Floor is just 99p today only in the UK HERE

Radio interview

I was interviewed by the lovely Caro Cook for BBC radio Somerset broadcasting across the South West. My fabulous agent has managed to get the audio file and it's now on the agency youtube channel for anyne who missed it and fancies a listen. There are tips for writers and a bit of behind the scenes things for the Miss Underhay mysteries! Click Here

Picture this!

I found this fabulous picture which captures Lucy at Enderley Hall in Murder at the Bell Tower so wonderfully I thought I'd share it with you all along with a tiny snippet.

Matt glanced around for Kitty. She was assisting Lucy while the craft table was full. He wanted to speak to her to tell her about his visit to the police station and to ask if she had seen her uncle. He excused himself from the group and carried his decoration over to Kitty. “Another one for your tree.” She studied it for a moment. “What is it?” “A robin, obviously.” He was a little disgruntled at her disparagement of his artistic endeavours. “Of course, I see it now,” she grinned and hung it on the tree next to a slightly malevolent looking cherub.

Guest Blog from Verity Bright

A very warm welcome to my fellow Bookouture authors who write together as Verity Bright. Their Lady Eleanor Swift series, set in the 1920's has a new Christmassy edition today with the release of Murder in the Snow available from Amazon! https://bit.ly/2GRtSyc An English Christmas has mince pies, cheerful carols, a twinkling tree… and a murder? Thank goodness Lady Swift is on the scene! Winter, 1920. Amateur sleuth Lady Eleanor Swift is feeling festive. She is playing host to the entire village at Henley Hall for gifts, games and gingerbread. She’s also purchased perfect presents for each of her household – not forgetting the biggest bone in the butcher’s shop for her partner in crime, Gladstone the bulldog – and is looking forward to celebrating her first English country Christmas. As snowflakes fall, Eleanor is cheering on contestants in the traditional Christmas fun run in the grounds of the Hall. But tragedy strikes when one of the runners drops dead at the finish line. Dashing Detective Seldon is convinced it’s just a heart attack, but Eleanor isn’t so sure. When she finds a rather distinctive key where the man fell, Eleanor knows she’ll never rest until she finds out the truth about what happened in her own home. Next the vicar is taken ill with what looks like poison and Eleanor starts to wonder if the two cases are linked. When someone tries to frame her by planting poisoned berries in her own kitchen, she knows speed is of the essence. But the entire village was at Henley Hall for the festivities and Eleanor has enough suspects to stuff a town full of turkeys. Can she nail the true killer and clear her name in time for Christmas?

Audio version of Murder in the Bell Tower

I'm thrilled to tell you that the fabulous Alex Tregear will be narrating the audiobook version of Murder in the Bell Tower. Alex has done such a wonderful job with the other titles and I know you will all be delighted to hear that she will be narrating Kitty and Matt's latest escapade.

Murder on the Dance Floor is out!

Murder on the Dance Floor is finally out! Yippee and the cover has also been released for Murder in the Bell Tower

Researching Kitty's car

I've spent quite a bit of the weekend researching for book 6. My very grateful thanks go to Julian Chair of Torbay Old Wheels club for generously giving up his time to give me a wonderfully informative socially distanced tour of his fabulous cars. Historical accuracy is very important to me and I spend a lot of time ensuring that I'm as accurate as possible with the period.

Almost time!

Murder on the Dance Floor will be out very soon - October 28th! Don't forget you can preorder now. Book 5, tentatively titled Murder in Midwinter is with my editor and I'm waiting to hear what she thinks! In the meantime I'm about to start writing book 6 Murder to Order so I'm busy with research in Torquay and Brixham.

Approaching October

A quick reminder that as Nell Dixon if you want a fun novella with a spooky twist you can get Lights, Camera poltergeist and Cue Me In from Amazon for just 99p

New Contract!

I'm so excited to share my news of a new 3 book contract with Bookouture to bring more stories about Kitty and Matt to the page. The fifth book, tentatively titled Murder in Midwinter is just being polished up now ready to send to my fabulous editor. Murder on the DanceFloor is out, as you know, for preorder and will be with you in just over a month.

Guest blogger - Morton S Gray

I know that Helena Dixon loves Devon and doesn’t need much excuse to disappear there. She always says it is about research for her books though ;-). When she invited me to feature on her blog to celebrate the launch of my fourth novel for Choc Lit, Sunny Days at the Beach, I started to think about my favourite places by the coast. I couldn’t live further from the sea if I tried, but always love a walk on a beach to recharge my batteries and my soul. I’ve limited myself to listing four favourite seaside places ... 1. Woolacombe, Devon – My eldest son and I always had an annual holiday in Woolacombe. We didn’t like the main beach, but loved Barricane beach with its rock pools and streams. We loved it so much that at one time I was considering relocating to the seaside town. 2. Llandanawg, North Wales – When my best friend had a caravan at Llandanawg, my youngest son and I used to go and stay with her. The beach is lovely with a bonus view of Snowdon. The guy at the little café writes very amusing Facebook posts about the weather each day, check out Y Maes Café. I have fond memories of beachcombing. 3. Bamburgh, Northumberland – We have had some of our all-time favourite family holidays at Bamburgh. We love the town, love the beach and having a castle to look at makes it even more special. Can’t beat a meal at The Lord Crewe Arms either! 4. Llanbedrog, North Wales – This is our new favourite place! We have only been here once last year, but will return. The beach isn’t as big as Bamburgh’s, but still great for beachcombing and collecting seaglass. The café at the art gallery Plas Glyn Y Weddw is fantastic and the gallery worth a visit or two. We loved wandering across the headland to Abersoch, which has another fantastic beach and town. One of the questions I get asked quite often is where my fictional seaside town of Borteen, where all of my published novels for Choc Lit are set, is located. The honest answer is that it is purely fictional, set on the east coast of England, but a genuine mix of all of the seaside places I have loved over the years. About the Author – Morton S Gray Morton lives with her husband, two sons and Lily, the tiny white dog, in Worcestershire, U.K. She has been reading and writing fiction for as long as she can remember, penning her first attempt at a novel aged fourteen. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and The Society of Authors. Her debut novel The Girl on the Beach was published after she won the Choc Lit Publishing Search for a Star competition in 2016. This story follows a woman with a troubled past as she tries to unravel the mystery surrounding her son’s new headteacher, Harry Dixon.​ Morton’s second book for Choc Lit The Truth Lies Buried is another romantic suspense novel, The story of Jenny Simpson and Carver Rodgers as they uncover secrets from their past. Christmas at Borteen Bayis Morton’s first Christmas novella. It is set in her fictional seaside town of Borteen and follows the story of Pippa Freeman, who runs the Rose Court Guest House with her mother, and local policeman Ethan Gibson, as they unravel a family secret as Christmas approaches. Morton previously worked in the electricity industry in committee services, staff development and training. She has a Business Studies degree and is a fully qualified Clinical Hypnotherapist and Reiki Master. She also has diplomas in Tuina acupressure massage and energy field therapy. She enjoys crafts, history and loves tracing family trees. Having a hunger for learning new things is a bonus for the research behind her books. You can catch up with Morton with the following links:- Website and blog at www.mortonsgray.com Twitter @MortonSGray Facebook page – Morton S. Gray Author - https://www.facebook.com/mortonsgray/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morton_s_gray/ About the Book – Sunny Days at the Beach From party nights at the pub to sunny days at the beach ... Craft shop owner Mandy Vanes has always enjoyed a commitment-free singleton lifestyle — in fact, she’s well-known for her wild ways in her small seaside town on the coast. But when local teenager, Nick Crossten, turns to her for help, Mandy has the opportunity to prove she can be a responsible adult. Although things get tricky when gin distillery owner Graham Frankley comes to town with some unexpected news. Could this mean that Mandy the party girl is finally ready to grow up? Buying Link for Sunny Days at the Beach - https://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/sunny- days-at-the-beach/

Murder on the Dance Floor

I'm excited to share my cover reveal for Murder on the Dance Floor https://t.co/lJhccqAfTb

Murder At The Playhouse is out!

Grab your copy!

Not long now!

Murder at The Playhouse releases on June 30th! I'm so excited to be sharing this story with you all. Book 4, Murder on The Dance Floor has just had it's first round of edits and I'm looking forward to seeing the cover art. Kitty and Matt fans will love this one! I'm just starting book 5 which will be Murder at Christmas with a return to Enderley Hall! So lots going on.

Murder At Enderley Hall is a best seller!

Lovely to see Murder at Enderley Hall gaining orange best seller flags in the USA and Canada lately. Thank you too for all the lovely letters and emails I've had from readers saying how much they are enjoying Matt and Kitty's adventures. Lots of you asking if they will get together! You'll have to wait and see on that one. I've just completed the first draft of book 4. No fixed title yet. As soon as I know I'll post about it for you.

Celebration!

I'm thrilled to announce that I've signed a new 2 book contract with Bookouture for my historical cozy crime mystery series!

Special Offer

With Murder at Enderley Hall now available and Murder at The Playhouse available for preorder my lovely publishers are offering my UK readers the chance to grab the ebook version of Murder At The Dolphin Hotel for just 99p for a limited time!

Murder at The Playhouse

The scene is set for murder… and Kitty Underhay’s partner has been cast as the killer. Woohoo! We’re delighted to reveal the cover for @NellDixon's MURDER AT THE PLAYHOUSE (A Miss Underhay Mystery)! Out June 30th but you can pre order your copy here: geni.us/B085QNNFWHCover

Life and things

Well, a lot has happened since my last post. I finally had my left hip replaced a week ago so am busy mastering the elbow crutches at the moment. Many thanks to everyone who has bought and reviewed Murder at The Dolphin Hotel and preordered Murder at Enderley Hall. Your support and love for Miss Kitty Underhay is hugely appreciated. I'm thrilled to be able to confirm that the title of the 3rd book is Murder at the Playhouse. I can't wait to be able to share the cover as it's fabulous! In the meantime, I did an interview with lovely Clare https://clarerhoden.com/2020/02/28/murder-is-a-cosy-treat-with-helena-dixon/

February Already!

Structural edits are back with my lovely editor for book three. The title is still to be confirmed. I've been calling it Murder on the Eleventh Tee but we're considering Murder at The Play House since a lot of the action is centered around the Pavillion Theatre in Torquay. It's very sad these days to see such a beautiful building all closed up. I really hope they will find a new purpose for it and return it to it's former glory. This shows the interior in the late 1920's

Who remembers these?

Structural edits have arrived for book 3, but I found these little beauties for my research. Who remembers collecting cigarette cards and putting them in albums? I remember them from the seventies but these are from Kitty and Matt's era.

PLR

Huge thanks to everyone who has borrowed any of my books from the library. Libraries are so important and it made me so happy to see that so many of you are able to read my books or listen on audio through them. Don't forget you can ask the library to order them in if you can't find them there. Many are available in large print too.

Audio book news!

I'm very excited to say that the wonderful Alex Tregear is going to narrate the audio book for Murder at Enderley Hall. She did such a brilliant job with Murder at The Dolphin Hotel so I know this is going to be fab. If you like audio books but haven't tried it yet click one of these links. UK: zpr.io/taWwH US: zpr.io/taWwf Happy Listening!

Milestones

I always believe that it's important to celebrate the small achievements in life. When I signed my contract for Bookouture my lovely daughters got me a pandora bracelet with a bead that says 'a dream is a wish your heart makes'. This is a quote from one of my favourite Disney films, Sleeping Beauty. Today I added this lovely blue 'wave' bead to mark Murder at The Dolphin Hotel's successful release.

Happy New Year!

Thank you to everyone who has supported me on my publishing journey this year! Thank you to my wonderful readers, the bloggers. and reviewers. My fabulous publishers and editors, copy editors, proof readers and cover artists. My incredible agent, the publicists and everyone who has shared my posts and retweeted for me. I truly love and appreciate all of you and look forward to bringing you some more reads for 2020

Merry Christmas

Wishing all my wonderful readers a Happy Christmas! Thank you for reading and reviewing my books xxxxx

Murder at The Dolphin Hotel is out!

Murder at The Dolphin Hotel is a bestseller!

Whoo hoo! Murder at The Dolphin Hotel is officially a best seller! Out December 11th but preorder just 99p here:https://t.co/iHGhwOmmNW

Cover reveal and preorder for Murder at Enderley Hall

An escape to the country… ends in death. Summer 1933. Fresh from the discovery that she has family living nearby, Kitty Underhay has packed her carpet bag, commandeered a chambermaid and set off on a visit to stately Enderley Hall. She’s looking forward to getting to know her relatives, as well as the assembled group of house guests. But when elderly Nanny Thoms is found dead at the bottom of the stairs after papers of national importance are stolen, Kitty quickly learns that Muffy the dog’s muddy paws on her hemline are the least of her problems. Calling on ex-army captain Matthew Bryant for assistance, Kitty begins to puzzle out the mystery. And when more shocking murders follow, the stakes are raised for the daring duo as never before. Which of the guests stand to gain from the theft of the documents? And which, as the week progresses, stand to lose their lives? Get your copy now! geni.us/B0825Z6KBRCover

Murder at the Dolphin Hotel

Releasing December 11th, and available for preorder right now at all the Amazon's - my debut book as Helena Dixon. This is the first book of a series set in 1930's Dartmouth featuring Miss Kitty Underhay and her fellow sleuth, Captain Matthew Bryant. A room with a view… to murder June 1933. Kitty Underhay is a modern, independent woman from the top of her shingle bob to the tip of her t-strap heels. She prides herself on the reputation of her family’s ancient hotel on the blustery English coast. But then a body is found, rooms are ransacked and rumours begin to circulate that someone is on the hunt for a valuable stolen ruby – a ruby that Kitty’s mother may have possessed when she herself went missing during the Great War. Before she can do more than flick a duster, Kitty finds herself in the midst of a murder investigation. When the local police inspector shows no signs of solving the shocking crimes plaguing the hotel, Kitty steps briskly into the breach. Together with ex-army captain Matthew Bryant, her new hotel security officer, she is determined to decipher this mystery and preserve not only the name of her hotel, but also the lives of her guests. Could there be a cold-blooded killer under her own roof? And what connects the missing jewel to the mystery from Kitty’s own past? A classic page-turning murder mystery! Fans of Agatha Christie, Elizabeth Edmondson and T.E. Kinsey will love this unputdownable whodunnit.

Looking for Juliet interview!

Visiting lovely Morton Gray today! https://mortonsgray.com/2017/07/24/spotlight-on-guest-author-nell-dixon/

Looking for Juliet release day!

‘More than her heart is in danger’ Looking for Juliet is the latest release from multi-award winning, best-selling novelist Nell Dixon. Dr. Neil Forrest’s introduction to Juliet, his new practice nurse got off to a fiery start in more ways than one. Juliet, and her small son, Charlie are hiding out from something or someone, but who and why? Neil quickly realizes that he has to leave his own past behind if he is to be there when it counts for Juliet, and for Charlie. Buy the book at https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Looking+for+Juliet https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073Z9TFZP/ref=sr_1_53?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1500327049&sr=1-53&keywords=Looking+for+Juliet

Looking for Juliet - Cover reveal!

July 18th!

Looking for Juliet

Releasing on the 18th July form all good e book retailers! Cover coming soon!

Rough draft done!

The rough draft for The Grown-up Girls Club is finally done. Now it needs to sit for a while before I edit it. I also have a release date for Looking For Juliet - this will be out from Clean Reads on July 18th! exciting! Can't wait to see the cover so i can share it with you.

Writing on...

The new story is now at 58k, approximately 10k will finish this draft and then the rest will come in the editing process. I already know there is a lot of tweaking to be done. This story is very different to my usual books and will probably go out under a different name. It's quite dark in places and the characters are not always very likeable or easy to empathise with.

Party!

I celebrated my birthday a few days ago and, since we've also been remodelling the house, we thought it was a good idea to have some friends around. Not for any special reason but because too often we keep putting things off, not getting together with people we love because there is always plenty of time. Except time is a strange beast and it slips away from us very easily. So, tonight a group of us will be making that time and catching up with one another. Who would you like to catch up with most and why?

Travels and research

I spent last weekend in Torquay, birthplace of one of my favourite writers, Agatha Christie. One of manuscripts I'm working on is a cosy mystery/thriller set in a fictional version of Dartmouth. Dartmouth is a beautiful and historic town near Torquay so I added to my research files with a wonderful visit to St Saviours church. The vicar very kindly took some time from taking down the Christmas decorations to tell us about the history of the church which dates back to 1268. The church is open for visitors daily and is an amazing building. If you find yourself in Dartmouth go visit and please donate to them to help with the continuing expenses of maintaining such a beautiful and special church.

Subbing again

I recently regained the rights to one of my books from a publisher that has now closed. I looked at the story and tweaked it and have subbed it to one of my other publishers. Am keeping my fingers crossed that it may be a good fit for them. If not, then I'll probably look at placing it with Brierley Rose Press. In the mean time I realised I have 6 unfinished novels in various stages so I think I'd better get cracking!

New Year Resolutions?

Here we are once more, at the entrance gate for another year. So what do we all plan to do or not do in 2017? For myself, I plan to continue my weight loss journey. I'd love to lose another 2 stones in 2017 to match my loss in 2016. I have writing targets to achieve too after being on hold for some 12 months or so. I want to sort out some financial affairs this year - nothing major, just those small things that get put off for some unspecified future time. I intend to spend more time in the places I love. How about you? What are you planning for 2017?

The Christmas Beetle

Every Year I write a story especially for my niece, Sophia as her Christmas gift. I'd like to share this one with all of you. It's the first one I wrote for her in 2010. The Christmas Beetle Bertie, the small black beetle was tired. He’d flown around all day long in the sun until his wings ached. All he wanted was to find a nice dark, safe place where he could settle down for a good nights sleep. Then he saw the perfect spot, a beautiful hat made of soft purple fabric. Just the right bed for a small, tired insect. He snuggled in and closed his weary eyes. When the sun rose the next morning Bertie discovered he was in a strange new place. He stretched his wings and left his bed to see where he was. The ground below him was hot and dusty and the sky a bright cloudless blue. The only green things he could see were a small group of palm trees. The human whose hat had provided him with a bed for the night sat with his friends and their camels resting in the shade. Bertie had a nice day flying around in the sunshine before creeping back into his warm safe bed. That night he couldn’t sleep. His bed in the hat rocked and moved as its owner travelled through the darkness following a big bright star that lit up the sky. Bertie held on tight as they approached a small but busy town. He took a peep over the brim of the hat when his bed stopped moving and saw the humans talking to a group of shepherds who had come down from the hills. He quickly hid again when one of the lambs saw him and bleated hello. He didn’t want the owner of the hat to throw him out of his bed. After a few minutes his bed started rocking once more as the people moved on. Bertie could hear the lambs still bleating and wondered where the owner of the hat and the shepherds could be going. He heard lots of noise, people talking and the clatter and bustle of the streets. Overhead the huge star shone down as bright as the sun filling the town with its light. He was almost thrown from his perch when the owner of the hat climbed down from his camel. I wonder where we are? Thought Bertie. The noise had stopped and everything was silent except for the sounds of beautiful music. He crept to the brim of the hat and holding tight with his pincers he peered out. In front of him was an amazing sight. Golden winged humans stood at the back of a small room which had straw on the floor. They were the makers of the music. A man and a woman knelt next to a small basket made of wood filled with straw. The woman looked happy but tired as she looked at the manger. Bertie glanced around the room and saw the donkey and the ox kneeling and looking at the manger. He was almost thrown to the floor again when the owner of the hat also knelt down on the stone cobbles amongst the straw. The shepherds had filed in behind the owner of the hat and his two friends. Now the lambs were also kneeling and had stopped their bleating. The owner of the hat and his friends gave the man and the woman gifts, strange boxes filled with scented special and expensive things. Bertie could resist no longer. He had to know what was in the manger that was causing this strange behaviour. He stretched his little black wings and took off from his perch landing carefully on the edge of the crib hoping the humans wouldn’t notice him. He looked inside and found the source of the wonder. A tiny human baby wrapped in cloth lying amongst the straw. Bertie looked at the baby and the baby looked at Bertie. The baby gave a tiny smile and Bertie felt a strange warm glow spreading throughout his tiny body and he knew this was a very special baby. He bowed his head before spreading his wings once more and retreating back to his bed in the hat before any of the other humans saw him. After a while the owner of the hat and his friends left the stable and went back out onto the street. By then the sun had begun to rise once more for the start of a new day. Bertie decided he would fly and get a drink of water before the day grew too hot. He saw a bucket of water beside a well and flew down to take a drink. As he leaned forward he saw his reflection in the water. What he saw surprised him so much he almost fell in. He was no longer Bertie the small black beetle, instead he glowed with a rich yellow-green colour. He had become Bertie the Christmas Beetle. © Nell Dixon 2010

Prepping for Christmas

The tree is up and turkey is sorted. Youngest belle is home from Uni. We're looking forward to our annual trip into Birmingham for the panto. Christmas for me isn't Christmas without panto. We've the Christingle service on Christmas Eve to look forward to. Thankfully, I'm off for Christmas eve and Christmas day although I have 2 fourteen hour shifts for New Years eve and day and shifts in between.

Card or not to card? That is the question

Every year I see people saying they aren't sending cards this year and are giving the money to charity. Which is lovely, but, it also raises a dilemna. For those people, some of them elderly who look forward to getting a card, with a bit of a note in, every year who aren't online savvy, it can be sad when they don't hear from old friends, family etc. Christmas is a time for people, for catching up on news. It's a human time. Giving to charity is wonderful but there can be a balance. I buy charity cards and make donations - a percentage of all my book sales goes to various charities that I support all year round. The RNLI, my local hospice and the air ambulance service are my main ones. What do you all think?

What's been happening?

Well, as I said, long time no see. I've had a bit of an hiatus for the last 18 months or so. Health issues, a birthmark on my arm turning rogue needed 2 lots of surgery and then some correctional work on my left hip. Work, I was promoted in my day job and I work long hours. Family life, one daughter graduated and moved back home, one daughter left for university and the middle one qualified as a hairdresser and also left home to live with her long term boyfriend. Add this in to 2 major renovation projects on the house - we rebuilt most of the downstairs and you can see where my time went. I do have several projects in the pipeline however and you will be seeing new books from me in 2017. That is if my office assistant ever allows me to do any work.

Tap, tap, is this thing on?

Yes, peeps, I'm back. Look out for new regular blogs from me over the next 12 months. There will be freebies, book news and guest blogs from some of my lovely author friends as well as news from Brierley Rose Press.