I’m pleased to have a short story in the 2022 My Weekly Annual. As you can tell from the fact it’s only August, these publications are planned and produced well in advance. That means the stories are written well in advance and often I’ve forgotten all about them by the time they’re published. Not this one though.

The story is about a character who joins a book club. The idea came to me as I was walking down to the local library to attend such a group for the first time. I was a little early, so had time to scribble down a few notes before the meeting started. Handwriting anything is unusual for me, so that’s another thing which fixed it in my mind. My writing is pretty much unreadable, especially when done in a hurry, but there’s something about writing notes which helps me remember.

Since then, very sadly, the library has closed and of course there’s been COVID. Somehow it seems optimistic that something written before those things happened is now in print, and intended to take readers into next year.

Talking of things started a long time ago to be read in the future, I think I’ve finally finished the last round of edits for my romantic murder mystery novel Acting Like A Killer. I had thought I’d finished a couple of months ago, but the proofreader I sent it to is also an editor and she suggested a couple of improvements. I didn’t want the extra work, but I do want the book to be as good as possible, so I got stuck in.

I now need to get a little distance from it before giving it another read through and then having it proofread again, as there’s every chance that whilst improving one aspect I may have introduced new errors!

To be huffy can either mean offended, or quick to take offence. A person may be only a little huffy, a bit huffier than that or the huffiest of all.

The huffiness will become apparent due to the person who’s in a huff behaving huffily.

I was going to illustrate this post with a picture of me looking huffy, but couldn’t find one. I therefore conclude that I’m not even the slightest bit huffish … even when the weather is a touch damp and ever so slightly breezy.

A font can be the object in a church which holds holy water for splashing onto those being baptised, a reservoir for oil in a lamp, or an old-fashioned word for spring or fountain.

The font is also the typeface in which something is printed or appears online. There are lots to choose from – Times New Roman if you want to be taken seriously, Comic Sans if

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I’m so pleased with this recent review for my book, Slightly Spooky Stories II.

Threepence (pronounced thruppence) or a threepenny piece or threepenny bit is a decimalisation coin worth … three old pence.

I suggest only having the one in your collection as

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Today is our 9th wedding anniversary, and publication day for my 30th book! Love Is The Answer is a collection of 24 romantic short stories. It’s available as an ebook, paperback and through kindle unlimited.

One of my short story collections, Coffee and Cake, is now available as an audiobook as well as ebook and paperback. If you’d like a free review copy let me know, as I have a few codes to give away.

COFFEE AND CAKE

We eat and drink for more than mere survival. Food comforts and reassures, connects us with others. A mug of coffee wakes us up in the morning. A cup of tea can calm us down.

Cakes are great for celebrations, birthdays in particular. Making one specially for someone shows how much we care. The same applies to learning to make their favourite dish, or passing on your signature recipe.

The food and drink choices we make expose aspects of our personality. What we give to others, and the care we take when doing so, can be even more revealing.

Sharing food helps build, or repair, relationships. It creates and recreates traditions and brings back memories – if that’s what we want.

Whether you prefer unsweetened black coffee, or milky tea, rich sponge cake or something savoury, this collection of 25 stories provides the perfect snack.

You can get all formats here.

As well as the stories and all that food, this book has something else for you to enjoy – the lovely Welsh accent of narrator Dawn Lewis. Don’t blame me if, before you’re halfway through, you get an irresistible urge to eat Welsh cakes. That happened to me just from listening to her audition!

My 30th book will be out soon! As it’s a collection of romance stories, it seemed appropriate to pick our wedding anniversary of 12th July as the publication date. 

You can order it here (or from your local bookshop or library).

Here’s the blurb – 

LOVE IS THE ANSWER

Love is something that many people go to great lengths to find, and to keep hold of. Willow helps others find theirs through a combination of meticulous programming and random chance, Sal stumbles into romance through a series of embarrassing accidents and Gran discovers love on a protest march.

Margaret makes a very practical arrangement to secure her share of love and happiness, Doreen has to call on a friend to help discover it and Nadine uses a dog to track it down. Lorna wins her happy ever after through a dangerous aim at a coconut shy.

Lynn and Andrew’s marriage has gone aground like a stricken ship, but it and the vessel eventually refloat. Weirdly it is Thomas Telford who helps Nikki relocate it. For Patrick and Angie it’s a kite which does the trick, and Rachel has to break her arm to heal her relationship.

Whether they’re together forever, broken-hearted, or still trying to make it work, anyone who has loved has a story to tell. This collection contains 24 of them.

The word of the week is peck. You probably already new it meant to nip or pick up with a beak or a hasty kiss.

Did you know a peck is also a unit of measurement for dried goods? I did, but had thought it was a tiny and vague amount (like a pinch or a sprinkle). Actually it’s 1/4 of a bushel.

Still none the wiser? That’s two gallons or around nine litres.

I’ve just sent out my latest newsletter. If you’re not on the mailing list you can still read it here – and if you’d like to sign up for future mailings, and get a free short story, you can do that here.