Hello and welcome to my June Newsletter.
Like many people, after over two years of barely going anywhere, we have recently had a couple of short breaks. In April we spent a couple of days in Great Malvern, a place we had never been before although we had admired the Malvern Hills from the distance on other journeys.
We booked a hotel using our Tesco Clubcard points and had a great deal; it certainly is a good way of spending them. We were lucky that our hotel was at the foot of the Malvern Hills and we had a lovely (if very steep!) walk one morning. The view was well worth the effort when we got to the top as you can see from the photo.
A couple of weeks later we went to Carmarthen in South Wales and stayed a few days. This was a holiday which was booked in 2020 and then cancelled because of the pandemic. This is an inexpensive holiday that we enjoy most years. We save the coupons from The Sun newspaper and stay in a caravan. It does mean we have to buy The Sun for 10 days when normally we don’t even have a newspaper, but it is a good deal. We started doing this when our two grandchildren were small and we would all go away together. In those days, we made full use of the facilities like the play areas and the swimming pool and the entertainment, but these days we use the caravan as a base for exploring a new area.
We do indulge in one of the better caravans as they are more comfortable. As our granddaughter, Chloe, is at Cardiff University she came and stayed with us for a couple of days and we went sightseeing in Tenby, and shopping in Cardiff. We also visited the Gower Peninsula which I had heard was very beautiful and it did not disappoint. The photo is of Rhossili and is well worth a visit.
My Writing News
Before I get on to my writing news I would like to share a little personal news with you, and that is that on 3 June I will have been married to this young man for 50 years! It was a white wedding in our village church and my five nieces were bridesmaids. We honeymooned in Cornwall – where it rained every day! We will be celebrating with a holiday in Kefalonia later in the month – again third time lucky (we were going in 2020, then 2021 so at least this time it’s all paid for). I hope the flight is not cancelled!
Now on to my writing news.
An Interview with Beverley Latimer
I recently read “Esther’s Journey” by Yorkshire author, Beverley Latimer, and I have featured it as my book of the month below. It’s a moving story which I enjoyed and so went on to read her other book, “Hannah”. This is the story of a girl who marries at a young age and finds herself in an abusive relationship. Although the book is a complete work of fiction, I understand that Beverley was once in similar circumstances, and the book is sensitively written. I congratulated Beverley on her writing and we are now friends on social media. You can read my interview with Beverley here:
https://marciaclayton.co.uk/beverley-latimer-my-june-2022-guest-author/
My Fourth Book – Betsey
I’m afraid these mini-breaks have left me little time for writing in the past few weeks but I am making progress with “Betsey”. I am able to download the book to my kindle and so I took it with me whilst I was away to read through what I had written so far. I like to do this once or twice when writing a book, though it is frustrating when I see errors that I can’t correct on a kindle – they have to wait until I’m editing. Part of the story takes place in London and I wanted to identify an area that would have been wealthy in the 1820s. My husband suggested Belgravia and so I started to do some research. This led me to discover a television programme by the same name and I decided it would be worth watching to see the surroundings, costumes etc. Belgravia is written by Julian Fellowes, the author of Downton Abbey. We enjoyed the series and I would recommend it to lovers of historical fiction, though I don’t think it is quite as good as Downton Abbey. Speaking of which, I really want to see the new film as I’m a big fan.
The Mazzard Tree – ebook 99p from 10 – 15 June
My first book, The Mazzard Tree, will be reduced to 99p for the ebook from 10 – 15 June. It has now received 58 reviews on Amazon which I’m pleased about as I’m told the more reviews a book has, the more Amazon promotes it. I was surprised recently when my neighbour told me it appeared on his laptop as a book recommended by Amazon to read so perhaps it is true. You can find it here: http://mybook.to/TheMazzardTree
Book of the Month
Esther’s Journey by Beverley Latimer
Telling a heart-breaking story that is sensitively written, the author captures the trauma and desperation endured by the inmates of the concentration camps during the war. Isaac and Esther Barak are a happily married young Jewish couple living in France with their two children when war breaks out. In a matter of days, their lives are torn apart. Fortunately, the children are smuggled into Switzerland, but Isaac and Esther are sent to separate concentration camps with no idea whether they will ever see each other again. An interesting book that is guaranteed to stir your emotions. You can find Esther’s Journey here: Esther’s Journey
Thank you for continuing to subscibe to my newsletter and I hope you found something to interest you. Until next time, take care and keep safe.
Best Wishes
Marcia
0 Comments