Hello, and welcome to my March Newsletter.
Hello everyone, I hope you are all keeping well. It seems no time since we were talking about Christmas, and now it will soon be Easter. It’s early this year, and, of course, Easter eggs have been available pretty much since the beginning of the year. I always think they’re a waste of money, as there is more packaging than chocolate, but I must admit there is something about eating the shell of an Easter egg, particularly just taken out of the fridge! My favourite is the dark chocolate, Lindt!
We had a few nice sunny days earlier in February, though there has been so much rain since, and Bryan and I enjoyed a couple of visits to the picturesque village of Clovelly. As many of you will know, it’s a small cobbled village in North Devon with a steep street that leads down to the harbour, and to this day, there are no cars. All goods used to be delivered by donkeys, though nowadays, sledges are used. We couldn’t help wondering if the supermarkets deliver there, and I think they do, as we saw some Tesco crates.
The reason we visited twice was that we did a walk across the Clovelly Cliffs in the direction of Mouthmill, intending to return and then go to the actual village. However, we found that was a bit too ambitious for us, as the first part of the walk had tired us out. We returned the following week and walked along the coastal path to Clovelly Harbour.
We were tempted to use the landrover, which you can take to avoid the steep climb back to the top. However, the decision was made for us as it wasn’t running. I’m sure the walk did us more good, but it didn’t feel like it at the time! The hill is very steep and not for the faint-hearted. I took some nice photos as we had the place to ourselves with barely a holiday-maker in sight. At some point, I will write a piece about the village, but for now, here are a couple of the views of the harbour.
Old Saying of the Month
Here’s another saying that I’m sure we’ve all used, and I, for one, never knew where it came from.
Resting on Your Laurels
The saying resting on your laurels dates back to the athletes of ancient Greece when laurel leaves were closely related to Apollo, the god of music, prophecy and poetry. Apollo was usually depicted with a crown of laurel leaves, and the plant became a symbol of status and achievement. Victorious athletes at the ancient Pythian Games received wreaths made of laurel branches, and the Romans later adopted the practice and presented wreaths to generals who won important battles. Distinguished Greeks and Romans, or laureates, were thus able to rest on their laurels by basking in the glory of past triumphs. Later. the phrase took on a more negative meaning, and since the 1800s, it has been used for those who are overly satisfied with past achievements rather than seeking new ones.
My Writing News
My Next Book
I’ve caught up on most of the jobs I wanted to get out of the way before starting to write my next book and so I’ve made a start. I’ve recently re-read Millie’s Escape, my latest book, as my new one will follow from where that finished, and I wanted to refresh my memory of some of the minor points. I’ve drafted the story for the new book and have written eight chapters. If at all possible, I hope to publish it in time for Christmas.
Special Offer
If anyone would like to read Millie’s Escape, the ebook will be on offer for 99p from 8 March for a week. You can find it here:
https://mybook.to/MilliesEscape
The Fussy Librarian
I don’t know if any of you already receive daily emails from The Fussy Librarian, but if you are looking for book bargains and new authors to read, it is useful. They have two daily newsletters which they email to their followers – one is for free books, and the other for reduced books. You can unsubscribe at any time if you find you are getting too many emails. Another author told me she had found it useful to publicise her books, so I gave it a go for a day and paid to advertise Betsey when I had it on special offer at 99p. I felt it was a successful venture in that I covered the cost of the advert and made a small profit. Better still, since then, I’ve had more sales of my other books, so hopefully, people enjoyed the first book and are now reading the rest of the series. I was recently contacted by The Fussy Librarian to invite me to be interviewed. I’ve taken them up on their offer as it’s all free publicity, which is hard to come by, so if it gets published on their website, I’ll send you the link. In the meantime, if any of you are interested in joining, here is the link: The Fussy Librarian
I was recently offered the chance to be the Author in Focus on a Facebook group called Authors Seeking Readers Self Promotion Group. I was pleased to accept and had a whole week to promote my books. It was a thoroughly enjoyable week with lots of support and banter from fellow authors, and I sold quite a few books. The members are a friendly bunch, and you can find the group here: Authors Seeking Readers Self Promotion Group | Facebook
My Interview with Hilly Barmby
You might remember that my Book of the Month in February was From My Cold Dead Hands by Hilly, and I mentioned that she had kindly agreed to be interviewed for my newsletter. During our chat, I discovered that Hilly is not only a successful author but is also a talented artist, and she has shared some of her beautiful artwork which is featured in my post. You can read the interview here: https://marciaclayton.co.uk/an-interview-with-hilly-barmby/ I hope you enjoy it and decide to read one of her books.
My Book of the Month
A Town Called Epiphany by Helen Huber
About the book
England 1890: When her uncle is killed in mysterious circumstances, Cassandra Rosslyn absconds to the American frontier town of Epiphany to claim his legacy. Relishing her newfound freedom, ‘Wild Cass’, crack shot and saloon peacekeeper, teams up with US Marshal Joe Devlin to bring down the notorious McRory Gang. But Cissy Jenkins, the most eligible girl in town, wants what she can never have – and will do anything to get it. After a shocking act of treachery that sends ripples through time, Cass is forced onto an undreamt-of path and into legend.
England 2016: Near burnout after years on the job, private investigator Havoc Devlin traces her great-great-grandmother’s footsteps to Epiphany. Like her ancestor, Havoc falls under Epiphany’s spell. Following clues in Cass’ secret memoirs, can she discover what lies hidden in the ancient barn on the McAllister ranch? Can she solve the enigma of tribal chieftain Dyami, the other man who shaped Cass’ life?
My Review of A Town Called Epiphany
My dad was the farmer of a smallholding and had little time off, but on a Sunday afternoon, he liked nothing better than to watch a western on the telly, and I loved to sit with him and watch the cowboys and Indians. This book took me right back to those days, and I could easily imagine the vividly described scenes as the story unfolded. Set in England in 1890, the main character is Cassandra Rosslyn, an English rose who longs for adventure. She is determined not to marry the man of her parent’s choice and sets off on an adventure to the frontier of the American West. The story flips between that of Cass and her great-great-granddaughter, Havoc Devlin, who follows in her footsteps. Havoc also falls under the spell of the town of Epiphany and is intrigued to read the memoirs of Cass. All the characters are well-developed, and the book is beautifully written. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and will be reading more by this author. You can find the book here: A Town Called Epiphany: Book 1: Wild Cass Devlin
Well, that’s all for now, so thank you for continuing to follow me and until next time, I hope you keep safe and well an enjoy your Easter break.
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