Hello, and welcome to my March Newsletter.
Hello everyone, I hope you are all keeping well. In North Devon, we’ve had some lovely weather during February, with cold, frosty mornings and fine sunny afternoons, but I’d much rather have that than endless rain.
I have some rather unexpected news to share: we are moving house! This came about quite by chance, but it now seems like a good idea. When I went to a quiz at our local pub just before Christmas, a friend gave me a Christmas card, and as I hadn’t got hers with me, I delivered it a few days later. My friend lives in the same village as me, and opposite her house was a nice-looking bungalow for sale. When I returned home, my husband and I looked at it on Rightmove and were interested. We live in a lovely bungalow already, but we have a very large garden, and as much as we love it, it’s getting a bit too much for us.
We decided to put our property on the market and there have been a few ups and downs already. We had an offer within six days, and then the buyers changed their minds four days later, but neglected to tell us until we found out by chance! However, we had another (and better!) offer a week later. Unfortunately, the first bungalow we saw didn’t work out, and we haven’t been able to find another one we like. We don’t want to leave our village and all our friends and this limits the number of suitable properties available. However, we have fallen in love with a house which we are buying, and so we have everything crossed that the sale and the purchase proceed smoothly, though I will take nothing for granted until I have the keys in my hand! In the meantime, I’m adding a couple of pictures of my garden, which is full of spring flowers. I will miss it, but I’ll make the next one lovely too (but on a smaller scale!).
Old Saying of the Month
Achilles Heel
In Greek mythology, Thetis dipped her son Achilles into the mythical River Styx as anyone who was immersed in the river became invulnerable. However, Thetis held Achilles by his heel, and since her hand covered this part of his body, the water did not touch it, and it remained vulnerable. Achilles was eventually killed when Paris of Troy fired an arrow at him, and it hit his heel. Therefore, an Achilles Heel is known as a vulnerable area.
My Writing News
My Next Book
As you can imagine with all the turmoil of putting our bungalow on the market, my mind has not been in the right place to start writing another book. However, several people contacted me after my last newsletter to say they were hoping there would be another book in The Hartford Manor Series, and I’m pleased to tell you that there will be. It’s taken me a while to come up with another story, and it’s still in the early days, but I’m planning the chapters and will start writing soon. I’ve recently re-read A Woman Scorned, as my new book will follow on from where that one finished, and I wanted to refresh my memory of some of the minor points. Ideally, I’d like to publish the new book in time for Christmas, but that might be a tall order this year.
The Devon Maid Book Corner – Blog Posts
Now that my website has been updated and I’m pleased with how it looks, I’ve become a host for The Coffee Pot Book Club blog tours. I’ve been hosting a couple of authors a month and here you can read about the February authors. I haven’t read either of these books, but I thought you might like to take a look at my blog and see if they are for you.
Murder on West Lake by I. M. Foster
This is a historical mystery and the third book in the South Shore Mystery Series.
Here’s a review:
“Loved the mystery, the coming of age of women, and love story but most of all loved the research the author did on the period of time and the town. Can’t wait for the next book.”
Read more here: https://marciaclayton.co.uk/murder-on-west-lake-by-i-m-foster/
The Fires of Gallipoli by Barney Campbell
The Fires of Gallipoli is a heartbreaking portrayal of friendship forged in the trenches of the First World War.
Here’s a review:
‘In this vivid and engaging novel of war and friendship, Barney Campbell shows us once again that he is a natural writer. This is a novel of men at arms of the highest quality.’
Read more here: https://marciaclayton.co.uk/the-fires-of-gallipoli-by-barney-campbell/
This Month’s Special Offers
Millie’s Escape – the ebook will be 99p from 7th March to 14th March 2025
1885 North Devon, England
It is winter in the small Devon village of Brampford Speke, and a typhoid epidemic has claimed many victims. Millie, aged fifteen, is doing her best to nurse her mother and grandmother as well as look after Jonathan, her five-year-old brother. One morning, Millie is horrified to find that her mother, Rosemary, has passed away during the night and is terrified the same fate may befall her granny, Emily.
You can find the book here:
https://mybook.to/MilliesEscape
The Rabbit’s Foot – 99p from 13th March to 20th March 2025
1885 North Devon, England
The Rabbit’s Foot is an intriguing and compelling novel with many unexpected twists and turns. Set in the small seaside village of Hartford, it tells the tale of how an old man, who has spent his life with barely a penny to his name, suddenly finds himself rich beyond his wildest dreams. However, there is only one thing that Sam Fellwood truly wants, and that is to be reunited with his son, Marrok, whom he abandoned at the age of five. Will Sam find the happiness that has eluded him for so many lonely years?
You can find the book here:
http://mybook.to/TheRabbitsFoot
My Book of the Month
Song For Someone by K.D. Sherrinford
About the book
Charlotte Sapori has led a wonderful life safely tucked in the bosom of her family. Her mother, Irene Adler, is a renowned opera singer, while her father, Lucca Sapori, does important government work that frequently takes him away from them.
Charlotte is close to her older brother, Nicco, and they are both doted on by their parents. All is well until her mother receives an unexpected diagnosis which shakes the family to its core. Knowing herself to be dying, Adler confesses to Charlotte things that have long been kept from her, telling her to find and read her diary. A distressed Lucca Sapori tells his daughter to read his as well. And by the way, Lucca Sapori is not his real name.
In fact, she may have heard of him—he is actually the world-famous detective Sherlock Holmes. Charlotte finds both diaries and plunges into the hidden world of Irene Adler and Sherlock Holmes as she discovers what brought them together and how they managed to stay together for thirty years despite having to battle the odds.
My Review
I love reading novels about the Victorian era, and so this book was right up my street. The author has clearly done her research well with detailed knowledge of England, Italy, and the opera world. When renowned opera singer Irene Adler knows she is dying, she urges her daughter, Charlotte Sapori to read her diaries to discover things that have long been kept from her. Charlotte’s father, Lucca Sapori, tells his daughter to also read his diaries and confesses that he is, in fact, the world-famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. What an intriguing plot for a story! I thoroughly enjoyed the dialogue between Holmes and Adler as they slowly fell in love. These two are strong characters, and the novel is beautifully written. Strongly recommended. You can find the book here:
Song For Someone (Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler Mysteries Book 1)
Well, that’s all for now, so thank you so much for continuing to follow me and until next time, I hope you keep safe and well.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.