Reviews

I have just discovered the children’s book wholesaler Toppsta who have Penny Down the Drain and Penny and the Poorly Parrot listed, but with no reviews.

I donated a copy of each title to the local library this morning. They would only take one of each although it would be nice to have copies in all the West Sussex libraries.

Worthing library looks very light and clean but so few people inside!

Windows 10 updated and now tells me the weather – pity it gets it wrong!Don’t they know this is Sunny Worthing?

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Blogging friends

Not being on facebook I did not expect to have so many people from all over the world who were kind enough to follow me and join in with comments and conversations but wordpress has brought me into contact with some great  friends, even if we have never met in person. I’m especially happy to have discovered Beetlypete who has a gift for writing what other people are thinking and for allowing us to share his life.

Thanks, Pete, for promoting my latest book on your blog. It was much better than I could have expected. The best thing about ” More Fish in the Sea” is that, in the back, it also tells the readers about my previous novels which are a bit more substantial. I have found two other writers who used the same title but the other’Julie’ only has her book in digital format. My kindle has given up the ghost and needs updating or I would have bought it, just out of curiosity.It’s too hot to go out so I have been working on my memoir. I’m not going to publish it but it is keeping me busy for now. Best Wishes to you all.

E Book out.

Today the ebook of  “More Fish in the Sea” is finally available for kindle and I am searching my contacts list for people who might like to read it. It was really meant for women to read but I am quite happy for men to try it. They will find it is not quite like my previous books which had a more even balance of the sexes in the characters, so that the reader could know what both the women and the men were thinking, especially in        “Lane’s End” which was written from a male viewpoint and “Never Run Away” and         “Never Pretend” which showed sympathy for both sexes.

“More Fish” is a widow’s adventures as she meets a variety of very different men and has to decide what to do with her life now she has nobody to share it with. Dating in mid life must be so different from discovering one’s first love and even if it is not done on line there is no guarantee that the two people will be compatible.There are so many scare stories of romance scams, like the one I wrote about in “A Bend in the Lane” yet sometimes there are honest people brave enough to look for a soulmate, especially if they have no other family.

I suppose all my books are about love, in one form or another, although only “A Lesson for the Teacher”could be called a romance. Still, I’ve covered all age groups from 20 to 80 so the next book will probably a magical story for children. I’m not feeling inspired at present. Roll on 2021.

What day is it?

I woke up this morning thinking it was Sunday, not Wednesday. By breakfast time I had realised my mistake and was overjoyed to see the woodpigeon on the bird table sharing with a sparrow. The woodies chase each other off the seed but don’t seem to mind a sparrow joining in. They were lucky, a seagull came first thing but hubby had put out porridge, too, and he preferred that.

My task this week is to alert all the local magazines and my regular readers that ” More Fish in the Sea” should be out on Monday. Using a new publisher is a bit of an experiment and I’m not sure how much to push it on twitter, especially as most of my contacts on there are fellow writers, not necessarily readers of my genre. I suppose it is a kind of romance but with a light touch, no corset ripping! Once again it is set in my local area and I have been asked to provide copies for a competition.

Worthing, in the UK, is a fine area for inspiration – makes me wonder about Worthing in the USA. I bet they are nothing like each other.

Arrival!

The author copy of More Fish in the Sea arrived at last. It went to the wrong address, twice! Now to read it and see if there are any howlers. It’s quite thin, a really quick read, which will probably be fine as an e book. I was all set to order myself a copy from Waterstones as they have it in their catalogue.

I was filling in time repotting indoor plants but this has lifted my mood. I know I put the cover on before but here it is again!

Masks

I am expecting three parcels. I wonder which will arrive first, if at all! My book will probably be last but I also ordered three masks to equip us for using public transport in the pandemic and a pair of slipper/type shoes as mine have worn out. I could have waited until the shops open but the catalogue was offering a free puzzle book with each purchase and hubby loves crossword puzzles so I thought that would be a nice surprise.

Silly me! I had to use hair curlers yesterday as my hair is getting into my eyes. I do wish the Government would give some idea of the dangers in different areas, then perhaps more places could open. As for schools, I guess if I had a four of five year old I’d be unwilling to send them back but if I was still teaching I would be willing to return if I could be tested. I would be more concerned about the adults than the children.

Of course, if some hospitals sent patients back to care homes without testing it could happen that teachers weren’t tested, either –  and there could be one irresponsible parent who might risk sending a poorly child to school just so they need not be at home with them.

One bright light in the gloom – I donated three of my novels to the lady who puts a box out for people to take copies. Now to watch and see if they disappear!

What a surprise!

Standing in the front garden after hubby had cut the grass and a big car turned up. Out stepped a familiar figure clutching a box of goodies. Our son was delivering food and drink and a large book. It was a lovely surprise and changed my mood completely.

Of course, we couldn’t let him in but chatted for a while at a safe distance. I hadn’t realised how we missed seeing the rest of the family. We had talked on the phone but having him there in person made all the difference.

I have delivered some of my own novels to a lady along the street who is putting books out for people to take. She says she disinfects them but I know mine are OK as they have only been in the loft. I’m waiting to see if anyone looks at my website to find more. That would make it worth while.

I put a review of Alchemist on Goodreads. If you like a scary book with black magic and corrupt businessmen you’d love that. Now to search out more Peter James novels.

Time for a Review. Star island.

I know being retired means we should be used to organising our own time but even posting on line doesn’t seem so urgent anymore.

I would tell you all about the sparrow hawk that frightened the woodpigeons off the bird feeder but it didn’t stay long enough to get a photo.

Instead, here is a review of Carl Hiaason’s Star Island. He is a new author for me and perhaps I would not have enjoyed it so much if it hadn’t been a change from the gritty crime stories and soppy love novels that I have been reading since I was stuck at home.

All my books were picked up from a charity shop before the lock down and this is the only one I have really enjoyed. I don’t usually go for American novels, except for Koontz and King but it was a relief to find a book written with humour that kept the action going without pages of turgid description. It has been said that all his books are variations of a theme. If I find more I’ll let you know.

Meanwhile, if you want a fast paced, snarky jaunt through the social strata of commercial USA with paparazzi and drug taking, fashion and fame try Star Island.

Christmas event

I have just returned from our charity book sale at Durrington and it was a great success. The lucky dip made £35 pounds and almost all of us sold one or more books. The anthologies went down well and we actually found some folk willing to read poetry. With six very different authors there was plenty of choice and the two so far unpublished members gave away free short stories. A kind photographer took a photo of all of us together which should help with future publicity and I will try to post the little snap I took of part of the room. This is a very lively Community Centre and the staff were very helpful. I hope we have made at least £50 for the Breathe Easy charity. We will find out on Thursday when we have our next meeting. Of course it doesn’t make as much as the Musical events but it was more appropriate at this time of year.

Social media

How many of you actually believe your horoscopes? I read mine every day and sometimes it fits and sometimes it doesn’t. Today it said I was wasting my time doing something and it was exactly what I was thinking about twitter. Every time I change something on my laptop twitter gets me to enrol again and I’m beginning to stop trusting it. Therefore I will stop using it. I did enjoy the political angst, as I used to be in politics, but even that has begun to get predictable. I joined as it seemed a good way to advertise my books but I doubt whether it has resulted in any sales. It could have done, on kindle, but I never get to find out and my wholesaler hasn’t asked for any paperbacks.

I know I should email all the people who bought previous novels but I don’t want to ask them to subscribe to a newsletter as we are advised should be done to build a relationship with our readers. I don’t have enough news as can be seen on my website, http://www.juliecround,co.uk. Writing a book takes me over a year and the poems have to wait for inspiration. So this will be my only social media for a while. Thanks for reading. Julie.