The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke is a murder mystery set on a secluded island, where six aspiring writers have been invited to the mansion of the world’s most famous author to finish his final novel after his secret death. The prize at stake is $2mn and an important publishing contract. To win, they’ll have to beat their rivals by fair means or foul… Agatha Christie-esque page-turner with insights into the publishing world that grips right to the end.
You’re A Bad Man, Mr Gum by Andy Stanton is the book that launched the best-selling series. Completely zany characters, plot and comedy reminiscent of Spike Milligan. When Jake the enormous dog turns up and messes with Mr Gum’s garden, he gets whacked over the head by a bathtub residing fairy. His only hope is to poison Jake with manky meat from Billy William the Third’s butcher’s shop, unless Polly can save the day. Crazy but so much fun and lots of lovely illustrations.
Rebel Heart by Ally Sherrick is an adventure set during the English Civil War, centred on Merriweather Pryce whose ancestral home is besieged by Roundheads. Fearing her mother-in-law is about to surrender, Merry sets off disguised as a boy to find her Royalist father and save the home. But she soon gets mixed up with soldiers who use the war to line their pockets with no regard for anyone who stands in their way. Exciting plot and lovely historical details bring this story to life.
Moonlight Robbery is out on 17th September. And while that might seem a long way away, I have already been busy arranging some school visits for the autumn term and writing a Moon-based quiz to use in my promotional tour. Cover reveal will take place next month – and trust me, you’ll want to keep your eyes peeled for that – it’s a beaut!
Meanwhile, I’ve now handed in the final draft for next year’s book – which should be released in September 2027 (with Tiny Tree once more). It’s another standalone, this one a fantasy adventure about a girl who lives on a planet where the difference between night and day is a line on a map. When her sister is kidnapped and her village ransacked, Idalia has to flee into darkness, guided by a strange glowing boy. More on this next year.
My adult story about a failing marriage is nearly on its final chapter but I’ve just spotted a slight fault with the timeline of the denouement... uh oh. I know what should happen, but just trying to make sure the events occur, and are revealed, in a satisfactory order is proving tricky.
The tennis and padel season continues with regular matches and practices. I’ve now played in a couple of padel tournaments without much success, but good fun and useful experience. A bit more golf during the lovely weather, with my tee-to-green game very solid and putting reasonable. Just need to improve my chipping which is usually the last thing to click into place. Running sessions with my coach have continued and I’ve signed up to do the 10k Martian Race on Horsell Common. Fingers crossed it’s not during another heat wave!
Not exactly sport, but I trod the boards once more with the Quince Players this month, appearing as Father O’Hara in Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em. It’s a really great script and the whole team (crew, tech, cast) pulled together to create an amazing set that fell apart on cue every night as the play progressed. We had stunts to perform and lots of laughs to deliver. Feedback was amazing, so I’m really proud to have appeared in this show.
Not much board gaming to report, but we did manage to play Mexican Trains (a version of dominoes with tiles up to 12) and Meeple Circus with our daughter and boyfriend who popped back from uni to watch me in my show. And excitingly, I’ve been in touch with my old DnD roleplaying group and we’re going to try to meet up once a month online to resurrect a campaign started about 40 years ago!
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