My House Move and Other Horror Stories

Bookish things have taken a back seat over the last month or so. Sometimes life just gets in the way. Basically I’ve had a lot of “stuff” going on. If I was a master of self-publicity I would use these episodes – a house-move, car trouble, elderly mother’s deteriorating health, preparations for imminent arrival of daughter, boyfriend and her dog (how is he going to get on with the cat?) from Budapest, to my advantage and continued to Tweet, FB and Instagram about my personal life to raise my social media profile.  People do but when I was knee deep in corrugated cardboard and bubble-wrap the last thing I thought about was dropping a picture onto Instagram – ooh look, another box to unpack. Anyone else have Tupperware that breeds? Some people might find that interesting – personally I don’t and I always judge my social media posts by what I consider something I’d want to read – and this, I realise is where I’ve been going wrong.

This is when I wish I’d used a pen name when writing my books because with a pen-name I could have created a whole new persona who’d be one step removed and could twitter on about anything. Suzi Smith (yes, I name I really did consider adopting) would be ever present on social media with witty comments, and even non-witty comments on every day life. She would be continually posting to keep her presence afloat (this is a tough business and if you don’t float, you sink without trace). Suzi Smith would be putting herself out there and using every situation to her advantage – even in her darkest hour.

Don’t you just love the NHS – mum’s hip operation cancelled due to chronic iron deficiency. Never mind at least we got a free cup of tea and a cheese sandwich after three hours waiting in pre-surgery. LOL!

Now I know why estate agent insisted on using the back entrance when he showed us around the house. Loving our genuine Arts & Craft front door but wish I could get it open…

New house teething problem number 2 – who doesn’t love a soft-close toilet seat. Just wish it would wait until I’d finished doing my business before it starts closing. OUCH!

By the way, have you ordered a copy of my latest book? Just £1.99 on Amazon…

Suzi Smith would not only be the master of self-publicity she’d also  write very commercial women’s fiction; her novels would be highly marketable – and here’s my next dilemma. My faithful old desktop crashed just before our house move. Had I backed up my latest WIP? Well yes, but not since about the 25K word-mark and I last left it at 40K. But now that my precious data has been recovered (at considerable cost, I might add – that’ll teach me to ignore those messages reminding me to back up my PC) I’ve taken another look at Book 3 and decided my efforts to write something a little more commercially orientated a la Suzi Smith are not winning me over, in fact I don’t actually like the hunky all-American boy-gone-bad-but-he-will-redeem-himself hero I purposefully created to attract a wider audience.

Stressing over things we cannot change is wasted energy. Today, I feel like I have emerged from a long dark tunnel. Over the last few weeks it seemed impossible to imagine I’d ever have the time, let alone the inclination, to return to the keyboard.   But now, as watery sunshine filters through the canopy of the enormous Caucasian Wingnut tree at the end of my new garden (it’s a very rare specimen – we viewed the house in winter when it was half the size)  I feel a welcome sense of calm.  

My mum has accepted she’ll never get a new hip unless she eats more greens (slipping into Suzi mode here) just as I’ve accepted she needs a little more looking after than she currently receives – but other carers are available. As always it’s a question of attitude. I’ve decided the dent in my car gives it far more character, as does the crack in the windscreen, the Hungarian Dachshund-cross compatible dog food has been ordered on-line (the cat will love him), and as much as I appreciate the historic merits of my rustic front door, a new one I can open, shut and lock is already on its way.

It’s time to pick up the pieces and crack on. I do want to complete another novel and the answer I believe lies in a good murder. In fact, I’ve decided all-American boy is going to be my first victim. His girlfriend – un-named as yet but I have one in mind – may well be my second.

Poor Suzi, what a horrid way to go...

Comfort Reading with Alice Castle

It’s been a hectic couple of weeks – I’ve been on holiday, which was great fun, and moved house, not such great fun. The perfect tonic to the upheaval would be to immerse myself in a good book, so while I seek out my much cherished paperbacks amongst the packing debris, I’m delighted to welcome author Alice Castle as my guest to talk about her favourite comfort reads.

Thanks so much for having me on your blog today, Rosie. I’ve always been a voracious reader, disappearing into written worlds whenever I get the chance, so narrowing down my list of comfort reads to just five has been hard. Some have leapt onto the list, some have jostled elbows a bit with others in my subconscious before making it to the light of day. In the end, I’ve chosen a handful which I’ve not only truly loved but which also show my own writing passions and enthusiasms. I hope they’ll strike a chord with others, maybe because they’re so familiar – or maybe because they’re new and tempting.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. There are some books that you wish you’d never opened, just so you could have the sheer pleasure of reading them for the first time all over again. Mr Darcy and I have been an item since I picked this book up as a teenager, but I can still remember the excitement when our eyes met across that crowded ballroom and he was so withering about Lizzie. Strange he ends up with her every time.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Every time I re-read Jane Eyre, a differentaspect of the book resonates with me. As a teenager, Jane’s awful school experiences made mine seem a tad less grim. In my twenties, Jane’s struggle to be independent and to be taken seriously were inspiring. In my thirties, her verbal jousting with Mr Rochester started to fascinate me. And at all ages, it is hard not to be awe-struck by Charlotte Bronte’s crie de coeur: ‘Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong!’

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. A book which, despite the obstacle of a dull-as-ditchwater mouse as protagonist, manages to drip with toxic glamour. From the wonderfully sinister Mrs Danvers to the lingering ghost of Rebecca herself, like a whiff of stale Je Reviens in the corridors of Mandalay, we are caught in the writer’s web as she doles out information precisely when it suits her. This could not be called a relaxing read, but it is a masterclass in writing. Amongst other mysteries, we never do find out the second Mrs de Winter’s first name.

Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers. There are lots of things one probably shouldn’t enjoy about DL Sayers – the snobbery, the curiously dated attitude to the sexes, the self-conscious erudition – but in Gaudy Night everything comes together in one irresistible bundle, with a romance on top like a big red ribbon. And a heroine who writes whodunits and gets to marry into the aristocracy? Say no more.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. People always try and knock Agatha Christie, possibly because she makes it all look so easy. But she came up with amazing plots, time and time again. Murder on the Orient Express, And Then There Were None and this book, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, are particularly brilliant examples of misdirection which are still fooling rapt readers every day. I love all her books but Roger Ackroyd has to be my favourite.

Alice Castle biography:

Before turning to crime, Alice Castle was a UK newspaper journalist for The Daily Express, The Times and The Daily Telegraph. Her first book, Hot Chocolate, set in Brussels and London, was a European hit and sold out in two weeks.

Death in Dulwich was published in September 2017 and has been a number one best-seller in the UK, US, France, Spain and Germany. A sequel, The Girl in the Gallery was published in December 2017 to critical acclaim and also hit the number one spot. Calamity in Camberwell, the third book in the London Murder Mystery series, was published in August 2018, with Homicide in Herne Hill following in October 2018. Revenge on the Rye came out in December 2018. The Body in Belair Park will be published on 25th June 2019. Alice is currently working on the seventh London Murder Mystery adventure, The Slayings in Sydenham. Once again, it will feature Beth Haldane and DI Harry York.

Alice is also a blogger and book reviewer via her website: https://www.alicecastleauthor.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alicecastleauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DDsDiary?lang=en

Links to buy books: http://www.myBook.to/1DeathinDulwich

http://www.MyBook.to/GirlintheGallery,

http://myBook.to/CiC

http://myBook.to/homicideinhernehill

http://myBook.to/revengeontherye

http://myBook.to/BodyinBelair

Death in Dulwich is now also available as an audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/B07N1VNMLT/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-140657&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_140657_rh_us

Alice lives in south London and is married with two children, two step-children and two cats.

The Body in Belair Park by Alice Castle – Blurb

Beth Haldane is on the verge of having everything she’s ever wanted. Her son is starting secondary school, her personal life seems to have settled down – even her pets are getting on. But then the phone rings.

It’s Beth’s high maintenance mother, Wendy, with terrible news. Her bridge partner, Alfie Pole, has died suddenly. While Beth, and most of Dulwich, is convinced that Alfie has pegged out from exhaustion, thanks to playing with Wendy for years, Beth’s mother is certain that there is foul play afoot.

Before she knows it, Beth is plunged into her most complicated mystery yet, involving the Dulwich Bridge Club, allotment holders, the Dulwich Open Garden set and, of course, her long-suffering boyfriend, Metropolitan Police Detective Inspector Harry York. The case stirs up old wounds which are much closer to home than Beth would like. Can she come up trumps in time to stop the culprit striking again – or does the murderer hold the winning hand this time?

A couple of my all time favourite books in this list. Thanks so much to Alice to taking part. I’m a huge fan of the London Murder Mysteries and look forward to catching up with Beth’s next adventure!