Hi there

The clocks go back here in the UK overnight and tomorrow we will all be complaining about how early it now gets dark and comparing sunset times, as if this didn’t happen every single year.

When I was younger, I relished the ‘extra’ hour in bed but these days I look at it differently. This is an hour I have been gifted and I owe it to myself to use it well rather than just squandering it to sleep. Activities that can be done first thing in the morning on my own and in the dark are relatively limited so I generally use it to read or write but I hope that what I produce in that extra time is somehow as magical as the hour itself.

Book News!

Well, the big news this month is my new book, Between Us, has a cover! I hope you like it.

A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to get to the final version of a cover and this one was no exception. It is the result of an extensive survey I carried out earlier in the year with The Margins Club, my little band of early readers, combined with the might of the data collected by my publishers about reader behaviour. It will come as no surprise that we readers really do seem to judge a book by its cover and, obviously, I want as many readers as possible to notice my books and be interested enough to dip into them.

So, ‘tell us about the book’ I hear you cry. What’s it all about and how did you come to write it?

Well, it’s about Isobel and Edward Everill who, together with their three adult children and their partners, rent a villa in the South of France to celebrate their fortieth wedding anniversary. But, as this is one of my books, all is not quite as it seems for any of the characters. Each of them has secrets that they haven’t shared with the others but are struggling to handle on their own. As the holiday goes on, all these tensions bubble and froth under the surface until finally they all explode.

And why did I write it?

I wanted to write a book over a really short timescale. Generally my books span decades. This is the first time I have confined myself to one timeframe (almost – there’s one chapter that isn’t.) So the whole thing is entirely linear and takes place over seven intense and challenging days.

It will be published on 9th February and is available to pre-order now HERE. If you are part of The Margins Club then you can expect that the early reading copy will be with you before too long although I don’t have it to share quite yet.

What am I writing?

The edit for We Were Three, my book about the three best friends one of whom disappears into thin air, is about to start but whilst I wait for that to get going I have been thinking about what I will write after that is finished.

As I mentioned last month, I have been toying with various stories but none of them felt quite what I was looking for. And then I had a great idea! I can’t tell you much just yet. I haven’t even told my editor about it. But my working title is Just for the Weekend and I think it’s going to fab! (At this point I should remind you of my favourite Iris Murdoch quote – actually the only Iris Murdoch quote I know. “Every book is the wreck of a perfect idea.” Sobering indeed.)

So watch this space for more about that one in the new year.

Where have I been?

There’s been a high level of galivanting this month. Firstly I went on a cruise around the Mediterranean. Cruising is not something that has ever appealed to me but my third daughter is working as a singer and dancer on a cruise ship and so going on it as a guest was the only way I was able to spend any time with her for the nine months of her contract.

Whilst on the ship I visited Palermo, Pompeii and Herculaneum, Rome, Ajaccio in Corsica and Palamós in Spain. And, more importantly, was able to see her perform in six different shows twice a night. (I was a very dedicated audience member.) She was wonderful and the rest of her showcast are also very talented and lovely. The best part though, as I’m sure other mothers can relate to, is that I now know where she is. I can picture her in her environment and understand the ebbs and flows of her day which makes me feel much less anxious about her.

We also found my books in various bookshops in Italy so that was cool!

And then, if that was not enough, I also went to Zagreb, Croatia to see my son dance in a ballet based on Othello and found another of my books there too. I was also granted the very special privilege of watching ‘class’. I am thinking of writing a character who is a ballerina and so watching the dancers at work was research. It was wonderful to get that glimpse into my son’s world as well as seeing what ballet dancers do all day.

Needless to say, I’m very proud of my children and feel very fortunate that I am able to travel to support them all (and not just the two that tread the boards for a living.)

What have I read?

So many great books again this month and it’s hard to pick just four but I’ve done my best.

First, Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth. No one ever suspects old ladies of murder but people have a terrible habit of dying around Ethel Mabel Fitzpatrick and when an elderly neighbour dies the police seem to suspect her. It doesn’t help that Ethel is also the youngest person ever convicted of murder. Ethel lives alone and has spent her long life avoiding people which has made her unconventional and a little grumpy but all that changes when she discovers that she does have friends after all. Funny, interesting and heart-warming, I found this to be a delightful book.

In Little Spark by Jess Kidd Bodkin Bell, pickpocket, orphan, and the intriging human curiosity of a Victorian travelling circus has powers she doesn’t understand. There is a spark inside her which, if not managed, can have fatal consequences. Rescued from prison to help at an isolated stately home, Bodkin starts to realise that it’s no coincidence that she was chosen for the job and once she understands that then the mysteries of her past all fall into place. The element of magical realism in this story (which I loved) doesn’t detract from the wonderful characters and the wholly evocative world that the author creates.

Claws Out by Bella Mackie is a very different kind of book. Diana Leyland’s husbands have an unfortunate habit of dying and leaving her their estates. So when she identifies a fourth target, David Farrand, we can guess what his fate might be. But not if his daughter Cat has anything to do with it. Trying to expose Diana at every turn, Cat goes to increasingly ludicrous lengths to get her father to realise what Diana is up to. The book is an hilarious battle between the two women. Highly satirical and just as entertaining as her previous books.

Sophie Standing There by Meg Mason is a funny, smart and ultimately moving story about Sophie, a sound engineer at a literary festival. Sophie is emotionally fragile and although she is loved by her brother and best friend and highly thought of by her colleagues she has chosen to retreat from the world as she recovers from heartbreak. Then she is given an early copy of a book by a favourite author and she becomes completely transfixed, almost infatuated with its creator. When she finally gets to meet her through a series of mistakes and muddles Sophie is in awe. And yet . . . Bittersweet, candid and raw this is a beautifully drawn portrait of a young woman.

And that’s your lot for this month. I hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter. If you have thoughts about what else you’d like me to include then please let me know. And don’t forget that if you enjoy my Izzy Bromley books then the new one The House Sitter is available to pre-order now. It goes without saying that any of my books would make a great Christmas present and they cost less than a tenner. Now you can’t say that about much these days!

And one last thing. Have you hear about Children in Read? it’s a charity auction where you can bag signed copies of books for not much whilst helping Children in Need. Here’s the link. Have a look and see what you want to bid for. (My most recent book is there.) Children in Read.

So until next month, happy reading.

Imogen.