July 2024 Newsletter
Hi and welcome to July’s newsletter. I’m not going to make any comment about how ridiculous it is that July is almost over (!) but be assured, I’m thinking it! Also, I’m super-confused by blackberries these days. I’m sure when I was a girl they were ready at the same time as the apples (hence blackberry and apple pie.) But that was also when the leaves were almost all down by the bonfire night. That doesn’t happen any more either. Things are not as they were. Am I wrong or is that how you remember it too? Let me know in the comments below.
What am I writing?
Since delivering A Question of Loyalty in June, I’ve been having great fun trying to write a cosy mystery. It’s a book that I started ages ago and has been on my back-burner ever since, but I’ve decided to try and finish it over the summer. It’s such a different discipline to the books I usually write and as I don’t plot I have to keep going back on myself every time I come up with a new twist. It’s not a very efficient way to craft a book but it’s great fun. I have no plans to publish it but it is the start of a series so maybe I’ll write another some time.
In my proper work, I’m waiting for the edit of A Question of Loyalty to begin. This book will be edited with me by the woman who brought us Khaled Hosseini’s wonderful The Kite Runner. We haven’t worked together before so I’m very excited to get started and see what I can learn from her.
I’m also starting to work on the characters for my next Imogen book which will be next up in my schedule after the edit is finished. I like to decide on my characters’ names and birthdays first as it helps me to get to know them, and then I work from there. My protagonist is named now, as are a couple of minor characters but there are still some others to choose. I also need to decide who will tell the story. That’s all to come over August.
Where have I been?
It’s been another busy month for me. Highlights included a week in Wells-Next-the-Sea where I did actually swim in the sea. Bracing! That’s how I’d describe that.
Slightly warmer was the Adriatic last weekend. I took a flying visit to Dubrovnik because my son was dancing in Hamlet on an open air stage there. I’ve not been to the Croatian coast before and Dubrovnik (the old town at least – I didn’t venture far beyond that) is glorious. Highlights included the ballet, of course, but also a very warm walk around the city walls, a ride up a cable car for the views and a boat trip out to Lokrum island. A few photos below (and as usual there are more on my Instagram page.)
Book News!
My second book writing as Izzy Bromley, Table for Five, is proving to be popular. As I type this, it has over 600 ratings and reviews with an average of 4.5 stars. You may have noticed that Amazon now generates an AI review of each book based on what the reader reviews say which is frankly terrifying! But I screwed up my eyes tight and peered through my eyelashes at this one and it doesn’t seem too bad.
“Customers find the characters relatable and thought-provoking. They also describe the book as a lovely read and a beautiful creation. Readers describe the emotional content as heartwarming and bring back faith in fellow humans. They describe the storyline as great and impossible to put down. Additionally, they praise the writing style as real and well-written.”
If you haven’t chosen your holiday reading yet then maybe check it out.
And if you are patiently awaiting the next Imogen book then there’s not long to wait. (I wish I had emojis. I would insert a winky face here.) A Borrowed Path will be published on 24th September. I was sent a box of copies and had a draw in my Book Café where ten lucky winners were drawn from my hat and will be receiving a signed copy next week.
I’m hoping to post the first chapter on my website over the next few days so I’ll let you know when that happens.
What have I read?
I seem to have a lot of books started and not quite finished this month, but here are my favourites of the ones that I did get to the end of.
Enlightenment by Sarah Perry is lots of stories all rolled into one. At the heart we have the friendship of Grace and Thomas who are both lost and try to find their way together despite an age gap of thirty years. Then there is a love story and also a missing 19th century astronomer and the race to name a new comet. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
In Breaking the Dark by Lisa Jewell one of my favourite writers moves into new territory and I went with her. The protagonist, Jessica Jones is a character from the Marvel Superheroes universe, a place where I generally wouldn’t venture. But the lure of a Lisa Jewell book was too great to ignore and so I read it and wasn’t disappointed. Even though it’s not a genre I would usually read, the storytelling and writing are all very familiar if you’re a Lisa Jewell fan and I raced through it. I almost forgot that super-powers are pretend. (Or are they?!)
Extraordinarily late to the party, I finally read The Housemaid by Freida MacFadden. I don’t read much of this kind of thing any more, but almost 330,000 ratings compelled me forward just to see what all the fuss was about. And it was fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and whilst the plot is quite easy to predict I did keep turning the pages and wanted to know what would happen. A great summer read.
Finally, It’s a Love Story by Shirlie and Martin Kemp. If you’re anywhere near me in age then you probably grew up with the music of Wham! and Spandau Ballet on your turntable, and this charming autobiography of how the pair met in the early eighties and the subsequent story of their long and very solid marriage warmed the cockles of my heart. And who doesn’t like a bit of insider gossip?!
And that’s your lot for another month. In August I have a trip to Greece with my family and then my first ever experience of glamping so don’t forget to come back next month to see how I get on! Please pray for it to be dry for me.
In the meantime, keep an eye on my website for the first chapter of A Borrowed Path and maybe join us in the Book Café on Facebook for more book recommendations and general book chat.
Have a lovely month.
Best wishes,
