My latest Sherlock Holmes short story Miss Violet Dixon (deceased)

My latest Sherlock Holmes short story Miss Violet Dixon (deceased)
The front cover created with Gimp with help from Aubrey Watt on You Tube.

Sunday 15 December 2013

This is new for me, two blog sessions in consecutive days...must be because I've finished writing and it's a Sunday and so I can't use the mower!

I was moved to write some more as I found the 'The Room 2' the fabulous follow up game for the iPad had been released. If you have not been wowed by 'The Room' then toddle over to the Apple store and download it for your iPad. It's now free (as 'The Room 2' is now out) and the graphics are mind blowing. I really, really recommend this puzzle game. It is not one of your cheapie "Escape the Room' type games, it is a wonderful use of the iPads interaction with its owner.

We have a 'stealth' cat who is coming into our house at night an stealing our cats food! Grrr, we have had to close our bedroom door at night (after 40 years of leaving it open) as our new cat jumps on the bed and snuggles down and it un-nerves me to be just dropping off and have something leap on the bed! Our black Labrador, 'Truffle' sleeps on her duvet on the floor at the end of the bed and would see off any 'foreign' cat but with the bedroom door closed, she doesn't hear it padding past. I am attempting to put in place a high-tech solution, I will move the wireless security camera from the garage and install it temporarily to watch the food bowls. It is motion activated so we will see who is coming in!

The best solution to all this is to install a cat flap in the garage door that reads the cats micro-chip. All cats and dogs in France have to be tattooed inside their ear with their pet id number or be injected with a micro-chip. These new fangled cat flaps read the chip id and only allow in the cats with the PIN that it 'knows'. They are a tad expensive, about £80 ( $140 ) but might be worth it in the long run.

I was looking for some interesting facts and background for my next book and there are some really interesting places with write ups of everyday events in Victorian times. One of them was in Ryde on the Isle of Wight where there is a monthly record of events that goes back into the 1850's. The language form is interesting in itself but the reports presented are fascinating, e.g. revolver practice on the pier by the Coastguard!

I will, honestly, try to post on my blog more frequently. It is just that once a new book gets underway I tune in to it so much that I exclude stuff unintentionally...a bit like Holmes...but I don't forget meal times ; )

Enjoy your week,

Dick xx

Saturday 14 December 2013

Well, it's windy as a windy thing today...and looks like rain for the next two days. Hey-ho, that's what a Breton winter is like!

I released Sherlock Holmes and The Lymington Affair into the World on Friday morning...and no complaints yet! It is a nice 'people-y' book with Holmes showing (for once) that he does have a softer side and that Watson has a sweet tooth! If you haven't bought it yet it is for sale on Amazon (everywhere). I have gone with the Amazon Select option which means that Amazon prime members can borrow the book for nothing and also they run promo's etc. We will wait and see, it is only on Amazon Select (exclusive to them and not available elsewhere) for 3 months. I will then launch on Smashwords.

Christmas is nearly upon us and Alex is writing cards and wrapping stuff. I write cards to colleagues and distant family members, all good stuff. A little bird has told me that I might be getting a deerstalker for Christmas! I'm sure that it will go down a storm on a windy beach on Christmas day! we have our children joining us for a few days over Christmas via Paris. Ryanair are going to pull the plug on flying into Dinard in spring next year. I think they are arguing that the E. Mids route is really a summer route. Hmmm, flights have always been pretty full when we have been on them.

Joining Linkedin has been an interesting thing to do, I have had such great interaction with other authors. I have had loads of advice and links to really useful places. It is a great way to join in with folk who have an interest in your area (not just writing, ALL areas of work and leisure). It is a superb networking tool, I heartily recommend it.

Hopefully, my model yacht might get an outing at Christmas when the 'kids' are over for Christmas, my daughters fiance is a keen radio controlled flier. Our town has an old, covered Lavoir, a small communal washing 'baths' about 8m x 3m made from stone. It is about 60cm deep and should be ideal for a quick sail for the yacht. The electronics are now installed to control the sails and the rudder, just need a nice gentle breeze.

A friend of ours came back to Brittany for a few days from the UK last week and very kindly split some logs for us. We are working our way through the logs from 2 years ago. We have had 7 'Red' days lately and the big log fire in the lounge has been getting some hammer. The stone fireplace keeps the room warm overnight, just like a storage heater. We burn mainly oak and chestnut, I don' mind burning the 'butt ugly' pieces but I keep thinking that I would like to have a go at carving some of the nicely figured stuff, not throw it on the fire!

Anyway, have a great week!

Dick xx