Hello everybody - long time no speak! Sorry for the long silence (and thank you to those who sent me lovely messages asking if I'm OK - so sweet of you to worry about me!)
I'm afraid the last few months have been quite chaotic and stressful - including an urgent trip back to Taiwan to look after my mother who was in hospital - which is why I "disappeared" for a while! But things have calmed down now, thank goodness, and I'm finally getting a chance to catch-up on work and emails. (If you've sent me a message in the past few months, please forgive me if I haven't been able to reply! I do read and appreciate all your messages, even if I can't always respond.❤️) ⭐ Note for new subscribers (welcome! 😊 ) - I usually share all the book news first, so those who are only interested in that can find it easily and ignore the rest. But since many of you have told me how much you love my chatty stories and photos from my travel, food and gardening adventures (not to
mention, Muesli updates, of course!) - I often share a bit about those and other goings-on in my life, further down the newsletter.
In book news... Well, of course, the biggest news recently was the thrilling conclusion to my Bewitched by Chocolate' Mysteries with the release of the final book: A FONDANT FAREWELL: Enchantments & Endings! For anyone who might have missed the news - here are the links again to the 9th volume in this beloved magical cozy series of witchy sleuths, enchanted chocolates and hilarious quirky magic! Kindle & paperback : Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE Audiobook: Audible US | Audible UK | Audible DE
And for fans of my other series ( Oxford Tearoom Mysteries & the English Cottage Garden Mysteries) - who have been anxiously asking if there will be more books…don’t worry! I am planning to continue writing both series. But... as I can only write when I have good inspiration for a story, I can’t always plan books to a set schedule. When I’ve got a strong idea for
the next book, then I’ll be adding to each series. In fact, I DO have an idea brewing for the next Oxford Tearoom book…so I might be starting that soon (currently working on a new secret project which I need to finish first! 😉 )
For French and German fans... The 12th book in my Oxford Tearoom
Mysteries has just been released in French and German. I do have a dedicated French and German newsletter for fans in those languages - but in case any of you have friends or family who read in those languages and enjoy mysteries... you might like to share these with them? NEUERSCHEINUNG: Mord nach altem Schottenmuster NOUVELLE SORTIE : Le Plaid coupable
... and something for Japanese readers as well! Yup, Gemma & Co have made it to the Land of the Rising Sun too. 😉 The first book in the Oxford Tearoom Mysteries - "A Scone to Die For" - was recently released in Japanese translation. You can pick it up in ebook and paperback format (please share with any Japanese friends & family!) Kindle | Paperback
As you can see, it's been a busy year on the translation front! 😜
For the bargain hunters... Speaking of the Oxford
Tearoom Mysteries... if you haven't tried the series yet and you're searching for the perfect books to curl up with this holiday season 🎄 🍰 ... you're in for a SPECIAL FESTIVE TREAT TODAY! \
Download TWO Oxford Tearoom Mysteries for FREE! Get into the holiday spirit with the Christmas special plus grab Book 1 of the
series for double the cozy mystery magic… Perfect timing for holiday reading fun! 😉 ** This double offer is only for 48hrs - (ends midnight PST on 17th Dec) - so make sure you don't miss out! And please share with any friends & family who enjoy mysteries - this is the perfect chance for them to try my books for free!
For those who love a gossip... Well, after that roundup of book news, here's a bit about what's been
happening on the "life" front! I've been travelling and away from home for most of the past few months. Partly for work and book research (that new secret project! 😉), and also - unfortunately - for a family emergency: I had to rush back to Taiwan to look after my mother, who needed urgent spinal surgery.
My poor mother has been struggling with joint pain and spine issues for decades now and she's actually already had spinal surgery once, back in 2020, which some of you may remember (thank you to all those who still email me asking after her - it's so kind of you!). It's funny - when I went back to Taiwan to look after her in 2020, it was literally the month before COVID exploded across the world and everyone was still in a state of blissful ignorance... everyone except the Taiwanese, that is, who were already suspicious of the new "flu" coming out of China and were masked up to the nines and deploying hand sanitisers everywhere! 😜 (As you can
see from this photo taken then) Anyway, we'd hoped that that first operation would stabilise her spine but sadly, my mother suffers from degenerative arthritis, as well as an autoimmune condition that causes constant inflammatory damage in her body. So despite her best efforts with medication and physiotherapy,
she's continued to decline, to the point where she's been in severe chronic pain for the past year. It was especially bad in her leg (sciatic nerve) and she could barely stand for more than a few minutes or walk for more than 10 steps without being in agony and needing to sit down. ☹️
The doctors had been trying to avoid another operation, especially as my mother now suffers from heart issues as well and so is high risk for anaesthetics - but things became so bad that they decided it was worth trying again. Luckily, despite a short stint in ICU, she came through the surgery safely and the procedure seemed to have worked... until the
pain returned, worse than ever. X-rays confirmed our fears: one of the nails they had embedded in her spine had slipped, which meant that she had to go back to the operating table - barely 2 weeks after the first surgery! It was a pretty tense time, as no one knew how her heart would cope, not to mention the general ordeal on the body in going under the knife twice in such a short space of time. It would have been tough enough on a younger person, never mind someone in their 70s with slower powers of healing and recovery… But thankfully my mother pulled through once again. She was left extremely weak, though, and needed much more care than she'd expected (she's a very independent person and hates not being able to do things herself!).
I'd originally only planned a short stay in Taiwan but with everything that had happened, I ended up extending my stay several weeks so that I could look after my mother, as she has no other close family living nearby.
Do you know what seemed really bizarre to me, though? In Taiwan, family members are expected to stay in hospital and be the full-time nurse/carer for patients (the "real" nurses only check vitals like blood pressure and dispense medication, but don't do anything like empty catheter bags, clean bedpans, wash & feed patients,
etc).
In fact, hospitals usually won't accept patients for operations unless they have a family member or friend willing to volunteer for this role and all hospital beds come with a bunk next to it for the family member to sleep on! It was all so alien when compared to the Australian system where hospital staff are responsible for all the nursing, and family members are often only allowed to come during visitor hours (and the same in the UK, from what I remember... is it the same in America?)
I suppose it's because Taiwan - like most Asian countries - is a "collectivist" society, where the focus is on the group or community you belong to... rather than an "individualist" society (such as the West), where the focus is on your singular identity. So "family" assumes an even bigger importance there, because society is built around it and you are literally hampered in many aspects of daily life if you don't belong to an extended support network. The thought of a single person just checking themselves in to hospital to have a procedure and then possibly going home by taxi (as I've often seen done here in Australia) would be met by incredulous
horror! 😅
(* Not that family don't look after each other in the West, of course, but I think the difference is that you'd normally have a close personal relationship with that person... whereas in Taiwan, you might not like that family member very much but you'd still do it out of a
sense of duty, if you were the only available niece, grandchild, cousin, etc - it's just accepted as an unavoidable part of life, like doing the taxes 😉) Anyway, after a long, uncomfortable stay in hospital, we were delighted when my mother was finally discharged and allowed to go home. Here's a photo from
her first night back home, when she could finally eat "real food" - after weeks of relying on hospital food! 😜
Sadly, the surgery hadn't resolved her pain, as the nerves had been badly inflamed for so long and would probably take months, if not years, to heal... but there was some improvement. So hopefully with time and rehab, she might recover enough to be able to walk normally
again... we'll have to wait & see. 🤞 And in the meantime, my mother has come up with a solution to enable her to be more mobile: she found a "trolley crate on wheels" which she can use as support when walking - and also as a makeshift seat anytime she needs to sit down and rest. This meant that she could go out
without worrying that she wouldn't be able to find park benches or bollards to sit on and ease the pain!
It meant that we could go out for a short walk daily, to try and re-build her strength and stamina... as she'd suffered a lot of muscle atrophy and general de-conditioning from being immobile for so long. It's going to be a slooooow road to recovery but it was heartening to see
her improving, even if it was only in tiny steps! It was enough for me to feel sufficiently reassured to leave her and return home to Australia. Of course, it's not an ideal situation - she is still living alone and having to manage a lot of things by herself - and I do worry about leaving her. But I can't remain
in Taiwan forever as my own life and home are in Australia and I had already put my writing & book stuff and everything on hold for several weeks. Luckily, though, we'd planned to visit my mother over Christmas & New Year this year so we're sticking with that original plan and she won't be alone for long before we'll be with her again. It IS very challenging as parents get older and need more care, especially if they don't live close to you - isn't it?
Well, I'll finish off with a Christmas selfie from me & Muesli! 😊🎄🎅 (and in case any of you are wondering at the outfit... it's summer now in Australia so it's T-shirt weather!) Wishing you all a happy holiday season and all the best for the New Year!
Thanks for reading - talk soon! Hsin-Yi
(H.Y. Hanna)
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