This is a bit of a sheepish hello as I've just realised that I haven't dropped you a line in nearly 2 months! 

It's partly because I haven't had much specific "book news" to share. Everything is in the incubation stage... nothing has hatched! (The irony of being an author is that while books themselves are full of rich characters and exciting worlds, the actual process of creating them can be as boring as watching paint dry! 😜

All you can see is someone sitting at a keyboard, tapping away, day after day after day... (and occasionally pulling their hair out as they hit "DELETE" on several dozen pages, to start all over again!!)

It hasn't helped that my days have also been hijacked by a series of unexpected household debacles. From leaking roofs to burst underground pipes, it's been Maintenance Central here and I've spent more time chatting to plumbers and electricians than to my own husband (more on that below for those who enjoy a gossip!)

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In Book News... 

Well, as you know, I was hoping to finish the Secret Project in July and start work on the next Oxford Tearoom Mystery but... "the best laid plans..." - as they say! Following a flood of helpful beta reader feedback, I'm now working my way through hefty revisions to the Secret Project manuscript. Hopefully, though, I should be done by early Sep so that I can (finally!) start work on Oxford Tearoom #13. 

Meanwhile, the books themselves have been having a bit of a wardrobe makeover! You see, I kept getting so many compliments and positive comments about the cover style of the French translations of my cozy mystery series that I decided to adapt the French covers for the English editions too. 

Take a look... here is the English Cottage Garden Mysteries after their "French" cover glow-up: (Not that Oren noticed. He thought he was perfect from the start! 😉)

What do you think? I do love the bright, fresh colours. 😀

The ebook editions are sporting their new look but the print editions are still in the changing room... (everything "print" takes longer as proof copies have to be checked, etc). I'll be sharing the new Oxford Tearoom covers in the next newsletter!

AUDIBLE August Monthly Deal...

Oh - speaking of the English Cottage Garden Mysteries, I was delighted to get a message from Audible saying that they were including Book 1: DEADHEAD AND BURIED in their August Monthly Deal promotion!

If you’ve been meaning to start the series, now’s the perfect moment - and if you’ve read the books, this is a great chance to listen to my wonderful narrator Pearl Hewitt bring the characters to life in her gorgeous voice (seriously, I could listen to Pearl read a 6-page Terms & Conditions 😉)

🌸City girl Poppy has a notorious "black thumb," but fate has handed her a lush cottage garden nursery in the English countryside. Now she must juggle nosy villagers, revive the family business and uncover a murderer! If only solving mysteries were as easy as killing houseplants… 🌱 

Sorry this is a bit late (!) - but you've still got time to get the audiobook at the discount price if you grab it before the end of the month: 

https://www.audible.com/pd/Deadhead-and-Buried-Audiobook/B07V9JR1LM

(Oh - but unfortunately, Audible told me this offer is for US consumers only)
 

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For those who love a gossip... 

With typical good timing, our roof decided to start leaking just as several huge rainstorms hit Perth back to back (we even had HAIL - a rare occurence in the Sandgroper State!). Coupled with two downpipes (downspouts) rusting through and flooding from sunken pavers in the garden path, life has been very wet here lately! 

Ahh... the joys of home maintenance... Don't you think it often feels like all the different parts of house and garden made a pact to hold out as long as possible... and then all break down together? 

I have this vision in my head of a huddle of broken, limping house parts all confronting a wallet backing away in terror... 

My husband says I have an over-active imagination... well, I'm a writer - it's an occupational hazard! 😉 

And I don't know how it is in your part of the world but here in Australia (and it was the same back in the U.K.), finding reliable tradespeople - known locally as "tradies" - is harder than finding gold at the end of the rainbow. 

Trying to pin them down to a date and time to come give a quote... and then more telephone & email negotiations to confirm a day to do the job... before waiting hopefully on the day for them to actually turn up (one company stood me up 3 times in a row)... well, let's just say that my blood pressure medication has been working overtime! 

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Finally, for the Muesli fans...

... a picture of the little minx enjoying the winter sunshine on one of the few dry days we've had recently. This is one of her favourite spots: a beanbag footstool cushion that I'd originally purchased for human use but which (as usual) has been co-opted by the cat! 

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