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Frustrating as it is, I’m still held back from publishing book 3 because of the lock-down until I can physically meet up with those who help me put everything together. If I attempt to do it myself I know I’ll end up in a mess and lose the plot.

Covid 19 has had such a profound affect on so many lives they may not ever fully get over it. Putting into perspective what is truly important in life. Publishing a book isn’t high on that list.

However, escaping into another world through the books we love to read is so beneficial and a respite from stress, worry and boredom while lifting our emotional equanimity.

Failing that, I find a few beers works just as well and even better when the two are combined.

I sincerely hope it won’t be much longer before the book is up for sale.

Keep well. Keep safe and try to keep smiling.

I had intended to publish book 3 in the series after Christmas but was advised by the distributors to wait until the market for new fiction books was more buoyant around mid-summer. Once we reach that time, and hopefully the dreaded virus has at least waned, then we hope to publish.

Meanwhile I began writing book 4; The Dirty Duck Inn, two months ago and it had been going well, but with the lock-down I and other author friends have found it difficult to knuckle down and lose ourselves in creativity. Authors are usually more then content to work alone and on the surface would find lock-down no problem, However, the opposite seems to be true as there are many more important things going on out there and inside our own homes to worry about.

Keep safe and plan that big celebration with your love ones once this is all over.

To ensure book 3 was as polished as it should be, I went over it three times, line by line, at a snails pace, while questioning and improving my skills on editing, reviewing and proofreading.

Following that, I still had the blurb to write for the back cover along with everything else required to present the book for publication. Next was to have someone else competent enough to read it and tell me what they think.

All of this dragged on far longer then I had anticipated and I have run out of time to get the book published and launched this side of Christmas as I had hoped.

However, I was reminded that it has been a relatively short time since launching book 2 in the series, and I should have stepped back and been a bit more patient to give others involved more time to do their part.

I will post to keep everyone updated as to where I am with the book and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Having completed book 3, Bullington Castle, I am now going through it to polish it up and check for mistakes. I am also proof reading it myself for the first time, which is daunting.

I have also designed the cover for the artist; Steve Royce Griffin to turn into something special and original. The book is longer than the previous two books, and as I stated in July it is one story, set in Cornwall and centered around a family of dysfunctional, very eccentric aristocrats.

Once the cover is ready and I’m happy as I can be that the story is ready to be formatted for publication, then I hope to have it on sale by Christmas but will post anyway when the book is definitely going to be available.

The Horror stories I entered for a competition didn’t come in the top ten but I did receive an encouraging e-mail thanking me for entering. Having concentrated so much time on Bullington Castle I missed the deadline for the song writing competition and will search for another to enter at a later date. Best wishes to everyone.

Have entered two short horror stories in the Olga Sinclair open short story competition via the Norwich Writers Circle. In Denial and The Coca Fly. Am also gearing up to enter The UK Lyrics competition for September with at least three Country and Westerns, a sad love song for a female singer and maybe a couple of other ballads.

Meanwhile I am plodding on with book 3 in the Fish Bone series, Bullington Castle, which is one full length story. Set in Cornwall the story centers around the eccentric Bullington family. The detectives are sent down there to try and find out who is trying to bump off Lord Percival Bullington. I have already written two thirds of the story along with a rough draft for the remainder with the intention of publishing it for Christmas, all being well. More on this later.

Reviews are very important for writers, they help us to hone and improve on our work while encouraging us to keep going. I would appreciate it if you can find the time to add to my reviews, on this site and or on your favorite book site, ETC. Thank you and best wishes.