Summer, Christmas and Taking a Break
Dec 05, 2022 11:31 am
Hi
Hello from a hot and sunny Sydney – summer is definitely here! I hope you're all well. While I do like blue skies and sunshine, I’m not really designed for the heat and don’t function at my best when it’s hot. I’m happiest in jeans and boots and scarves to be honest. So I’m taking my walks early in the morning before the heat gets going and seeking out the shade when I can.
This time of year always feels a bit strange to me. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to having Christmas in summer. But I’m very much looking forward to the break – it’s been a long year with floods and moving house, a new job, Covid.
However, it's also been a year in which I've written two novellas, as well as almost finishing work on my first audio recording - Out of the Ashes. I was going to record the last few corrections this morning, but I seem to have been allergic to something on my morning walk and now I’m all bunged up. The plan is, however, to get it completed before the Christmas break so that Mr G. (who takes care of all things tech) can listen to it and do a quality check. All things being equal, it should be released in the new year. I’m also planning to release a Large Print version at the same time.
The World War II novella - The Last Goodbye – is now finished. Happily my editor didn’t find suggest too many changes and the book will be available in February. I’ll be putting it up for pre-order early in the new year, and will be running a Goodreads Giveaway – I’ll keep you posted with details of that. If you’d like an Advance Review Copy, please let me know.
I’ve also just finished the first draft of the prequel novella to the Web of Witches series, and will be launching a rebrand of the whole series next year. So I’m currently working on concepts for new covers, which is one of my favourite parts of the job!
With those projects all completed, I can finally turn my attention to the follow up to Out of the Ashes, which is called The Dreams We Left Behind. Happily, our move across Sydney has brought me close to the library that specialises in books about World War 2, and I spent a happy Saturday collecting research on the wartime London underworld and the experiences of German Jews who managed to escape to England.
This is the fifth book I’ve written about the Second World War, but these are two areas I know very little about. One of the chief joys of writing historical fiction is the research. The history is fascinating, and in the construction of a novel I get to read it through a particular lens, looking for stories or facts I can use. And in the process, the original idea for the story can be totally hijacked by some aspect I didn’t know about before! I love being a writer!
What I’m Reading - The Hemlock Cure by Joanne Burn
Although right now I’m knee deep in research books, I do still make time to read fiction, and this dark and twisty tale set in plague-struck England in the 1660’s was a gripping read.
What I’m watching - Ancient Apocalypse
Graham Hancock’s alternative take on human history has always been interesting, and he is a very engaging and compelling presenter. I’m not sure I believe everything he claims, but he does raise a lot of interesting questions, and there’s definitely material for a new novel in there somewhere!
Here are the links to my books. Have you read them all?
Historical Fiction
Historical Fiction with a touch of fantasy
Till next time - happy reading!
Kind regards
Samantha
https://www.samgrosserbooks.com
