Newsletter no.196, February 2023

I’ve been thinking about angels. Yes, well . . . I got Covid, didn’t I? My first dose of it. I’ve had all the boosters and been out and about and in touch with all sorts and I hadn’t got as much as a sniffle until . . . Yes, well. Unmistakeable. Cooking? Forget it. Work? Well, I did try, but had to stop. Puzzler problems? Brain not responding. Telephone calls? Cough, cough, blow nose, cough, cough. Lie down. Keep warm. Drink plenty.

So, enter the angels. Now, I’ve read about Angels in the bible. They came in all shapes and sizes. They are NOT human. Some are frankly scary. Imagine meeting the Archangel Michael in a strop! Just consider what it takes to defeat evil: the power of thunder and lightning comes to mind. He’s wonderful and also terrifying.

Some of the lesser angels in the Bible bring good news. Some bring warnings. And in this day and age I fancy some are humans whom God has used to help matters along. I don’t suppose any of my neighbours think of themselves as angels. Each has their own busy life to lead, fitting me in somewhere between looking after grandchildren and cooking for their families. One even understood my craving for a bunch of yellow flowers, daffs or tulips, I didn’t care which, but I wanted them NOW! And they duly appeared in my porch! All I can say is; Thank you. And mean it. And hope to repay their kindness some-day, when it will be my turn to play angel.

The next lot of e-books from Joffe are now in the pipeline. February has A FALSE ALARM on the lst, A FALSE DIAMOND on the 12th, and A FALSE IMPRESSION on the 25th. They have continued using the black cat who appears on all these covers, hurray! I gather the e-books are all doing well but the ones with an animal on are doing better than the others.  

You may remember me talking about the lyrics of a song I wrote a while back. One of my kind friends says he knows someone who might be interested in setting it to music. I wonder if it will work? Who knows? Watch this space.

Meanwhile, the next Bea Abbot story called False Name is going through copy editing and will be returned to me soon for this and that. I have a rough of the projected cover for this one already, and think it’s very good. You will be amused to hear that the dog Bruno, who plays a major part in the story, is featured stage front. We’ll have to wait and see if this makes a difference to sales!

PARSLEY and POSY have spent the last month taking shelter in my little conservatory at the back of the house, and say it’s still too cold to pose outside. So here they are with my amaryllis bulbs which are now in full flower. See them here.

I think it’s too early to feature an Easter story so have delved deep into the archives to find you an early Ellie Quicke short story, called Death by Lily. You can read it here.

A blessing on those who shop for those who can’t get out and about.

Veronica Heley