My garden is shutting down for the winter. It has been a poor year for annuals but the roses have done well. This year I have been giving small posies of flowers to one or two people who have no garden and who appreciate them. One of the plants that has done well is honesty. Do you know it? Purple spikes in the spring, followed by dried white seed cases or ‘pennies’ in the late autumn.

Nowadays, in the absence of real flowers, I make up a small posy of honesty, surrounded by some dark green leaves – bay leaves are best because they last without water for some weeks if not months. The honesty just goes on and on. When the bay leaves die or are used in cooking, you could find some more greenery – holly? Ivy? And put them with the still perfect ‘pennies’ and that posy will last all winter.

                                 So, back to work. . .

The paperback of False Relation came out in October, following the hardback version earlier this year. This is the latest of four stories about Bea Abbot and her involvement with the ‘down-and-out’ man who turned out to have inherited a bucket full of trouble in a run-down estate. Big money and two-faced relatives cause maximum disruption . . . including murder. The ISBN number is 9781 4483 1953 4.           Severn House for Joffe brought out the hardback and the e-book of this title earlier this year. Enjoy!

                                                       The next book is. . .

‘Murder with Romance’ and is almost ready to send off to my editor. This is back to Ellie Quicke and her circle. It’s been fun to write and I believe it should be published some time next spring. I’ll let you know the date as soon as it’s settled. And then . . . we start thinking about another story . . .

                                                    The next short story. . .

. . . is based on a true happening. The friend who appears in the story as the helpful neighbour really does exist and he was devastated by what happened to the woman concerned. Fortunately that incident had a happy ending . . . but I took the scan as a start and went on from there, because I needed a cat story for you and for the choir concert later on. So the title is ‘A cat named Solo’ and you can read it here.

A special blessing on people who are looking after sick members of their family. Give them patience, and what’s more, an opportunity to smile.

Veronica Heley

I wanted to make myself an L-plate for my new walking aid. First problem: I couldn’t find a red pen. Then I had to locate some card which would be strong enough to take outdoors. I scissored apart an empty box of Magnum ice-creams-on-a-stick. Finally, I punched two holes in the top of the card, threaded through some string and tied it into place.

Success! I could now go out into the streets wearing a warning sign that I and my trusty steed (four wheels, strong brakes, and a seat) were a hazard to traffic. Within ten minutes I had worked out that my road was a No Go, with uneven tarmac and tree roots heaving this way and that.           The next street was better, being paved.

Finally I arrived at the café to meet my friends for a coffee. At the back there was a suitable parking place for Rollo (as I have christened the Rollator) but my friends were on the opposite of the room and I had omitted to pack a stick to help me get from A to B. Helped across the room into a seat, the group of us shared experiences of sticks and other aids for the Aged. The L-plate caused many a smile, and also reminded me to buy some more ice cream.

Work continues. I have two short stories to write for the Christmas season. I have ideas for both, but still have a lot of thinking to do before I get down to the actual business of putting them on the computer. I do now have an agreement on the deal for the mass market paperbacks, and await results with interest. I am promised a contract – at last! – within days for the Elie Quicke that I’ve been writing for months; MURDER WITH ROMANCE is pretty well finished and will be ready to send off very soon.

                                     The next short story is . . .

‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ It’s taken from real life. I expect you will all know of families struggling with anxiety and other problems in the young, such as drinking too much. I really do not know what the answer is to this difficult situation, or how far the carers can – or perhaps should – go. This story was published with a note advising that anyone affected by the problem should seek medical assistance. Read it here.

                                                         My poor garden!      

So what about my poor, parched garden? We have had some rain though not enough. The lawns are developing patches of green and hopefully will soon be back to their usual state. Annuals have not done so well but my dainty little cyclamens – no more than 3 or 4 inches high – are popping up everywhere, even in the foliage of herbaceous plants and between paving stones. They are delightful.

A special blessing this month on those kind people who open heavy doors for me into shops and cafes. Rollo says he much appreciates the attention, too.

Veronica Heley

Oh, my poor garden! The drought wreaked havoc. (Isn’t it satisfying when you can use a word you’ve seen in books but never managed to use yourself before?) The drought may have broken but my plants have not recovered as well as those at my daughter’s (she lives up North). There are some deaths to report. I have a forsythia in the back garden which has suddenly decided life’s not worth living. The bushes in the front garden are thriving, but those in the back . . . oh dear! Well, that’s gardening for you.

A new herb appeared overnight in my garden. I think it’s called coriander. Self-seeded from . . . where? I have no idea, but it’s rather charming and I allow it to stay. But, an ordinary lilac buddleia died whereas its neighbour – which is one of the deep purple ones – is still thriving! I thought buddleias are supposed to like hot summers. I used to call them ‘butterfly trees’ when I was little, because they seem to attract them. I would grieve if the deep purple buddleia died as I’ve grown it from a cutting taken from a plant in a car park in Cornwall maybe twenty years ago. Ah, memories. And then there’s a clematis opposite which my youngest sister gave me the year before she died, and a rose over there from one of my oldest friends with whom I have lost touch.

Ah well, the mysteries of gardening. I’ve been at it since I was a child and although I understand the usual rules, I have to accept that some things are a mystery. For instance, why do the neighbouring cats choose to lie around in my garden? Is it because I have evergreen bushes which can shelter them from the sun, and paving stones to stretch out on when they fancy some heat? I hasten to say that I like cats . . . so long as they don’t start fighting. So far, we’ve had lots of stand-offs and growling but no fights.

                                 Progress on Murder with Romance                          

I’ve been steadily working through the second draft of this next book and so far I’m happy with it. There’s still lots to do. At least one more run through for a start. Also I have to juggle the timing here and there. Is there really time for Ellie to do this visit here, and still manage to get home in time for supper there without causing my readers to start counting on their fingers?

                                     The next short story is . . .

A teaser for Murder for Profit. See it here. That was the last Ellie that was published. And yes, I am doing another now – see the paragraph above. I rather enjoyed writing the new characters in Murder for Profit and some of them have gone on to appear in the romance scam story that I’m writing now. So here’s a toast to the people who are always a part of Ellie’s life, such as Thomas and their neighbours, plus the grandchildren who are becoming such an important part of her life.                           

A special blessing this month on those in shops and cafes who serve me with a smile. It really makes a difference to my day.

Veronica Heley

Birthdays bring delights. Old friends have gone to enormous trouble to buy and send cards, which crowd the mantelpiece and make me smile. Old friends and new remember my penchant for chocolate and bring me fresh supplies . . . which in this hot weather I keep in the fridge. Wonderful!

Birthdays also bring impenetrable cellophane wrappings. The original slot for opening the package doesn’t seem to work any longer, and there now is no visible means of entry. You try running your fingernail along the sides. You fetch scissors. You search for a serrated knife and after a gigantic tussle, the cellophane obligingly splits and drifts to the floor under a chair where you can’t reach it.

I am beginning to think there is a conspiracy among manufacturers to make it difficult to open their product. Did I succeed with my birthday bars of chocolate? Of course. Eventually. And yes, the selection of goodies was the best ever.

                                                               Progress Report

I have managed to crawl through to the end of the first draft of the next book – MURDER WITH ROMANCE. I have even managed to get the word count to something near enough the intended target. I am still thinking of odd things to go in here and there, a neater way to describe what happened to this character, or what Ellie ought to have said to that. On these occasions I dart back into the manuscript and try to work out whether my latest idea fits in or not. Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn’t. And now I must leave the story aside for at least a week so that I come to it afresh when I go through it again. And again. Delivery in the autumn some time.

                                  The next short story is . . .

I think the only suitable short stories you haven’t had yet are a couple written for Christmas. Now I don’t know how you feel about that, but I refer not to read things out of season. So how about giving you a teaser for the latest book published, which is a Bea Abbot called FALSE RELATION? You can read a teaser for it here.

                                        The kindness of strangers

A special blessing this week on strangers who come to my rescue when I’m faced with a really old and heavy door into a shop, or pick up my stick for me when it slips out of my grasp. How kind people are! When I was young I had no idea what difficulties lie in wait for older people. And now, I am really appreciating the kindness of strangers.

 Veronica Heley

Well, this was a surprise . . .

Joffe have brought out another box set, comprising nos 1-15 of the Ellie Quicke mysteries.                    

• Top Value Picks
• 13,500+ 5 star reviews
• 4,200+ pages
• 15 witty whodunnits
• 1 utterly loveable sleuth

Fans of Agatha Christie & Simon Brett will be hooked from the first page. £1.99/$2.99

I was surprised because I don’t usually look at reader’s reviews. How many 5-star reviews was that? Really? I checked to make sure there wasn’t a typing error. So here’s to Ellie and her loving friends and family, and ‘Boo’ to her grabby, ungrateful daughter. This is a digital only publication, so the ASIN number is: B0H5C8LS96

To answer your next query, yes, I’m well on the way to writing another Ellie now. It’s about a romance scam, where lonely people are preyed upon by the unscrupulous . . . and it also features a very real threat to Ellie’s family. The writing is going well, but it still needs lots of work before I can send it in.

                                                     The missing e-book . . .

. . . was not really missing but strayed from its brother and sisters and appears to have bobbed up where it shouldn’t. I should have full information on where it is and how it can be accessed soon. That’s FALSE RELATION, by the way.

                                       The next teaser . . .

is for one of the books from the new Ellie box set. I attach herewith the first few pages of MURDER WITH MERCY in which Ellie tries to deal with family problems, pot up some bulbs and be drawn into the rather odd case of the girl who said her aunt her died without leaving her a long-promised handbag!

I love a good gossip. ‘Have you seen the new tea-room? It doesn’t serve coffee!’ But a blessing on those who remember I can’t stand for long and meet me where we can sit and chat in comfort.

I received four delightful postcards from old friends after my last newsletter. All had pride of place on my mantelpiece till replaced by cards for my 93^rd birthday.

Veronica Heley

                                        We have lost . . .

Many good things have come into our lives over the last fifty years or so, but now and then I come across something which I really, really miss. Do you remember the postcards we used to send one another when we went away on holiday? You read them – sometimes with difficulty because they were scribbled in haste or delayed because the sender had forgotten the relevant postcode – and then you put them on the mantelpiece to look at, and to remind you of the sender. And each time you see them, you smile.    

Nowadays we’re bombarded with pictures taken on a smartphone which are very rarely printed off and put on the mantelpiece. One friend said her family had sent her six photos of a summer holiday before they’d even boarded the ferry to France! Another friend emailed me from Wales to detail the enormous amount of trouble she’d taken to find and purchase a card, only to have more trouble locating a stamp and then an actual post box! I can tell you that particular postcard has pride of place on my mantelpiece.

Do you think we should make an effort to reverse the trend and start sending postcards once more? Despite the cost of the stamp, and the extra effort involved? I vote yes with a memo to self, ‘So-and-so would love to receive a card to keep and remind them of you.’ But where, oh where do we buy our postcards nowadays?

                                                      A small problem . . .

 You may have noticed that the last four Abbot Agency books came out in the usual way in hardback and ebook – only for the ebook versions of three of them to disappear from the website. Last week Joffe brought out the last of this series – FALSE RELATION in the usual way, including an ebook. Recently Joffe have bought out Severn House, my publisher for over twenty years, so they are designing new covers for these three and will re-issue them soon. No dates yet, but I promise they’ll be here soon. The titles are: FALSE NAME, FALSE WITNESS and FALSE GOLD.

                                        The next short story . . .  

Is about the naming of the Outside Cat, the almost completely white war survivor, who has a problem finding a loving home. Many names have been thrown at him, in his short life, but none have fitted until . . . Well you can read about him here.

 A blessing on those who can forget their own problems long enough to listen to those of others.

Veronica Heley

                            This was really odd . . .

I was having a good gossip over a coffee with a friend. We talked of many things; the short story I was writing, her problems with a new neighbour and the state of our health. A businessman was sitting next to us. I noticed him because although he was working on the regulation slim-line laptop and his smartphone was at his side, he wore a three-piece suit with the waistcoat buttoned up. Now you might say, ‘So what?’ Well, yes, but in fact how often do you see a man in a coffee bar who is wearing a 3 piece suit? And then, when it was time to pay the bill and leave we discovered the man had paid for our coffees because, he said, our conversation had been so interesting! How about that!

My interpretation of this: I wondered if the man had been on his way for an interview somewhere – hence the business suit – and had dopped in at the coffee shop to kill time – and been amused enough by our chatter to relax . . .?

                         My next book is out on May 5^th!

‘False Relation’ comes out in hardback and e-book on May 5^th. The cover design breaks with the tradition of the series but is – I think – amusing. We’ve had two good reviews already, from Booklist and from Kirkus. The reviewer for Booklist writes; ‘Packed with plenty of twists . . . a pleasant, entertaining read that fans of this series will thoroughly enjoy.’

The story is set in the run-down estate which Bea Abbot’s friend is trying to rescue and begins with the murder of one of his unpleasant relatives. Oh, and there’s a group trying to take over and sell the water from the ‘magical’ spring in the park. Much depends on the attitude of the locals, who have their own views on what’s happening and what should be done about it. And, just maybe, the future for Bea and her husband looks a little different when they’ve managed to sort out these problems.

                                     The next short story . . .              

Over the years I’ve thought up a number of stories about Max, a tiny black cat who is always at odds with his surroundings, but recently I’ve been seduced into writing about a very different hero. Born in a war zone, this cat is almost completely white, far larger than the usual pet, and not at all cuddly. He longs to find a place where he can feel at home, but has difficulty in fitting in. He’s called The Outside Cat, and you can read about him here.

A blessing on those who devise easy-to-do Sudoku, because I give up when the going gets tough.

Veronica Heley

                        One thing I’ve learned . . .

. . .is not to wait to be invited out for a coffee or a tea. It’s no good fretting that I haven’t heard from an old friend. Now in my nineties I am conscious of the fact that every year someone I used have regular contact with is not responding to phone calls or e-mails. It’s counterproductive to worry about what you may have said to upset them. That’s probably not what’s happened. They’re not cutting you out of their life because you failed to ask after their latest grandchild or the long-lived and terrifying cat. But they’re getting on, and the days slip by . . .

It’s age, dear. And general slowing down. And maybe some aches and pains. And a disinclination to tackle the bus service. And the need for a little rest after lunch.

So the thing I’ve learned is not to wait till I’m asked, but to ask my old friend if he or she would like to join me for a cuppa up at the nearby shops. Generally speaking, we can all manage that, if we combine it with a spot of shopping. We have an enjoyable outing, and it doesn’t require tidying up at home and getting supplies of biscuits, etc., in for the delectation of one’s guest. And, we should quietly sorrow and perhaps say a prayer for those who have passed out of our lives.

It’s supposed to prolong your life to go on working long after everyone else has taken to afternoon television. So what am I working on now? Well, the long-distance project is the next book for Severn House. This is the Romance Scam plot with a side order of Diana Behaving Badly (again!) That’s coming along nicely. I have asked for a longer delivery time just in case I need it, but at the moment the two plots are banging around in my head, each one asking for my attention.

                                                       The next short story . . .

. . . was commissioned by the Methodist Recorder and it’s called The DoGooder. (Or maybe it’s The DoGoods. I’m leaving a decision on that to the editor.) It came out in their March 27^th issue and it’s about an over-sweet influencer urging us all to do a good deed for the day. What she says and what she does may be two different things, and let’s face it, most of us do something for other people every day, without chalking up a tally. You can read it here.

Then I’m working on another story, about an Outside Cat, but that will be for next month’s newsletter.

A blessing on those who keep up with old friends despite our age and fragility.

Veronica Heley

         ‘False Relation’ . . . is due to be published. . .

. . . in May this year, and Kirkus have already given it a nice review, ending with the words, ‘A wonderfully hectic antidote for readers who think English village mysteries are too sedate.’ This is the last of four stories in which Bea and her husband get mixed up with the odd goings-on at a run-down estate in the Home Counties. I attach a copy of the cover for you to see what it looks like. The plot? There’s a millionaire who’s lost his bottle, his wife, and managed to disappear, a car crash which was intended to be a murder, a spring with health-giving water that’s drying up, and the threat of big business moving in to take over.

                 Too many plots. . .                

After a couple of months when I didn’t get any worthwhile ideas for another story, I’m feeling – most ungratefully – that I could do with traffic lights to tell my brain what to work on next. Scenes from the next short story are trying to push into my mind as I work on MURDER WITH ROMANCE. This latest book is a full-length Ellie Quicke. She’s upset because her husband has been accused of romancing someone out of all her money. Scandal is spreading faster than he can prove he was not the man responsible. Oh yes, and Ellie’s daughter Diana is in trouble again. I honestly don’t know how you deal with a much-loved daughter who cheats and lies and expects you always to get her out of trouble. Can you still love them, no matter what they do or how badly they behave towards you? Is your love tempered with caution? Perhaps there is no easy answer.

So to the next short story for the Methodist Recorder for their Easter edition. I’m going to have fun with this. I’m imagining a sweeter-than-pie influencer who tells us how happy she is to do good everywhere she goes. She challenges her readers to do likewise, contrasting her lifestyle with that of two women who spend their lives running from one family problem to another . . . and then . . . can there be a reckoning?

Finally, the next cat story is banging away at my ankles. This particular cat – no, it’s not Max – is white, large, and lanky. He has a yowl to rival that of a police car siren, and a hunger for a loving home. Also, he hates being kept waiting. And yes, I know it has to end happily or you’ll all be complaining.

          There are no more short stories for you yet . . .

. . . but perhaps this short piece about ‘Walking with’ . . . might amuse as a Thought for the Day. You can read it here.

A blessing on those who understand complex maths problems and have the patience to explain them to me when I want to run away and hide.

Veronica Heley

The evenings are getting lighter . . .

. . . and the mornings don’t seem quite so dark. I always get up early. I don’t know why. I expect it’s genetic, like being a night owl. Or not being one. I throw back the curtains and check that so-and-so is up and about. I know my neighbour’s habits.

‘A’ gets up early because she’s due to leave for her stint at the hospital as soon as she’s had breakfast. ‘B’ gets up to feed her pooch, who has an inbuilt timer which informs that food is required at regular intervals and never mind what the clock says. And ‘C’ is a night owl and on his computer to lands far away at the crack of dawn . . . or rather, well before dawn.

My routine has not changed much over the years. Fetch the paper from the porch, put the kettle on, pop the bread in the toaster. Sit. Eat. Enjoy. Read the newspaper as far as the letters page (I read that at lunch-time) then have a general tidy up. At nine I make a cup of coffee and sit down to play a couple of games of patience with real cards.

This business of playing patience gives me a transition from household to study. Under the rhythm of laying out the cards, my mind is dealing with the next scene in whatever I’m currently writing. So that by ten o’clock I’m upstairs, firing up the computer to look at what I’ve written yesterday and edit it before I move into the next scene. I suppose it’s an odd way of carrying on, but it works for me.

 I am on chapter three             of the next book

I wasn’t sure if the ideas would keep on coming as I grow older but it appears that they are continuing to do so. This time I’m going to write about Ellie investigating a Romance Scam. I shared this idea with my editor at Severn House and all she wanted to know was if I could deliver by the end of the year. I certainly hope to do so. She seems pleased with that. Also, my editor at the Methodist Recorder wants to know what I’m going to write for them for Easter . . . and yes, I do have another short story idea but I’m not sure if it will work out yet. To be continued, no doubt.

 I don’t have any more short stories to share today . . .

. . . but perhaps this short piece about my Open Gate might amuse as a Thought for the Day. You can read it here.

A blessing on those who have the patience to admire and make appropriate comments when their friends show them photos they’ve taken on their smartphones.

Veronica Heley