I am now suffering from exhaustion. I managed to get the next story – tentatively titled Murder with Mercy – off to my editor at Severn House and feel like staying in bed for a couple of days to recuperate. Not that I’m any good at staying in bed. I get fidgety, I have to get up to get myself something to eat or drink, or attend to curtains which don’t hang properly. Then the doorbell rings, and the phone . . . and anyway, it’s boring.
Also, I have to think about starting the next Bea Abbot – NOW! And what about Christmas? I haven’t even worked out how to copy enough designs for my cards yet, and as to shopping for presents . . .!
The Christmas story went off to the Methodist Recorder on time and will be published in their Christmas issue as usual. It’s called OPERATION CHRISTMAS and is all about how our three friends cope with the awkward squad at this time of the year. If you are able to get a copy, do. If not, and you would like to read it, then drop me an email AFTER Christmas, and I will email you one back. My webmaster is working hard at producing a whole book of these short stories in an ebook and I will let you know as soon as it is available.
And no, I will haven’t discovered where I’ve put the memory stick for the Lady of the Hall, which I am supposed to be sending Mark to make into another e-book. But I promise I will do so soon. After I’ve done the filing. And dealt with Christmas.
I hope some of you have been able to get hold of a copy of FALSE ALARM, the next Bea Abbot story, published this last week. I’m rather fond of this story because it almost all takes place in a block of flats, oh, and the cafe nearby. But yes, I do realise that copies won’t be available overseas for a while. It’s infuriating, isn’t it?
The article for the Christian Writer about the pros and cons of putting your work into an electronic format went in on time, but won’t appear until the spring issue. Oh well. I shall have forgotten all about it by that time.
Two of my correspondents ask about bringing back characters from earlier stories. I’ll try to talk about that soon.
So, wishing you a Merry Christmas, I’m signing off…….
Veronica Heley
http://blog.veronicaheley.com/
News of new releases.
FALSE ALARM, the 7th Abbot Agency story.
Bea is asked to find the person who laid a booby trap for the powerful tycoon, Sir Lucas Ossett, in his own block of flats. She finds his wife in a state of fear, while gossiping elderly ladies cast doubt on the probity of their neighbours. These include a ‘therapist’, an ex-employee of Sir Lucas’s, and a cross-section of yuppies and oddballs with problems. Call-girl cards have been left in tenants’ letterboxes, a cat has met an untimely end, and snow is forecast. Sir Lucas’s influence reaches out to touch and corrupt even those nearest to Bea. ISBN 9780 7278 8237 0.
And now there is an ebook for this title: ISBN 978 1 78010 289 4.
MURDER BY MISTAKE is now out in large print. The ISBN is 978 0 7278 9935 4.
FALSE REPORT is now out as a paperback in December, and as an ebook in November.
Bea discovers that assisting a vertically challenged musician to get some home help is asking for trouble, especially when a pretty girl has been trafficked into this country by a gang who target wealthy men. Paperback: ISBN 978 1 843751 408 0. Ebook: 978 1 78010 201 6.
Find details of all the other E-books at http://www.veronicaheley.com/ebooks.php?l1=102
Also; log on to www.SevernHouse.com and follow the links for the latest news.