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