First of all I want to thank everyone who wrote to me saying that Ellie shouldn’t retire yet. My editor and my agent agree, and I am carrying on writing the next book as planned. I am a trifle disconcerted to find how many deaths I have planned to include in this story, and frankly shocked to find what Diana is up to this time. But it’s pleasant to feel that I can relax and take longer to write this story. Doing one every six months is really hard work. All my friends are retired by now and every now and then one will ask me to join her for a day out and I have to make my apologies because I am on a deadline. I still feel anxious if I take time off, but I’m sure I shall soon adjust to having more time at my disposal.

Now, to other matters. The re-burial of half a pigeon was successful, and the fox failed to dig it up again. Every now and then I go round the garden and look at the high fence on one side, and the trellis on the other, and wonder how on earth the fox manages to get into my garden at all. But he does! Occasionally I look out of the window in broad daylight, and there he is, bold as brass! Urban foxes have nothing to fear from us law-abiding citizens.

An oddity: When I visited Yorkshire recently, I was invited to partake of some Wensleydale cheese. It is a mild, hard cheese. I tried it with some fruit cake, because I’d heard the combination was rather good . . . and found it to be scrumptious! Now my website manager says that his favourite is Marmite and honey on bread. I’m not a Marmite fan, and don’t think I’ll try that. Whatever next, I ask myself?

There have been hiccups with my computer – oh dear – I lost another week’s work, but hopefully all is back on track again. And meanwhile I’ve had a nice review in from Publishers Weekly for MURDER BY SUGGESTION, which came out at the end of June, saying that ‘Once again, Heley successfully melds a cozy sensibility with dark doings.’ So let’s hope everyone else likes it, too.

Any day now I should be getting the copy editing of the last Bea Abbot book which I submitted to Severn House. This means I shall have to stop work on Ellie to deal with that. I’m happy enough with the storyline, and hope it won’t take me too long to iron out the queries and correct the errors in the manuscript, so that I can get back to Ellie again.

I’m not sure when the second short story about forgiveness is coming out. I’ll flag it up as soon as I hear. I believe the Methodist Recorder is moving offices . . . enough said!

A blessing; may your days be filled with blessings . . . pass them to others, and they will be returned to you sevenfold.

Veronica Heley