I wish you a Happy New Year

and may it be less stressful than 2021.

When you are surrounded by miserable faces and all you hear are tales of woe, then you can either shut the door on the outside door and reach for a cuppa, or – as Shakespeare said – by taking arms against a sea of troubles, you can end them. Well, OK. We can’t end Covid by wishing but we can embrace the spirit of the Blitz and stiffen the upper lip and get on with life as best we can. I may be the only one around here who can remember the blitz, but even as a child I can well remember the feeling of anxiety that pervaded those days. And now? Is it the same? In some ways, yes. But I do know that a bit of fun here and a spot of laughter there make all the difference – as they did then.

Let us consider Parsley

Parsley has adopted a smaller lamb, as you can see here. Now I bought this little lamb in Prague many years ago. He sat on a ledge in the bedroom and seemed perfectly content there, but now he’s arrived at Parsley’s side and apparently intends to stay there. I’ve tried moving him back where he used to be but he resisted like mad. All right: it’s companionship for Parsley. The only thing is, the little lamb never had a name before and now he needs one. Would anyone care to think one up for me? (No, not Thyme.) All suggestions gratefully received and there will be a naming session in due course.

Work continues . . .

Things may go awry in the world but work – thankfully – continues. There’s nothing like a good book to renew one’s spirit and I hope that the one I’m writing now will both amuse my readers. Another Ellie, MURDER BY ESTATE AGENT is going well, and I should be able to deliver it in about a month’s time. One of the characters who appears in this book has given me a lot of pleasure. He’s not a pretty boy; in fact you might call him ‘plain,’ but he’s kind and a good listener. When we were going out on dates way back in the dark ages, my friends and I used to judge the men by things we thought important and at the top of the leader board was ‘Is he kind?’ I suppose nowadays the criteria are quite different, but it served us well in the old days and, come to think of it, none of our group ended up in the divorce courts.

The short story with this newsletter is ‘Christmas Mislaid,’ in which Bruce and Sally set aside their own plans to help a relative in distress; with surprising consequences. Access it here.

A blessing on those who are kind to those around them.

Veronica Heley

Spoiler alert . . . a tale of woe!

I had a new left knee last year and was due to get the other replaced on November 4^th. Only, my blood pressure, which is usually normal, went sky high. The operation was aborted and I was sent home to get stablished on pills. Was I CROSS! Returning to work upstairs on my computer, I yearned for a cup of tea . . . and found my stairlift had broken! There I was upstairs, with tea downstairs, and frozen food taken from the freezer defrosting . . . and the engineer couldn’t come till the next day!

I phoned a neighbour who had a key and she came round in a fluster . . . and the outer door key wouldn’t work! Picture me hanging out of the first-floor window, directing her to neighbour No.2 who also had a key . . . only she was having her hair dyed and so there was a further delay. Eventually kind neighbour No 1 and her husband got in and helped me down the stairs to have that much needed cup of tea. And the stairlift was restored to order next morning.

Whatever next! Well, a bulb blew in my bedside light and my specs crashed to the floor and twisted the side-piece off. Apart from that, you will be glad to hear that my temper and my blood pressure have returned to normal and I sent my lovely neighbour No 1 a bunch of flowers.

Back to my desk, and . . .

I got through to the end of the second draft of the next Ellie book, which I really rather like. Then I took a breather to tiddle around with the Christmas stories. When they’re finished I’ll get back to work on the third draft for Murder by Estate Agent.

Christmas short stories

The one about an eleven-year-old boy is called ‘Joe Finds His Voice.’ It was written for our Carol Concert, but you can access it here. The longer and more difficult one for the Methodist Recorder is for Sally and Bruce who are given unsuitable gifts, but also goes back in time to see the Nativity story from Joseph’s point of view. I haven’t done this split time thing before and must say it gave me a lot of grief. I think – I hope – it works. It will be published in the combined Christmas and New Year edition.

Parsley’s Pose

Parsley moved into my little conservatory (view him here) for the Christmas season, liking the proximity of my artificial tree which was bought for my very first Christmas on earth in 1933. No lights on it now, but many memories.     

A blessing on those who are kind to the lonely at Christmas time.      

Veronica Heley

One down and three to go . . .

False Face was published at the end of September and I know that some of you lovely people were off to collect your copy straight away. The story? Bea’s husband, Piers, has nearly finished the portrait of a fading film star, Karina, when she claims that he’s conspired with young Molly, a ghost-writer, to steal some of her jewellery. Molly is a fantasist, but she denies theft and perhaps she’s telling the truth for once. The hardback came out in the UK on 30^th Sept, the e-book on Nov 1st, and the USA hardback is at the start of December.

So that’s one down. The next Ellie is coming along all right, I think. I remember a woman who used to make people sigh at committee meetings by saying, ‘On a point of order, Mr Chairman.’ and carry on for ten minutes. Although some people termed her paranoid, she was more often right than wrong. So some of the characters here may appear to be on the wrong side, but they may actually be moving in the right direction.

I have not one but two Christmas stories to write. The shorter one is for our local choir’s concert in December. Now in high school, Joe still has to dance attendance on his frail – and difficult – elder brother. By chance, Joe finds his voice through singing carols, only to be told his brother needs him choir at practice time. Perhaps I’ll include it in the December 1st newsletter.

The other ‘short’ story is for the Methodist Recorder as usual, and will go out in their Christmas/ New Year issue. I’m thinking of calling it ‘All I Want for Christmas . . .’ It’s about inappropriate gifts and what to do with them. If it works out all right, that should go out with the January 1^st issue.

The next short story is: ‘Lost Child!’

This is a tribute to all the volunteers who give up their time and take trouble to make neighbourhood events work . . . in this case it’s the summer Party in the Park. Bruce would rather watch tennis on TV, but he’s been landed with the job of working in the HQ tent and problems proliferate! You can access it here.

Parsley’s Pose

Parsley calls these ‘early grape hyacinths’ but they’re not spring bulbs. The foliage is like a variegated ribbon grass and it flowers in October/November. I can’t remember who gave me the original plants but I’ve divided and replanted until they line the front path. Latin name: I think it’s Liriope muscari, the variegated version. Access it here.     

All Souls: A blessing on those who mourn those who have gone ahead.    

Veronica Heley

                    ‘False Face’ was published 30^th September.

Hurray, and at last! The 15^th Abbot Agency story is finally out there and ready to read. The story? Bea’s husband, Piers, has nearly finished the portrait of a fading film star, Karina, when she claims that he’s conspired with young Molly, a ghost-writer, to steal some jewellery. Molly is a fantasist, but she might be telling the truth for once. The hardback came out in the UK on 30^th September, the e-book will be November 1st, and the USA hardback is at the start of December.

Meanwhile, there’s a large print hardback and a paperback out of FALSE CONCLUSION, a Bea Abbot story about a schoolgirl friend of Bernice’s, who may or may not have been the victim of a nasty plot to silence her. And if so, why?

               The following is for all fellow writers . . .

I’m sure you knew that Public Lending Right has been taken into the hands of the British Library. Be warned! If you haven’t registered anything since May this year, you now have to re-register with the British Library. I did not find this easy, and had to resort to the Customer Service phone line, where a nice man talked me through the procedure, which involved right clicking on something! I’ve only ever used a right click to check spelling and grammar mistakes before! I think – I hope – I managed it.

                                        The next Ellie Quicke . . .

is coming on a treat. I got through to the end of the first draft and stopped work in order to deal with that horrid pile of To Do pieces of paper which had been accumulating – and to register with the British Library (see above.) Now I really have to settle in my mind on one or two important details before I start working on the next draft. How old exactly are the students concerned? Has Diana really managed to get another ring on her finger? And what is Susan and Rafael’s new baby to be called?

                         The next short story is: ‘Chocolate Soup.’

An elderly man gives Sally some money to buy and give some flowers away but this well-meant action can be misinterpreted, as she soon discovers. You can access it here.

                                                               Parsley’s Pose

Today Parsley has taken shelter under a fuchsia which is both flowering and fruiting at the same time – although I don’t think the fruit would be as good to eat as my neighbour’s Bramley apples. The tiny cyclamens I grew from seed and now appear all over the back garden.           

A blessing on those who have the patience to listen to friends in trouble. 

Veronica Heley

‘False Face’ the 15^th Abbot Agency mystery

will be published at the end of September. The story? Bea’s husband, Piers, has been working on the portrait of a fading film star but when his work is done, she refuses to pay him. She claims that Piers had conspired with a girl who was ghost-writing the diva’s memoirs, to steal her jewellery. Young Molly declares her innocence, but she is a fantasist, so who can Bea believe? The hardback is published in the UK on 30^th September, the e-book on November 1st, and the USA hardback publication date is at the start of December. Spoiler alert! Fantasist may believe their own stories but if other people do as well, then look out for trouble.

So, on to the next Ellie Quicke . . .

I was getting along nicely with this story – MURDER BY ESTATE AGENT – when I had to stop in order to copy-edit and then proof-read FALSE FACE. Faced with a story I’d written so many months before, at first I couldn’t remember who was who, or what I’d meant by saying this or that. Finally, the proofs were agreed and I was at long last able to return to Ellie . . . only to find I’d completely lost the plot there, too. What was the name of the person who morphed from helpful assistant to minor villain? I remembered that lovely Susan was pregnant again, but I couldn’t recall how far along she was or what season of the year we were in. I had to go back and read the story from the very beginning in order to pick up the different threads.

The next short story . . .

Came out in the Methodist Recorder on the 27^th August, and is called ‘It Wasn’t My Fault.’ In order to get a job, a man lies, saying that he’s been vaccinated and has no Covid symptoms. He passes the virus on to his team at work, with tragic results. So how far is he responsible for what happened? Legally he’s in the clear, or is he?

The short story that comes with this letter is ‘Not everyone is happy at Christmas.’ Playing ‘Happy Families’ can put a strain on rebellious teenagers. Bruce and Sally try to pick up the pieces when a much-loved grandchild goes astray. You can access it here.

Parsley’s Pose

Today Parsley has found himself under the butterfly tree (click here to view the photo), surrounded by Honesty. All right! I do know the botanical names, but ‘butterfly tree’ is what my father always called the Buddleia. and I’m very fond of Lunaria because it is an all-the-year-round plant with brilliant flowers in the spring, and silver ‘pennies’ for autumn and winter.

A blessing on those who delight the passers-by with flowers in their front gardens.

Veronica Heley

The proofs have been read and . . .

The corrections have been sent back to the editor for FALSE FACE. In this story, we find Bea’s husband, Piers, working on a portrait of a fading film star. Karima claims Piers has conspired with young Molly – who is ghost-writing the diva’s memoirs – to steal from her. Bea discovers that Karima and Molly live in a fantasy world that bears little relation to reality. This book comes out in the UK on 30th September, the e-book on November 1st, and the USA publication date is at the start of December.

I’ve met two fantasists in my time. When I left home to find a better job and make new friends, I met not one but two charming men who convinced people – at least for a time – that they were other than they were. One claimed he’d gone to Eton while the other boasted of a University degree. Both were eventually exposed but the damage done to some of those around them was considerable.

The next short story . . .

for the Methodist Recorder has been accepted and will be out in August. It’s called ‘It Wasn’t My Fault.’ In order to get a job, a man lies, saying that he’s been vaccinated and has no Covid symptoms. He passes the virus on to his team at work, with tragic results. So how far is he responsible for what happened? Legally he’s in the clear, isn’t he? I’ll let you know when it’s due to be published.

The story that comes with this letter is ‘Jimson and the Knife.’ Bruce is asked to counsel a lad who’s spoiling for revenge after a fight, and won’t listen to anyone who tries to prevent him using a knife. Bruce doesn’t think he can get through to the lad, but . . . well, he does . . . in a way. You can access it here.

STOP PRESS!

With the lifting of so many restrictions, the need for me to turn out two newsletters a month has become less pressing. I know that you enjoy them, but my workload doesn’t seem to be decreasing while the days turn into years and I could do with less work and more play. So I’m going to drop back in future to just one newsletter at the beginning every month. I hope you will understand.

As for Parsley . . .

You can access him here, surveying the neighbourhood amid the late summer yellow flowers. Are the daisies Heleniums? I’ve always called the others Tansy or Bachelor’s Buttons, but I can’t find those names in any of my flower books. Oh dear. Someone gave me some roots many years ago and I’ve never been too bothered about the exact names. Now, back to work on the next Ellie . . .

A blessing on those who lighten our load with an amusing story.

Veronica Heley

The copy editing is done and dusted . . .

And soon it will be on its way to the printer . . . who will then run off a copy, which will be returned to me for proof-reading. And that’s when I find one or two things I’ve missed. Yes, it always happens. There are run-ons which have suddenly appeared in what had once been a clean page and, one of my failings – the same word has been repeated within a paragraph. You would think that I should have picked the duplicates up earlier, and I agree but, sigh, it does seem to happen every time. As for the run-ons, I can’t explain why they occur. They are not in the copy-editing stage but when it comes to proofs. . . yes, there they are, bold as brass. I tell myself, Onwards and Upwards, and am heartened to hear that the book – False Face by name – will be published in September.

The next short story . . .

for the Methodist Recorder is coming on a treat. It’s a difficult subject about personal responsibility in Covid times and I’m still working on it as we speak. I’ll let you know when it’s due to be published.

The story that comes with this letter is ‘Can You Forgive?’ Can you forgive a wrong done to you? Perhaps it depends on how much you are hurt by it? An elderly friend of mine who was a man of strong faith was ambushed in a park and beaten up. It took him months to recover and he found it very hard to forgive. In my story, Bruce is in the same position. You can read how he dealt with it here.

A star is born . . .

Everyone seems to love Parsley, my white pottery lamb, so you can see what he got up to in a different part of my garden here. He seems to enjoy the mixture of colours. It’s a bit hard to see but at the top in the background there is an old yellow rose. I have no idea what it’s called, but it was here when we moved into this house over fifty years ago, together with one other old-fashioned pink rose. There wasn’t much else in the garden then, except for self-seeded trees, a mound of bricks and a bicycle which lacked a saddle. Nowadays I try to have something in colour all the year round and mostly, that works.

And finally, I’m back to work on the next Ellie . . .

Of which, more news later.

A blessing on those who take the time to listen to those in distress.

Veronica Heley

Yes, the copy editing finally arrived.

And yes, of course, it has to be tackled straight away. I had to put on one side a most interesting development in the next Ellie which I’ve been drafting, in order to concentrate on ‘delete this’ and ‘you spell jeopardise with a “z” and not with an “s”, and you should know that by now!’ Also, ‘you haven’t made it clear who is related to who in this next bit.’ All of which is quite true, and I ought to know better. Checking the copy editor’s comments and marking them up on my own file is work that has to be carefully done. I can usually only manage to clear one chapter at a time before I have to have a break . . . and come back later for another crack at it.

Meanwhile, the next Ellie awaits. I had envisaged a minor character as being an eternal student, a Ra-ra character, if you know what I mean. It turns out he’s much more interesting than that, suffering from conflicting loyalties. It would have been so much easier to write if he’d been two-dimensional, but I must admit I like him better now. I hope to get back to him pretty soon.

Introducing ‘Parsley’

Parsley is a white pottery lamb, who is excellent company in my small garden. In my teens we had a Pekinese who also liked to see what I was doing in the garden, but nowadays I have Parsley instead. He has an innocent look about him which makes it all the odder that he seems able to move from one part of the garden to another at will. I’ve had some requests for more of my garden photos. Please excuse if he intrudes. You can access the latest one here. The white rose that he’s posting in front of, is called ‘Jack’ according to someone I know who has an app of her phone which tells you what you’re looking at. And yes, I have to replenish the bird feeder above Parsley nearly every day. And yes, the sparrows tear up everything on the ground below . . .

The short story which comes with this . . .

. . . is not exactly timely, being about gifts at Christmas. I hasten to add that it’s set some Christmases ago before the pandemic, but it does highlight the problem for people living alone of how to spend that great Festival. It’s a little shorter than usual but does make the point of ‘What is a gift?’ at Christmas time. You can access it here.

The Methodist Recorder have asked for another story about Covid for summer reading, and I am thinking of doing it about how the world seems to be down-grading the ten commandments. Nothing bad you do is a sin if you can find a way to excuse it. Some matters may be subject to the law and if you’re caught, you might well have to toe the line, but many other things are no longer considered a sin. This is a difficult subject. How to make a story which is readable and yet also true to today’s thinking . . .?

A blessing on those who bake and give away a cake, a crumble or a flan to brighten up someone else’s day.

Veronica Heley

I can’t believe it . . . still no sign of the copy editing!

which means that I have been able to get on with the next Ellie Quicke book. Well, interrupted by some attempts at gardening, phoning friends, actually meeting some in the café at the top of the road, and so on. I’m quite pleased with what I’ve written of the next story so far, as everything has got nicely tangled up till Ellie doesn’t know whether she’s on her head or her heels and even the charity for which she works so hard, is threatened! And no, I hadn’t seen that development coming and yet it’s quite obvious, looking back, that this was ging to happen one day.

That’s the odd thing about writing stories. You look at what you’ve done one day and see that you’d actually been leading up to that particular plot point it for some time . . . and yet you hadn’t seen it coming. Sometimes you find you’ve written yourself into a cul-de-sac and there is no way out of it. And then, with some distress, you have to delete a couple of pages and go back to the original ‘stem’ of the story-line . . . and go on from there.

How does my garden grow?

A couple of my friends have been asking about my garden. Well, an artist friend of mine took a photo of part of my back garden, which you can see here, if you so wish. If you look carefully, you’ll spot the spout of a watering can, the bird bath which only a minute before had been vacated by some sparrows, and the tips of the tomato plants in the greenhouse. Of course, it’s not always as tidy as this! If you like the idea, maybe I’ll include another photo in the future.

The short story which comes with this . . .

. . . is called ‘Re-Cycling.’ And yes, I know it’s the wrong time of the year to talk about Palm crosses, but I was reminded only the other day that I had kept two, because I couldn’t bear to get rid of them. Well, our friend Leo had been popping them into the pencil jar that sits on his desk and now he’s been given an ultimatum to get rid of them. But . . . how? He shares his problem with Bruce and the crosses end up in all sorts of places. What do you do with yours? You can access the story here.

A blessing on all who find the courage to speak about God when an opening occurs in everyday life.

PS. I’ve just had an email saying the copy editing is on its way to me next week! So I’ve Been Warned!

Everything has gone very quiet, lately. . .

I haven’t heard from my editor, who was supposed to be sending me the copy editor’s queries for False Face, my last Bea Abbot story. These were supposed to arrive before the end of May . . .! So yes, the silence is unnerving. I think we can be sure that the queries will arrive – demanding IMMEDIATE attention – just as I am in the middle of writing an exciting development in the next book. Do I then stop work on Ellie? Do I pretend the queries have got lost in the post and set them aside until I have worked through whatever it is that I’m writing at the moment?

Meanwhile, life continues . . . or rather life in general seems to be improving as various sanctions are lifted. I have met for coffee with friends on several occasions. I’d forgotten how good it was to see people face to face, to drink really good coffee and perhaps be tempted by a slice of cake. Sometimes, I share a slice of cake with a friend which makes both of us feel we are observing our diets because we’re not eating a full piece. And, as we all know, there are no calories in broken biscuits.

The garden has blossomed with all the rain we’ve been having. The first roses are out! My miniature lilac is now taller than me, and a mass of flowers. But the grass grows and grows and grows and it’s too wet to mow it.

The short story which comes with this . . .

. . . is called ‘You Can Do It!’ Writers people-watch. We observe and remember. It may be months or years until the memory of how a certain person looked, acted or spoke can suddenly resurface in the mind and we use the recollection to cast a light on whatever it is we’re working on.

For example; I sat watching the activity in a children’s playground one day. There was one particular piece of equipment which only the older children attempted; a miniature climbing wall. Nearby sat a mother with a much younger child . . . aged five, perhaps? Maybe six? The child kept looking at the wall and then looking back to her mother for reassurance. The mother said, in matter-of-fact tones, ‘You can do it!’ She had assessed the situation, understood the level of difficulty involved and believed the child could do it. Yes, the child had a struggle to reach the top, but she did conquer the wall. I’ve always remembered that word of encouragement and imagined how her mother’s words would have helped that child to face the obstacles which life would throw at her. You can access the story here.

And the new book? Yes, it’s coming along all right. And I’m still assuming that the title is going to be Murder by Estate Agent.

A blessing on all who encourage others by saying, ‘You Can Do it!’

Veronica Heley