Flaming Nora: Builders, beach and bears

Friday, September 17, 2021

Builders, beach and bears - my writing week

This week I began editing my second cosy crime novel, Curtain Call at the Seaview Hotel. The edits I'm doing are the really difficult ones, the structural edits, which have been sent to me from the publisher. They suggest where the story might need changing around, where tension needs to be ramped up or more drama added, that kind of thing. While I don't have to agree with everything the publisher suggests, I think I'd be daft to ignore their advice. However, if there's something in the story that I've written that they suggest that I change and I feel strongly it should stay the same, then it will. As we have the builders in our home this week I took my editing to the beach, away from the builders' noise.

I was over the moon to find out I'm on the front cover of this year's Houghton Feast brochure and on the posters too. I'm on the left hand side, in the white blouse, holding a copy of my newest saga set in the northeast pit villages of 1919. It's called The Miner's Lass. I'll be giving an online talk all about the book as part of Houghton Feast. It's free, please come. All details here.

I sent out my September newsletter with all kinds of wonderful stuff and details of how YOU can be a character in my next cosy crime. Read the newsletter online here or sign up to receive once a month by email here.

I gave an online talk by Zoom to the Friends of Whitburn Library. This was really good fun. To see my upcoming author talks and events, have a look here.

I was very proud to take part in Heritage Open Days (Sep 10-13) with a free, virtual walk around old Ryhope village. All details here.

I'm very happy to be supporting this year's Children In Read where you can win a signed copy of my novel THE PAPER MILL GIRL in the Authors' & Illustrators' Auction for The BBC Children in Need Appeal. Bid to win the signed book here.

I ran a competition to win a signed copy of my novel BELLE OF THE BACK STREETS, a gorgeous bar of chocolate and free bookmarks. Enter at the pinned post on my Facebook page and it ends Tues Sep 28th 2021 at 12 noon.

Really happy to have my debut cosy crime MURDER AT THE SEAVIEW HOTEL included in this list of great books set in and around hotels! Read it all here. And you can buy it now from bit.ly/MurderAtTheSeaviewHotel

I crafted another episode of my weekly soap opera Riverside for The People's Friend magazine. I've been writing Riverside weekly since 2016 and you can find out all about it here.