The Awkward Squad
A Readers' Group by Michael Campling
Hello
"All you need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt."
-Charles Shultz
Thanks to Daphnie for suggesting that quote. As we roll into autumn, a chunk of chocolate or two certainly doesn't go amiss. I like the dark stuff, minimum 70% cocoa solids, and you can find plenty of it in the UK, often with all kinds of additions: raspberry, orange, almonds and even chilli. There's a well known chilli farm in Devon, and they do a nice line in spiced-up chocolate. Just the thing to warm the cockles of your heart on a cold day.
They say there are health benefits to eating a chunk of dark chocolate a day, and I'm happy to test that theory out.
On with the newsletter, but before we get to the photos, here are some words of thanks:
Cheers!
A special thank you to these kind people who have sent me a mug of tea via ko-fi.com. I'm raising a mug of Yorkshire tea to toast these recent supporters:
Cynthia
Rosemary
Cookie
Lara
Diane
Alonza
Susie
Dario
Lynn.
Thank you for you encouragement and support.
Want to join them?
Featured Photos
Autumn in Devon
The earth turns, the seasons roll around, and so we head into autumn once again.
A good, crisp, clear autumn day, with the leaves turning golden, the air still sweet with the memories of summer, a juicy blackberry plucked from the hedgerow, and the promise of a hot drink when we get home, make for a joyous experience.
There I go, waxing poetical, but there's something about autumn that brings out those wistful emotions. I think it must be something to do with saying farewell to the summer and preparing for the winter. There's a theory that our ancestors revered shorelines along the edge of lakes or the sea, because these were places of change, the solid land giving way to shifting water. They were 'between places', perhaps symbolising change and impermanence, so people dropped valuable items into the water as offerings.
I wonder if our ancestors also revered the 'between times' of autumn and spring, the cycle of darkness and light, cold and warmth. Make an offering to autumn, perhaps with a great bonfire, and the spirits will help you to get through the winter. It's interesting to wonder how much of the ancient ways have been passed on down the centuries. We now know that behaviours can be stored in our DNA. Are we so different from our ancestors?
It's something to ponder as I spend the evenings by a crackling fire, especially if I can get my hands on an apple pie or an apple and blackberry crumble. Delicious.
Classic Cars
I always like it when I stumble on something serendipitously, and this trip to Newton Abbot was one such occasion. Mrs C and I had no idea that a classic car rally was being held in town, so it was lovely to find these gleaming cars on display.
I often hanker after cars such as these, but I know that the owners spend a great deal of time and money on keeping their vehicles in showroom condition, and I haven't the time or the expertise.
As always, there are more photos on the site. especially if you take a minute to register as a member (which is free):
Book News
Thrillers ebook bargains on Kobo
Excellent ebook retailer Kobo is having a promotion on thrillers and I'm taking part.
Running throughout November 2022, some thrilling ebooks on Kobo, including Valley of Lies, are in a buy two, get one free promotion.
The offer is available in Canada, the UK, the USA, Australia and New Zealand.
Special Offer on Nook
4 November to 2 December 2022, Murder Between the Ties has 40% off.
Nook only operate in the US, but sometimes other retailers will automatically price-match, so it's worth checking on your usual retailer.
If funds are tight...
You can borrow many of my books for free if you request them at your local library and they order a copy for you via OverDrive or one of the other library distributors.
What's Next?
The new Devonshire Mystery is coming along a little faster now as I get into the range of characters. I love coming up with new characters and throwing them together into scenes so that I can see how things play out. I'm experimenting with writing scenes and chapters out of order, partly because I think it may be easier to concentrate on one sub-plot at a time. The hard part will be bringing them together in a way that makes sense and leads logically through the story.
One of the joys of a writing a mystery is making characters look guilty! The difficulty is that this leaves me lots of loose ends to tie up. We'll get there in the end. I'm guessing that this book won't be released until early 2023, but we'll see how it goes.
I haven't recorded any chats for my podcast for a while as I've had a cold with an annoying cough that lingered. I'm all better now, and I hope to record something for you soon.
Right, I'm going to sign off and then I'm going to go in search of chocolate.
Happy reading and take care.
All the best,
Mikey C
PS: Want More?
If you'd like to see more photos and more content including my podcast,
simply click on the button below :
I hope to see you over there!
To contact me, please reply to this email
or write to [email protected]
I never send spam, so if you don't want these emails, please unsubscribe by clicking the link at the bottom.
0 comments