The Awkward Squad
A Readers' Group by Michael Campling
Hello
“Only a generation of readers will spawn a generation of writers.”
― Steven Spielberg
Thank you to John for sending that quote to me. It caught my eye because I listened to Mr Spielberg on Desert Island Discs recently, and I was struck by the way he seems to be such a natural story teller. During the broadcast, rather than harping on his many successes, he told tales. There was a girl he'd once kissed many years ago. And there was the story of a helpful chap Spielberg met by bunking off from a school trip to a film studio. Most delightful of all was the story of his father, a computer engineer, meeting Bill Gates.
I don't know if storytellers are born or made, but Mr Spielberg certainly has that ability. I suspect he's worked very hard to develop it. I'm looking forward to seeing his latest film, The Fabelmans, which I'm sure will be a good yarn.
It's been a while since I last wrote to you, because I'd only just recovered from a painful trapped nerve and got back to work when I contrived to catch the dreaded Covid. My verdict: 1 star - would not recommend.
Fortunately I was vaccinated up to the eyeballs and the illness didn't last long. I've fully recovered, and I'm enjoying my time back at the keyboard. The next Devonshire Mystery is shaping up, and it's always good to feel like I'm on the last leg (as opposed to being on my last legs, which is altogether different).
Let's get to the photos, but first, here are some words of thanks:
Cheers!
A huge thank you to these kind people who have sent me a mug of tea via
ko-fi.com. I'm raising a mug of Earl Grey in honour of these recent supporters:
Gwen
Alonza
Kim
Tod
Bobby
and regular supporters: Lara, Cynthia, Lynn.
Thank you all for your encouragement and support.
Want to join them?
Featured Photos
At the weekend we walked in Yarner Wood, a woodland nature reserve that's off the beaten track as far as tourists are concerned.
It's a haven for birders (which I believe is the preferred term for watchers of birds), and there's a bird feeding station as well as hundreds of nesting boxes, all carefully numbered so that each pair of birds can remember their address, or perhaps so they can receive post, presumably by air mail.
The bare trees gave the place a certain atmosphere, and it was incredibly peaceful. Lottie enjoyed it, and we even encountered a small group of Dartmoor ponies wandering the tracks. They were eating holly leaves, so they must have hardy digestive systems. The one pictured below was wearing a collar that I think must be a radio tracking device. I'm not sure if anyone owns this group of ponies or if they roam wild, but the site is run by English Nature, so I presume the ponies are protected.
We also spotted, in the distance, this grand house that would make the perfect location for a murder mystery. It's called Yarner House and has been a B&B, but it's no longer trading. Maybe one day, when Netflix make me an offer, I'll see if it's for sale. A chap can dream.
As always, there are more photos on the site, especially if you take a minute to register as a member (which is free):
NB: If you don't see a confirmation email after signing up, please check your junk and spam folders, and if you still can't find it, please drop me a line and I'll fix it as soon as I can.
Book News
I've recently added all my ebooks to a service called the Palace Project, a non-profit organisation that supports libraries. I expect the books will appear in their catalogue soon.
My ebooks were already in Overdrive, Hoopla and Borrow Box. These services make the ebooks available to libraries, but it doesn't follow that your local library service will purchase them.
To borrow the ebooks, you'll need to contact your local library and ask them to order the books for you. I keep my prices for libraries low, so I hope that will help.
Here's a link to my books on Hoopla
And here are my books on Overdrive
Another Outlet - Smashwords
Smashwords is a retailer, not a library, but I know that some of you have been waiting for this. My ebooks can now be found here on Smashwords.
What's Next?
The Devonshire Mysteries have been in paperback on Amazon for a while, but I finally got around to publishing the paperbacks via a wider distributor, so they'll be available to order in other stores before too long.
Meanwhile, I'll be adding new words to the next book as fast as I can. It's nice to be on the home straight, though I know I'll have to work hard to bring the various plot lines together in a satisfying way. All being well, I'll be contacting those of you who signed up for the street team before too long, probably in March, to see if you'd like to be beta readers.
If you're not sure what a street team is, the info and signup form is here.
I'll get back to the writing and the reading (notwithstanding the daydreams of Devonshire mansions). Hoping that you have a restful and rewarding weekend.
Happy reading and take care.
All the best,
Mikey C
PS: Want More?
If you'd like to see more photos and more content,
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