September 26th 2008

Hello there, readers. Glad you're back.

On Tuesday last, my dear wife, Celia, fell and broke her wrist. Needed an ambulance to take her to hospital, where she had to have it set and then reset with the support of what they call gas and air. It was, of course, nitrous oxide, but absolutely nothing happened at all that made her laugh. Bless her. She is now wearing a plaster cast that weighs more than a Strangeways porridge cooker. Her face is down to her boots, and who do you think is doing the nursing, the shopping, the cooking, washing up, feeding the cats and the birds, and everything else?

I thought for a time that I wouldn’t be able to get to the northern chapter meeting of the Crime Writers Association (the CWA) on Sunday. However, she very kindly let me off the hook to go.

The meeting was held in a posh hotel in Lancashire. It was a smaller turnout than usual due to illness; also some members had delayed their holidays due to the bad summer and were taking them then.

My good friend Peter N. Walker (who also writes under the name of Nicholas Rhea) who wrote and created the ‘Heartbeat’ series and writes the ‘Constable’ books was not there. He hardly ever misses a meeting, but this last year, he hasn’t been too well; just as he was getting on his feet, his lovely wife, Rhoda broke her leg (skiing, no doubt), so Peter is having to mix the Martinis, take the money to Barclays and throw the fish and chip papers out for the both of them, for the time being.

At the lunch, I sat next to my good friend, Shirley Wells and her husband Nick. Shirley tells me she has just finished a book she has been working on for more than a year. She keeps reading it and polishing it, and one day, very soon, she’s going to print it off and send it to her publisher. She’s had about six good sellers published, so she shouldn’t have anything at all to worry about.

Met up with Meg Elizabeth Atkins who reminisced about the time we used to have CWA meetings in The Queen’s Hotel in Leeds. She remembers me as I do her, but that was over twenty years ago. She has written some very hairy books in the past. Meg writes much less often now, but enjoys organizing the Association’s conferences and meetings.

Also met for the first time a delightful lady and very busy writer who now lives in Leeds, Frances McNeil, winner of the HarperCollins Elizabeth Elgin award for the most regionally evocative debut saga of the Millenium, ‘Somewhere Behind the Morning’. She has written plays and short stories for the BBC, written novels, worked in the US. Been everywhere. Done everything. Seen everything. Makes you sick.

The national chairman, Lesley Horton, was there, and told us that the national committee are negotiating with a major TV company to be the new sponsor of the Silver Dagger Crime Writers’ Association awards. If that comes off, it should be exciting and open the door to a wider choice of crime fiction to viewers of that particular channel and more work for lesser known writers, instead of the same, usual half a dozen regulars.

The northern chapter chairman, Roger Forsdyke, who happens to be a superintendent of police, said that the 2009 national conference was to be held in Lincoln. That’s great news for me. I can probably get to that without staying away from home.

The meeting finished after the lunch and I got home at about four o’clock to my darling Celia, a sink full of pots, a meal to cook and the cats to feed. Anyway, it was great fun meeting old friends.

You know, I’d love to hear from you. If you send me an interesting email, I might publish it here and you could maybe see it maybe in a week or two.

I got an appreciative email from Edward Day in South Wales, who was very complimentary about Angel and said ‘could you please promote the ever eager Police Cadet Ahmed Ahaz, he does so deserve it.’
I was able to reply to Edward that Ahmed had been promoted, a few books back, to the rank of Police Constable following passing a course at Aykley Heads Police Training College, near Durham. But thanks very much for that, Edward.

Must go. Got another sink full of pots to wash. And a book to write. Thanks for looking in. Please come back in a little while and I’ll tell you what Angel’s up to and how I’m getting on.

If you want to get back to the main website, click on Roger Silverwood – Crime Writer, up on the right. God bless.