22nd December 2012




Hello there…



Well, I hope you’ve got it all done, cards, tree, decorations, pressies, food. And now you’ve time to reflect on Christmas itself … I hope that you’re set for a happy time, perhaps with family, perhaps with just your spouse or even by yourself. Whoever you are, wherever you are, I do hope you will enjoy yourself.



I suppose we should be pleased if we’ve got enough food, warmth, a comfortable bed and a friend. At least one good friend. And good health.



I don’t know why I’m talking like this. I think I’ve seen or heard so many stories recently - both true and fiction - about people deprived of the necessities of life that I really find it biting at my soul. It’s telling me to be grateful for what I’ve got and not to be grumbling all the time, to which I must plead guilty.



I’ve said enough about that. Let’s get jolly. I’ve good reason to be jolly. I am delighted that Amazon have chosen three of my Angel books to put in their ‘100 Kindle books for £2.99 or less’. I am greatly honoured. I understand that at £1.99 each, sales are well up to expectations. But this all comes to an end on December 31st, when the price goes back up to around £6 each. The titles are MURDER IN BARE FEET, THE MAN WHO COULDN’T LOSE and THE CURIOUS MIND OF INSPECTOR ANGEL.



Watch out for THE DIAMOND ROSARY MURDERS, another Inspector Angel mystery which will be out on December 31st.



By the way I did get weighed on December 7th and I was exactly the same as last month. I’m not pleased because I work so hard at the gym and try to keep to the diet suggested by the course leader, sexy Linda, who is very good and knows what she’s talking about. However she says that after two years, six hours a week in the gym some of my body fat will be changing into muscle which weighs heavier than fat. I believe her. She could sell sand to the Arabs. I get weighed next early in January (after all that Christmas pudding and brandy sauce!). I’ll let you know the verdict anyway.



Say a prayer for your loved ones and yourself.



Have a great Christmas, and a very happy New Year.



6th December 2012


Hello, friends.



Just a few lines to say that …



I have just heard that Amazon, the on-line booksellers, have chosen three of my Inspector Angel mysteries to be in their pre-Christmas selection of ‘100 Kindle books each for £2.99 or less’. They are MURDER IN BARE FEET, THE MAN WHO COULDN’T LOSE and THE CURIOUS MIND OF INSPECTOR ANGEL. Electronic editions for Kindle readers can now, for a month, buy them for £1.99 a copy, which means I’ll be able to have turkey at Christmas instead of shredded copies of my first book boiled up with a chicken stock cube.



My latest book, THE DIAMOND ROSARY MURDERS will be published in hardback on December 31st, as if you need reminding.



By the way, getting weighed tomorrow all being well. Snow is forecast for the Pennines, which is us. If it too much, I shall not venture out. I’ll stay in and write. In which case I will probably wait another month before going to sexy Linda at ‘Change4Life’ – that’s the new name for ‘Weight Wise.’



Hope to see you before Christmas. Keep warm and safe.