Who Killed the Curate?

A 1944 Lady Lupin novel

As ever in search of inspiration for whatever my current opus may be - I keep a close eye on other bloggers as to what is being put out there especially any classic crime that maybe being reprinted or reissued.

I have been especially impressed by Galileo Publishing and Joan Coggin’s novels look as though they are in the same league as some of my favourite authors of locked-room mysteries, impossible murder, whodunnits and more.

The British Library has, as ever, set the gold standard but there are plenty of other imprints that are snapping at its heals. In fact there is not really the time to keep up with it all, and maintain a decent standard of blogging and long-form fiction output, but we do try!

Tomorrow my Christmas treat to myself (a novel that is - not a gigantic hamper) arrives - I learnt of it through one of the many blogs I have been following for a while now, so I am really hoping that I will enjoy it and that it is as rewarding as they say it is. Who wants to be disappointed by a literary purchase eh? There is not much worse than a book that does not meet reader expectations and countless Amazon purchasers will corroborate this.

Sorry fellow authors we must develop our relationship with our esteemed audience/readers so it is mutually rewarding, we are simply not in the position to force our tastes upon them, that is why the mailing list and other personal methods of developing the readership are so important. Substack is brilliant for this, testing approaches, combining a paywall with work that is accessible by all so people can make the best informed decisions as to where they allocate their time and indeed money.

Sometimes I don’t know whether to blather on more in this posts or to keep them to the point. This afternoon I cam back from the coast via The Broads and had a lovely walk along a staithe, it was pretty cold and there were not too many people about. I had gone to Marks & Spencers in a coastal town near by, Middle England habits die hard and it is really quite an easy place to shop and park, relatively speaking.

The place was fairly busy, Christmas cards were purchased at Smiths (plus second class stamps) and more lavish spending was postponed, personally I would like some new dresses, it is terrible feeling dowdy but nothing really jumped out at me, fortunately really for the finances!

Oh well publish and be damned (as they say).

Love Marple

December 2023