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News Posted August 2006:
Hi All,
Today is the 3rd August and after two days of wind and rain which followed the July mini-heat wave, the sun is shining again here in Litherland, Liverpool and in an hour or so I’m off to a Writers’ lunch in Alderley Edge. The town is not far from where part of the excitement in Rowan’s Revenge is set; except now Alderley Edge is more famous for being an upmarket place where a number of very rich football players live - but putting that aside, what I’m looking forward to is talking writing with likeminded people.
Since my last newsletter a lot has happened. The biggest change in our family life is that my husband, John is off with stress and as this is work connected we don’t know how long it will take before he is fit to return there. In the meantime I’m enjoying having him home because he takes care of all those household jobs that niggle me whilst I’m writing, so now I can get on with doing one of the things I love best and burying myself in my latest story - which at the moment is called When the Clouds go Rolling By.
This is set in Liverpool, Chester and the Wirral and starts as the Great War is coming to an end. It contains some of the characters from Step by Step and A Dream To Share and, of course, some new characters, namely Josie O’Toole and her mother Mary, who are related to Gabrielle and Sebastian from the two aforementioned books.
Happily John and I were able to get away in May due to some unexpected royalties and flew to Cyprus with sons, Iain and Daniel for a week. We had a fascinating time visiting Greek and Roman historical sites, as well as walking a gorge and travelling up into the Troodos Mountains, which in my case was seriously scary as I suffer from vertigo, which I sometimes wonder, is due to my having fallen off a wall in my early teens and fracturing my skull and spine. Anyway, it was an experience but one I don’t wish to ever repeat.
Photos: Gorge; Aphrodite'sBirthplace; SeaView
Photos: Cameleon(TroodosMountains); RomanMosaic(Paphos); PillarWereStPaulWasFlogged(Paphos)
Early June, we went off to Ely Cathedral for Dan’s graduation where he was awarded a 1st class honours degree in Mathematics. This was made especially enjoyable because after a cold spell, the weather changed and the temperatures were in the 70s and the setting was lovely. Also, the people who ran the B&B where we stayed were really friendly and helpful and the beds were comfy, too.
Photos: Ely Cathedral; Dan
July saw me joining lots of romantic writer friends in a college outside Penrith in the Northern Lake District for the Romantic Novelist Association’s Conference. This was great fun and I even managed to get a bit of work done on my new laptop.
Fortunately before I went to Penrith I managed to finish my second HMB Historical Mackillin’s Reward and my agent really liked it and I’m now waiting for my editor at Mills and Boon, Linda Fildew’s thoughts on the completed manuscript. Hopefully, I’ll have news about that in my newsletter in the autumn.
In June Look For the Silver Lining came out in hardback with a lovely redesigned cover; paperback is scheduled for November 2007. Also A Dream to Share came out in paperback and I did a signing at Mabel Fisher’s bookstall in Ormskirk indoor market. If you are flying off anywhere in the UK please look out for it in W.HSMITH’S TRAVEL. Of course, it is also available on Amazon, in Waterstone’s and local Smith’s on the High Street and our local bookshop Pritchard’s in Crosby and Formby. Rowan’s Revenge also was published in June and is still available on Amazon.
Photo: Mabel Fisher & I
On the 1st August I went to speak to Litherland local history group, which was great fun and I was wired up for sound and had my photograph taken by Dave Ellison, one of the members, who kindly emailed me some of the shots. You will see a couple of them below. In September I will be attending a Mills & Boon lunch and also a cocktail party later at Brook’s in St James Street, which if my memory serves me right gets a mention in Georgette Heyer’s Regency novels. I’ll also be going off on holiday to Rhodes with John to recharge my batteries. Hopefully by then I’ll have finished the first draft of When the Clouds Go Rolling By. I have talks in October and November but more about that in Autumn, along with publication dates for my next paperbacks.
Photos: Dave Ellison & I
On my website this time Dan and I are extending the photographs to do with old Liverpool, Litherland and also there are shots of my father during the Second World War with his unit and one of my paternal grandfather, who died shortly before I was born and my beloved Uncle Jim, who lived in Beacon Lane, not that far from Anfield football stadium. Also my son Iain has written a book and perhaps at the next update I will download an extract from it.
Please feel free to email me with any questions or comments about my books or this newsletter.
Love June Francis
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