A very belated happy New Year to you! I’m having a catch-up with myself after a busy December and January, and February has been much of the same.
I spent Christmas in Southwold, Suffolk, in a little cottage sat beneath the lighthouse. Even then I was working. I was up at 6am every day – including Christmas Day – to do some writing. However, I stopped at 9am so I could have a proper holiday too.
It made all the difference: I managed to get my first draft of the third Dundoodle mystery completed on time, and the location helped a lot. Southwold is a very atmospheric town with its quaint streets, crab shacks and smokehouses on the wharf, its rolling dunes and flat marshlands. As the book is a sea-themed mystery there was plenty of inspiration. Look out for mermaids, viking boats and underwater chases! First reactions from my editors have been good, so the edits aren’t too taxing, thankfully.
But I’m getting ahead of myself – never mind about Book Three, Book Two is almost upon us!
The Dentist of Darkness
The second book of The Dundoodle Mysteries comes out on March 7th, which just happens to be World Book Day (in the UK). I’d love to know if anyone dresses up as Archie and his friends for WBD – or even Mrs Puddingham-Pye – so do let me know if you see any Dundoodlers out there. I think they’re quite easy outfits to make…
I’ve already been sent my advance copies, and I’m so pleased with it! Side by side with The Chocolate Factory Ghost, it looks very handsome indeed, thanks to Claire Powell‘s cover. And her illustrations inside are phenomenal. There’s a darkness to this book that’s she’s captured perfectly.
And you can see this for yourself: my publisher has just put the first four chapters online!
I hope that’s given you a taste for more!
All the info for The Dentist of Darkness can be found here, and I’ve just had confirmed that the audio book is in the works too.
Meanwhile, I’ve been creating an activity pack to go with The DoD, containing puzzles and creative writing ideas – you can download the one I created for The CFG here.
One of the activities for the new pack is a recipe for Gingerbread Dragons – they play a important part in the story, but then biscuits are always important. I’d thought I’d better test out the recipe, naturally! They turned out ok, but decorative icing was beyond my abilities – let me know if you do a better job! I can say they’re nice and crisp and great for dunking in tea – the perfect accompaniment for a good book.
