TRAPPED IN A TIME TUNNEL

Escape is possible

Thank you to Andy Beales on Unsplash

That’s me trapped in a time travel tunnel, only this one is pulling me forward, not backwards.

To clarify, we arrived home from Portugal on April 3rd. Suddenly, due to life events, it is now May 10th.

I may be optimistic and thinking magically, but I plan to be back on track with my newsletter, my writing and eventually, my marketing. It’s great to write books, but selling them is also important.

MY #1 MARKETING CONCERN

When I changed the covers and some text on my series, Annie & Rosamund, A Witch’s Travels Through Time, Amazon has a policy to display both the ‘old’ and the ‘new’. All of my lovely reviews on Amazon remain with the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ are lonely.

Just a reminder of the cover changes on the first book in the series:

OLD

NEW

For those of you who wrote reviews on the old versions, would you be so kind - and I appreciate your busy lives - to write them again? Here is the link to the new books.

If you have read any of them but have not written a review, would you also be so kind as to write one? This is a big ask, especially if you have forgotten the story! Here is the link.

So, titles:

Tangle of Time

Sailing to Byzantium

Coventina’s Well

All The World’s a Stage

A Most Unusual Christmas

Murder at the Market (Not in the series).

Of course, if you haven’t read any of them but would like to write a review out of the kindness of your heart, you can purchase them here.

WRITING

Yes, I am writing again. It’s been a while since I wrote “A Most Unusual Christmas”. I wanted to write something completely different - as Monty Python said - but my mind refused. So . . .

I took Mistress Meg from the series Annie and Rosamund (she’s a village midwife and powerful witch living in the 15th century) and gave her a young apprentice, Mattie. Mattie is good at untangling knots. They find themselves in a castle delivering the baby of a queen while searching for the identity of a dead body discovered back in their village.

Early days. I’m in the middle of the first messy draft. I‘ll keep you informed. What do you think? Feedback is always appreciated.

MARKET DAYS

Wow! There’s a shot taken during COVID. Nothing stops us.

This Saturday is the first market day in our Town of Invermere. Fingers crossed for warm weather. It’s always great to see the other vendors again. The following market is not until mid-June, so come out and say hello if you are in the vicinity. I will be offering my new covers for the first time - exciting!

TRAVELS - NOT TIME TRAVELS

In my last newsletter, I promised to share the story of my wallet.

You see it sitting on the table? I loved this wallet made of cork.

In March, we visited Florence. We caught a bus into town as we were staying on the other side of the River Arno. The bus was crowded - and I mean sardine-like.

An empty Florentine bus.

I was trapped right at the front and hanging on to a bar (not that kind of bar) as I tried to wave my card in front of a machine. The bus driver sat impassively in a glass box and had no contact, be it eye or body, with the sardines.

I attempted to put my wallet back in my zip-up bag, but couldn’t without letting go of the bar, which would mean me being crushed against the bus window. The bar also moved each time the door opened and closed. So, I shoved it in the left side pocket of my jacket. (I know - I know!)

A woman pushed her way through the crowds and stood between me and the boxed-in driver, fanning her face. I felt sorry for her and fanned her face too!

She then moved to the other side of me. She had a small dog in a sling on her abdomen. People made a fuss of the dog. I did not, for some reason. She left the bus at the next stop.

15 minutes later, we were in a line-up outside the Basilica of San Lorenzo, home of the Merdici Mausoleum, when I searched for my wallet in my zippered bag to take out the tickets. The wallet was not there.

We went into a rather posh hotel across from the Basilica, where sympathetic staff helped me to contact my banks and cancel my cards. The voice on the end of the line in Canada told me a failed attempt had already been made at a cash machine, and a successful purchase had bought 25 euros of coffee and goodies in a cafe. That was it.

When I returned to Canada, I had to replace, wallet, cards and my driver’s license. Part of the life events I mentioned at the beginning.

I still wonder why I didn’t pet her dog!

READING

Ironically, I am currently reading ‘The Marriage Portrait’ by Maggie O’Farrell

The story takes place in Florence, Italy, and shares the short life of Lucrezia, the third daughter of the grand duke of Tuscany, Cosimo de’ Medici. Maggie O’Farrell writes stunning prose; it reads like poetry. She brings the world of Renaissance Italy to life. (I also loved her ‘Hamnet’, me being a Shakespeare buff.)

Having been in Florence and seen the Medici Palace, the story brought back good memories rather than the one about a woman and her dog accomplice.

Another great read:

‘Finding Flora’ by Elinor Florence. This Canadian story made #1 on The Canadian Fiction Best Seller list.

We, in Invermere, are so proud of Elinor’s success. She’s a local. You can buy the book here.

Well, that’s all, Folks!

It’s great to be back. I’m loving being home and re-establishing a routine.

Touch the heart if you enjoyed my stories. For some reason, it helps Substack to know I’m here.