A New Year...

…and, hopefully, a year that begins with better prospects than the last two. Yet again, I have a packed agenda for you…

In this new, and hopeful year, there will be some new features and some old favourites with a bit of a twist!

As always there will be features from, or about, other authors.  Some you may know, some may be new to you, but I can promise that the articles will be interesting and varied.  So, look out for my celebration of the works of A. A. Milne towards the end of this month – and no, my article won’t be all about that teddy bear.  There’s so much more to Milne as a writer than his children’s stories.

Last September, in conjunction with eight other writers from across the pond, I had the privilege of being a contributing author to an anthology called Autumn Paths.  I’m very pleased to be able to tell you that some of my fellow contributors on that project will be making visits to the blog in the coming weeks. So, look out for posts from S. C. Eston and Pierre Arseneault – both wonderful and established writers in Canada.  There’s also a whisper that there may be more news about this recently formed collaboration.  Watch this space!

As travel to France has been difficult over the last twelve months, I’m resurrecting my #OffMyBeatenTrack posts and the first will appear here in February.  I’ll be exploring new places a little closer to home, finding interesting snippets of history along the way, and, I have no doubt that the best of food-on-the-hoof will feature too!  Oh, and just because I haven’t been able to get to France, it does not mean that my alternative places to visit are all situated in the UK.  I have journals that have notes from other, more exotic, locations and I will also be delving into those to bring you the best bits of info.

Before Christmas I took a break from Jacques Forêt and Book 6 – there was a plotline that just wasn’t working.  I told Jacques and Didier that they needed to sort that out for themselves.  Here we are, some weeks later and I am pleased to be able to say that, between them, Jacques and Didier have come up with an excellent solution.  Look out for more news on the next instalment of my Cévennes-based mysteries.

As always, the #FranceFridayPhoto will return across all my social media at the end of this week. This year, these pics will be regularly interspersed with fabulous photos of other locations too. I hope you will enjoy them.  Book reviews return too, with the first about 'The French Baker's War'.  A fascinating read.

Much later in the year, I hope to have details of a new project that I’m very much looking forward to.  It’s a writing project that I’ve wanted to undertake for quite some time and I’m hopeful that this year will see its fruition.  I’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, it’s awesome to be back!