Hello!
Pinch, punch, first day of the month. How are you? I really hope you're well.
Firstly, massive apologies as this email is coming to you a week late which is hopeless. No excuse other than the fact that I have rather a deadline to meet and actually am bunking off in order to write this.....don't tell a soul....
But anyway: January. It's done! How did it go for you? Crikey, that month has an attitude. I hate wishing my life away, but hoooowie, dewey and louie, it can be a tough one to love, can't it?
I'm not even sure I should be sending out a newsletter as I have done NOTHING all month. I've been glued to my desk, writing like anything and only breaking off occasionally to share pictures of NOTHING on Instagram Stories (do follow me if you like photos of desks) or to watch comforting TV on catch up.
Other than the News (*horrified face*) I have only been watching things that are lovely and don't involve horribleness, death or anything more than the kind of low level jeopardy you can be reasonably confident won't lead to ... well ... horribleness or death. I know I'm being weedy, but it's my Go To place.
This last month I binge-watched BBC1's Around the World in 80 Days. Did you see it? For the record, I didn't care about (a) it not being exactly like the book and (b) any other criticism. David Tennant running around being an uptight but plucky posho was just what my I needed. Lovely! I also watched the new series of Junior Bakeoff which is always pure joy, isn't it? Kids being really messy, making (and occasionally dropping) the most brilliant cakes. And Harry Hill reaching Peak Harry Hill by pretty much breaking his shoulder when he threw himself into a heap of plastic bags for a laugh. Perfect.
Other than that, the big news (I say 'big' - it's a low bar) from here is that everything has broken at the same time. Why does that happen? First, my mobile died which meant going to the Apple store where they were really nice and didn't shout 'GRANDMA' when I said I had no interest in what colour the new phone was. Does it allow me to make calls, waste time on Instagram and take pictures, please? Smashing. Here are 57,900 of my new pence for your trouble. (Faint. That's loads. It sounds like you have to be a millionaire when you put like that.)
Meanwhile, then my printer broke, so I bought a new one that has trays for paper like in a real office but also it spits out the printed sheets so fast you have to have the reflexes of Rafa Nadal to stand a chance of ever actually catching them.
Reader, I know this will surprise you, but I do not have the reflexes of Rafa Nadal. It's like that scene in Bugsy Malone where all the children have splurge guns.
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Meanwhile, back with the writing, I've been reading tons, all in the name of research, which is one of my favourite things to do, but can be slightly like revising for your A Levels in terms of brain overload. That's always a good point to remind myself that my job is actually about writing fiction and not worrying about retakes.
Really, I like getting out and actually speaking to people and looking for that KAPOW moment when you realise, Ah, that's what I want to write about. It happened when I was researching Yours Cheerfully - chatting with a wonderful friend of a friend about her memories of WW2 and realising that I had found the heart of a story. It was very, very special.
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Finally, on the writing front, I wanted to mention an event I'm really looking forward to on the 30th April, which is Tasting Notes Live at The Priory Theatre in Kenilworth. As you can see from the shot below, there are some fantastic authors appearing in this 'festival in a day'.
Tickets went on sale yesterday and they sold half of them in about eight minutes, but I hope there may be some left if you fancy it. Tickets can be booked here. I have really missed live events, and hope I will get to do more this year.
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Right. That's enough of me banging on.
Here are some really cracking books I hope you might like:
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I'm going to include some of my Top Reads each month. They'll either be brand new, out in paperback, or old favourites of mine, but I hope there'll be something to enjoy.
They'll either be in your local high street book shop, or just click on the images below to go to Bookshop.org where you'll support local independent book shops if you buy through them.
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Just published, this is a crackerjack of a novel that imagines what happened during the infamous disappearance of Agatha Christie. It's a real gripper and beautifully evocative of the era. I loved it.
England 1926: Agatha's world is one of glamorous society parties, country house weekends, and growing literary fame. Nan O'Dea's world is something very different and has been marred by a hidden tragedy. Despite their differences, the two women will become the most unlikely of allies, and together they will unravel a dark secret that only Nan holds the key to .
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Now in paperback, The Yellow Bird Sings is so beautifully written. Utterly gripping and terribly moving, it is one of the best WW2 novels I've ever read.
Poland 1941: After the Jews in their town are rounded up, Roza and her five-year-old daughter, Shira, seek shelter in a local farmer's barn. They spend their days and nights in silence to avoid being caught. When their safe haven is shattered, Roza faces an impossible choice: whether to keep her daughter close by her side, or give her the chance to survive by letting her go. A powerful portrayal of the triumph of humanity and hope in even the darkest circumstances.
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Non-fiction at its very best. Five women who in both life and death have been exploited, ignored and maligned, are finally going to be heard. If you're interested in the Victorian era, Hallie Rubenhold's research is extraordinary.
Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane wrote ballads, ran coffee houses, lived on country estates, they breathed ink-dust from printing presses and escaped people-traffickers. Now, in this devastating narrative of five lives, historian Hallie Rubenhold finally sets the record straight, and gives these women back their stories.
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This is a really lovely novel to finish with. Home is a hopeful, uplifting contemporary novel about finding where you belong. I don't know about you but I think that's just what we need right now!
Anna Wilson travels the world as a professional housesitter, stepping into other people's lives, living vicariously. But all she has ever really wanted is a home of her own filled with family and love and happy memories. Compelling, rich and evocative, Home is Anna's journey to discovering that it isn't where you settle down that matters, but the people you have around you when you do.
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And finally...
Has the start of the year been just a Little Too Much? Do you feel things have gone on the slide?
Well, don't be like Bobby, who much like the inflatable boy, has let himself down. Yes, I'm afraid he's stopped cleaning his teeth.
I love this advert which gets him right back up to scratch. Also, from now on I fully intend to use "week-day failings" for pretty much everything I've managed to avoid on my To Do list.
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Chin up, Bobby!
Have a lovely February everyone, and see you next time.
AJ
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If you've enjoyed this newsletter I'd love it if you could spread the word and mail it on to a friend.
Or if you've been sent this by somebody lovely, you can subscribe by clicking HERE.
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"An absolute delight! Endearing, poignant, and relevant, this uplifting novel is a treat!"
Janet Skeslien Charles, author of The Paris Library
Available in all good book shops & online. For more info please visit my website.
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