Books on the Bus

Usually I post articles on a single topic on my blog, but this week has been so action-packed that I thought I’d share four news items instead:

one of my books, Murder Your Darlings, was shortlisted for a prestigious award, The Selfies
I was a guest on Joanna Penn’s fabulous Creative Penn podcast, talking about writing cozy mysteries
BBC Radio Gloucestershire‘s Dominic Cotter interviewed me about the new village Books on the Bus scheme
I published my latest collection of magazine columns, Still Young By Name

If you’d like to know more about any of these events, read on!

Murder Your Darlings Shortlisted for an Industry Award

The second time one of my novels has been shortlisted for The Selfies Award

My sixth Sophie Sayers Village Mystery, Murder Your Darlings, has been shortlisted for the adult fiction category of the UK Selfies Award, given to the best self-published books in the UK. There are also categories for Children’s Fiction and Memoir/Autobiography.

The Selfies were launched by publishing industry news service BookBrunch in 2018 and are sponsored by Ingram’s award-winning self-publishing platform, IngramSpark®, and supported by the London Book Fair and Nielsen Book.

I’m especially pleased for two reasons:

my first St Bride’s novel, Secrets at St Bride’s, was also shortlisted last year
Also this year there was a record number of entries

You can read more about the 2021 shortlist here. The winners will be announced on 20th April.

Interview on the Creative Penn Podcast

photo of Joanna and Thomas — Joanna Penn at my Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival, with illustrator and fellow author, Thomas Shepherd (Photo by Jonathan Penn)

A few weeks ago, independent publishing and creativity guru Joanna Penn invited me to be a guest on her hugely popular Creative Penn podcast, and this week the podcast went live.

I’ve known Joanna for a long time, and I first appeared on her show in 2016, talking about bookstores. I often see her at writing and publishing industry events, such as the London Book Fair, and she was a great guest speaker at my Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival a few years ago. Given that neither of us have been to any such real-life events for over a year, it was especially enjoyable to catch up with her on her podcast.

This time we were talking about how to write cozy mysteries, a genre that has been especially popular during lockdown, providing upbeat, escapist fiction for readers stuck at home. I also shared insights into my writing life.

Although recorded with an audience of writers in mind, I think cozy mystery readers will also find it interesting.

Click here to listen to the podcast on Joanna’s website, where, if you prefer, you can read the transcript.

My interview is the 540th (!) podcast on Joanna’s show, so if you’d like to hear more podcasts about writing and self-publishing, her blog is a good place to look!

Talking about Books on the Bus on BBC Radio Gloucestershire

Photo of Debbie at bus stop with book box — Pick up a book when you catch the bus (Photo by Laura Young)

If you enjoyed my post a couple of weeks ago about the new Books on the Bus box that I’ve set up in our village bus shelter, if you are in the UK, you might like to listen to my interview on BBC Radio Gloucestershire with presenter Dominic Cotter, who on Saturday was presenting the Breakfast Show. (I have a feeling you can’t listen outside the UK for licensing reasons.)

Before the pandemic, Dominic was presenting the Lunchtime Show, and my author and books journalist friend Caroline Sanderson and I were regular guests on his Book Club spot. With studio guests not allowed due to Covid restrictions, it was a pleasure to catch up with an interview down the line instead.

You can “listen again” to our conversation 1 hour 41 minutes in to the show, and it lasts about seven minutes. any time before 17th April, via this link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p099118z

New Essay Collection: Still Young By Name

Now available in ebook and paperback

Finally, I’m pleased to announce that my latest collection of magazine columns, Still Young By Name, is now available in ebook and paperback. This is the second volume of columns I’ve written for the Tetbury Advertiser, an award-winning community magazine, which runs my musings on the first page of editorial each month under the heading “Young By Name”.

This book includes whimsical columns from the last five years, reflecting on topical issues of the moment, tempered with anecdotes from my past.

When I reread the columns while I was compiling the book, it struck me what an extraordinary five years 2016-2020 was.

While much in the world had changed, both on our doorstep here in the rural Cotswolds and on the global stage, I also celebrate precious things that stay the same.

Each column – ten per calendar year – is just 500 words long, so this book is easy to dip in and out of whenever you want to be diverted from the pressures of daily life.

The cover image is from a watercolour painting by my father, and although I confess I hesitated before putting a cow’s bottom beside my title, it made me laugh, and I love the calm the whole image exudes. I hope you like it too.

Here are store links in case you’d like to buy it:

For Regular News Updates

cover of The Pride of Peacocks — This fun novelette is available exclusively to members of my Readers’ Club.

If you’d like to receive a monthly enewsletter including the latest news on my books and events and also have a chance to enter a free prize draw for something related to my books, please click here to join my Readers’ Club, and you’ll also receive a free download of my novelette, The Pride of Peacocks, in the ebook format of your choice.

In next week’s post, I’ll be talking to Alison Morton, my next guest for my Travels with my Books series.

In my column for the March 2021 issue of the Hawkesbury Parish News, I was talking all about books – no surprises there, except for the announcement of a new free book resource in the village which I launched on World Book Day, with Councillor John Turner representing Hawkesbury Parish Council. Drum-roll please for “Books on the Bus“…

Bust of Socrates at the Louvre (By Sting, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=96296061)

Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher, thought books were conversation killers: monologues that denied readers the chance to engage in discussion. Despite being credited now as one of the founders of Western philosophy, Socrates never wrote a single book. We only know his thoughts through books by Plato and others.

Socrates’ preferred method of exchanging ideas was to hold a conversation while strolling around the walls of Athens. If he were alive today, during lockdown he’d have to resort to Zoom.

In our Zoom-crazy age, in which we expect every public speaker on screen to have a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf behind him, Socrates’ backdrop would be book-free. He’d probably prefer to display a statue of an owl, symbol of Athena, goddess of wisdom, and of his beloved city of Athens, and maybe a Grecian urn or two.

This little owl followed me home from Athens and lives on my desk, the emblem of the Athenae, ancient Greek goddess of wisdom

Books by the Yard

But if media pressure persuaded him to join the bookshelf brigade, I know of the perfect solution to fill his bookshelves at one fell swoop: a call to Books by the Yard, a service offered by my favourite second-hand bookshop, The Bookbarn . Based near Wells, The Bookbarn not only sells pre-loved and vintage books individually to callers (though closed to visitors just now due to the pandemic), it also offers a shelf-filling service. Until now, it’s been mainly the preserve of stage set designers and themed pubs and hotels seeking an instant bookish look.

Despite the closure of theatres and hospitality venues during lockdown, their Books by the Yard business has been soaring lately. The reason? Zoom backdrop envy.

A yard of books – by Books by the Yard (Many thanks to the Bookbarn for this luscious photo)

If you’re hankering after a new read, there’s no need to travel to The Bookbarn – although once we’re allowed out to play again, it’ll be one of the first places I head for. From Thursday 4th March, for World Book Day, there’ll be a new Books on the Bus box in the bus shelter opposite Hawkesbury Stores. I’ll be keeping the box stocked with books for all ages to give bus passengers something to keep them entertained while waiting for their bus and on their journey.

There are books for all ages in the box

Delivering the new Books on the Bus box to Hawkesbury Upton bus shelter (Photo by Laura Young)

You don’t need a bus ticket to borrow from Books on the Bus. As for the Little Free Library on my front wall, you’re welcome to help yourself in passing. Return or keep the books you borrow, as you wish. Donations of more books in good condition will always be appreciated.

Thanks to Hawkesbury Parish Council for providing the plastic box to kick the scheme off, and to the kind donors around the parish who have given me more than enough books to fill the Books on the Bus box initially.

Even so, I don’t think Socrates need worry. There’s no danger that books will ever put a stop to conversation in Hawkesbury.

Photo of parish councillor and Debbie reading books in bus stopJohn — With thanks to Councillor John Turner for coming along to represent the Parish Council (photo by Laura Young)

IN OTHER NEWS

Writing Workshop (19th April)
If you’re interested in writing, you might like to attend an online event I’m doing on Monday 19th April, I’ll be answering FAQs about writing as part of the Wrexham Carnival of Words. This is just one session of an action-packed festival behind held online because of Covid. You can find out more about the whole programme here: www.wrexhamcarnivalofwords.com)

Collected Columns in Book Form
If you’d like to read the archive of my columns for the Hawkesbury Parish News, you might like to know that they’re also available in book form in two volumes. Here are the buying links for the paperbacks and the ebooks:

All Part of the Charm (2010-2015) – order the ebook / order the paperback

Still Charmed (2016-2020): order the ebook / order the paperback