Books, books and Books

At the moment my life seems to be full of books.  And I'm not just talking about the half-a-dozen or so that I get each week from the library.  (My reading matter is mostly crime with a few historical ones thrown in for good measure.)

I recently finished writing another crime novel which has turned into a police procedural so there is a lot more work to be done on that.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can get some help from my local police.

In the meantime I am reading through the manuscript of another of my books so that I can prepare it for electronic publishing on AMAZON.  This is also a crime novel but with a large dose of nostalgia as it is set in 1958 - a time I remember well as I was still in my teens.

As if that isn't enough, I have begun writing another book. This is especially for 'Cleo' fans as it features the colourful heroine of "Homicide in Hampshire".

So far as the two e-published books are concerned (Homicide in Hampshire and Writing Can Be Murder), the December sales figures are now in and both sold well.  Many thanks to all of you who bought them.  And, of course, I hope you enjoyed them.

Do remember that you can also download these books onto your computer, I-Pad (Apple), Kobo (W.H.Smith), Nook (Barnes & Noble), Sony e-Book or Diesel eBook, via Smashwords.

www.smashwords.com/profile/view/barbarabothwell

www.amazon.com
www.amazon.co.uk

Easter - already?

On checking the figures for www.thetravleditor.com I see that people are beginning to read my Easter-related articles.  Which has got me thinking about the seasons and shopping.  Have you seen that Easter Eggs are already on sale?

In the UK we are still in midwinter, but spring clothes are appearing in the shops, in spring it will be summer clothes and so on.  With our unpredictable weather we don't want to buy new clothes pre-season.  Which is probably why most clothes end up 'on sale'.  I suspect that the 'sale' prices are what should be the 'right' prices.  If you get my drift.

What always amused me when I lived in Florida was that Buyers - especially for the large companies - never took the temperatures into consideration.  Imagine temps in the 80s (26c) and 90s (32c) and shops trying to sell winter woollies and fun fur coats.  I expect people living in the northern States shiver even more in the winter when summer clothes go on sale.

Crazy.

The Easter articles I mentioned?  One is about a Spring Festival in Slovenia, another is only loosely connected to Easter - it is about the Samba Schools of Rio (great pictures of samba dancers).  The third is an Easter one and tells of the Parades through Florence on Easter Sunday which is on April 8th.

In a couple of week's time I will be in Palma, Mallorca - where I lived for many years.  It will be interesting to see the changes.   

To read these three articles log to www.thetraveleditor.com/authors/6261/Barbara_Bothwell/ 

Happy New Year!

I do hope you all had a good 2011.  Looking back on my year, as my regular followers know, it was a very busy - and enjoyable - one.

I electronically published two of my crime novels which are both selling well.  For those who haven't read about them they are called "Homicide in Hampshire" and "Writing can be Murder".  Both are available at:  www.smashwords.com/profile/view/barbarabothwell which has it in all formats, including download to computer but does not have an Amazon format.  I can see from the charts that it is particularly popular on APPLE I-PAD.

For Kindle users the books are available on www.amazon.com and www.amazon.co.uk. (as well as other Amazon versions).

As well as writing books I also managed to fit in some travel.  In the UK I visited Norwich, the Ironbridge Gorge, Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and even went Swan-upping.  My overseas trip was to Croatia to visit Dubrovnik, also taking the opportunity to travel further south into Montenegro and east into Bosnia & Herzegovena to see Mostar.

Those of you who follow me on www.thetraveleditor.com will already have read about those trips.

My first trip in 2012 will to Palma, Mallorca, a city I used to know well as I lived and worked there for seven years.  Rather like seven years in Tibet except that I worked as a hotel rep for Cosmos.

Wishing you a very Happy, Prosperous and Healthy New Year.

The Christmas Season

Some of my best Christmas's were, of course, those of my childhood.  About two weeks before Christmas my parents would put up the decorations and the weekend before the big day we would all decorate the large tree in the lounge.

Usually a set of grandparents would stay with us and sometimes an aunt and uncle.  I enjoyed all of the spoiling - what child doesn't? - but I particularly loved it when my Uncle Ron (Dad's brother) and his wife came.  This was because Ron was a super pianist and played the latest songs and the golden-oldies.  I could have sat and listened for hours.  Probably did!

Christmas wasn't so much fun once I grew up but memorable ones include a Caribbean cruise.  No, not as a guest, but as a crew member who ate in the restaurant with the clients and joined in the evening's entertainment.

Sometimes I take a city break as there are fewer tourists around.  Among places I have visited are Brussels, Bruges, Malta and Lisbon.  I remember in Lisbon taking a stroll along by the river enjoying the sunshine and seeing a lady sitting on her own - knitting.  At first I felt sorry for her then realised that, like me, she was probably enjoying Christmas Day in her own favourite way.

We often read or hear the pundits expounding about single people being lonely at Christmas.  I suspect that most, if not all of them, aren't single and don't realise that not ALL singletons are lonely.  Everyone has their own ideal of the Christmas holiday. 

Sometimes I like a quiet one at home.  This year?  I have 300 pages of the manuscript of another crime novel to work on.  I'm really looking forward to that.  Will I e-publish it?  Of course. 

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year.

[Illustration:  The Creche at Grand Place in Brussels]

My Holiday in Croatia

The Croatian Village of Mlini

I'm not sure whether to call my holiday a trip to Croatia or a three country tour.

My main reason had been to fulfill a lifetime wish to see Dubrovnik which is on the Dalmatian coast. That thin strip of Croatia that is separated from the main part of the country by a narrow band of Bosnia Herzegovina.

Yes, I saw the walled city of Dubrovnik and it lived up to my expectations. And I visited two other countries - on day trips.

The first was south to Montenegro where we drove around one of the fabulous fiords to visit the walled city of Kotor. Following that we continued our journey to Budva for the lunch break - hotel picnic lunches are not to be recommended! Then it was a stroll around that small walled city.

Another day we went to Mostar in Bosnia Herzegovina. Yes, that much bombed city of the Balkans War. We ambled through the Turkish Quarter and saw the rebuilt Old Bridge which is the city's symbol and which, along with the other five bridges was destroyed.

Mostar isn't for the faint-hearted with its bombed out buildings and the cemeteries. But, give it a few more years and the buildings will have been restored and the bright white tombstones will have mellowed and everyone will want to go there.

Me? I appreciated it, Croatia and Montenegro. It is heartening to see how the countries are recovering and rebuilding.

I will be writing articles about these fascinating places and putting them onto http://www.thetraveleditor.com/ so keep checking. There will, of course, also be some of my photos.

Great Update on my Books

"Homicide in Hampshire" now has 5* on Amazon.com along with a fantastic review and the recommendation that everyone should read this book!

"Writing can be Murder" is selling well and am keeping my fingers crossed for another fantastic review.

Thanks to everyone who has bought the books which, as well as being available on Amazon.com/co.uk/fr/de, is also available on Smashwords - especially for those who prefer to download to their computer.

www.smashwords.com/profile/view/barbarabothwell

I would love it if you were to recommend my books to your friends, relatives and acquaintances.  Even the boss!

"Writing can be Murder"

Yes, sometimes we writers can find it murderous - especially when the ideas don't work! But in this instance I am, of course, talking about my latest e-published book, Writing can be Murder.

The action takes place in Florida where Trudi Johnson lives. She is a travel writer and is befriended by Marcia Annenburg who introduces her to a writers' circle. There Trudi makes friends with Lucia O'Mahoney. Marcia is a realtor with ambitions to be a writer. She copies other people's ideas and presents them as her own. Is it a member of the circle who got fed up with this and killed her and another circle member? From information garnered by Trudi and Lucia, Detective Ricardo Gomez solves the crimes. Nearly too late for Trudi and Lucia who almost become victims.

As I lived for many years in Florida it was inevitable that I would be tempted to write at least one book set in the Sunshine State. Although the town in which the action takes place is situated on the Gulf Coast, it is an entirely fictitious one.

This book is now available via Amazon/Kindle and from Smashwords for other formats such as Apple I-Pad, Barnes & Noble, Diesel, Kobo and for downloading onto the computer.

I have had many favourable comments about my previously published book "Homicide in Hampshire" and am looking forward to hearing from readers of "Writing can be Murder". Thank you all for your continued support.