Thanks to everyone who has so far downloaded a copy of ‘Death in a Cold Spring’ – I am pleased to say it has two very nice five star reviews already. Unfortunately our real spring here is still a bit on the cold side, and the cats and I were sitting in the conservatory on Friday with hailstones battering on the roof and thunder not far away. Saturday was much nicer so I ventured out to Gardening Scotland. Although I like gardens anyway, and could do with spending a bit more time in mine, there was also a hidden purpose in this trip which will be revealed in due course!
The dogs pictured here were part of a ‘war dogs’ garden which caught my eye – it was a tribute to dogs which have been involved in war over the years.
In June I plan to write the 4th in my Edwardian Adventure series of shorter things. I’ve now realised that the 3rd and 4th of these are not technically set in Edwardian times, but people do seem to regard the time from 1900 to 1914 as more or less Edwardian so maybe I will get away with this, although as a history graduate I keep wanting to correct myself. Originally the title for the 4th one was ‘Adventure at the Zoological Gardens’ but I’ve had to change ‘Gardens’ to ‘Park’ because I’ve been reading a book about the history of Edinburgh Zoo, which opened in 1913, and the man who was instrumental in founding it insisted on it being called a Zoological Park. I already have the 3rd in the series ready but it isn’t yet published as I wanted to put the two stories together for better value.
Assuming I can get the Zoo story finished in June, I plan to make a start on ‘Pitkirtly X’ in July. I already have a title for it but that’s a secret for the moment. I’m pleased to have something else to write in between the two Pitkirtlies, a bit like having a sorbet to cleanse your palate in between courses in a posh meal – although what I know about posh meals could be written on the back of a stamp and is completely gleaned from fictitious meals and not from real ones!
While I’ve been frittering my time away, I am very proud to say that my son Alex Perry and his film-making group of friends (which actually includes my other son and his fiancée as well) have just won a ‘best film’ award from the Edinburgh 48 hour film project along with other awards including ‘best writing’ and ‘audience award’. I think some people reading this blog would probably enjoy their short film with an unseasonal Christmas theme, available here: https://youtu.be/9QCn3GaeIuo
Cecilia Peartree - woman of mystery 