I hope everyone reading this will be pleased to know that I’ve at last got to the point in what I like to think of as my writing schedule where I can start writing Pitkirtly XXII. I plan to begin a new document for this tomorrow, with the rest of today being spent re-reading two previous books in the series which I believe may be relevant. It’s quite unusual for me to do any kind of research for my Pitkirtly mysteries, but quite typical that I have to remind myself of previous events and sometimes places and people from other books of my own.
Since publishing ‘The Heiress is not at Home’, which was great fun to write, I’ve drafted a sequel to ‘Life and Death in the Woods’ (working title ‘The Case of the Late Capybara’) which I need to leave alone for a bit as I think I should read it with fresh eyes, and I’ve just written a short story to make me forget about the capybara thing before carrying on. There’s a sequel to the Heiress in my head too but I’m determined to write the Pitkirtly story next. Hoping not to have to mention the pandemic this time! Apologies to anyone who didn’t like that.
Because I now know I have to make myself take a break from the computer, especially during the lunchtime slump, I’ve started listening to audiobooks around that time of day while I do some tapestry or knitting. We had a warm sunny spell during which I thought I had kick-started a gardening routine too, but there has now been snow and, as I write this, a gale blowing, so I usually read during my gardening time!
The family cats like to keep me active during my audiobook/craft/gardening time by taking it in turns to sit at the door waiting to go out and then sitting just outside the door waiting to come in about three minutes later. The smallest one likes to scrabble on the glass to make sure I’m paying attention. I’ve recently had a new garden path made which they seem to approve of.
Cecilia Peartree - woman of mystery 