Things to do today: Arrange boat tickets, contact the dentists, upload a new book (‘1893’), write a handout about Dracula ready for our trip, and pick up my old laptop (which I gave to Harry which he left with his mum which I now need to collect so I can take it over to Rhodes to give back to him…). Sounds like a day not to be rushed. The book, by the way, is the second set of Clearwater Tales. It’s a mid-length story of five people meeting in a railway station on Christmas Eve eve and being delayed there overnight. While they wait for their train, they tell each other stories, so we have five shorts inside a wrap-around story. Here’s the blurb and a link to where the book should appear in a day or so.
1893, The Clearwater Tales, Volume Two
On a fog-bound winter night, five men from the Clearwater, Larkspur, and Delamere Mysteries find themselves stranded in a rural railway station, awaiting a special train bound for Larkspur Hall and Clearwater’s annual Christmas Ball.
To pass the long hours, they share candid, colourful, and often amusing tales from their pasts while the attentive stationmaster listens in. Yet the youngest among the group, a stranger, grows increasingly uneasy. He bears a secret, and is the subject of mysterious messages that arrive throughout the night. Who is he, and why has he been invited to Larkspur Hall? Only by unravelling their stories can the group piece together the truth.
‘1893’ is the second collection of Clearwater Tales and can be enjoyed as a short, standalone novella. You don’t need to have read the Clearwater, Larkspur, or Delamere series, but returning readers may find extra delight in recognising familiar faces and histories.
I am off to Rhodes again tomorrow, but should be back here on Monday. Meanwhile, here are some random photos of our changing skies this past week or so.
