Hello strangers,
It’s been awhile, but that’s not to say I’ve not been busy. One way or another 2022 is lining up to be quite an exciting one. Subscribers to this newsletter should be pleased to know I will have at least two books making an appearance next year. If all goes to plan, you’ve gotta have a plan, there’ll be three.
The first book will be the third set of adventures for Sherlock Holmes. After that, something else, a proper full-length novel no less. I’ve mentioned this before, but the thought of writing the 80 to 90,000, that is kind of a respectable minimum for a novel, seemed daunting. Then I wrote the two Holmes books that weigh in at around 160,000 words. These have a story arc that runs across all twelve stories and have been described as an episodic novel. It seems I wrote a novel without meaning to. The few people who have read early drafts of the new novel say it’s the best thing I’ve done so far.
The strapline of this newsletter is “Writer of This and That”. I always had a plan to do the “that” and over the last year or so I’ve made some progress. The “that” I am talking about is the writing and recording of some music. In the summer of 2020 I had some socially-distanced sessions in a recording studio. One of the results of these sessions was a smoldering jazz number called Provisionally Yours. The recording of Provisionally Yours was actually a proof of concept to see what I could achieve. I did have the thought that I might throw it away and, having learned what I’d learnt, move on to the next thing. As it transpired, Provisionally Yours was rather good. The combination of my writing “talent” and the musical skills of some staggeringly good artists, including an amazing producer, resulted in something that is both really cool and very original. At least that’s my view. You should form your own. (An unashamed prompt to click the one of the links below.)
The reason I took so long to release Provisionally Yours is that I wanted to record some more songs to follow hot on its heels. Through the course of this year I’ve done just that. A rather eclectic five song EP is in the can and scheduled for release before the end of the year. If you’d like a nudge when this happens, I’ve created a separate Music News newsletter. Click the link to sign up.
Many thanks for your continued patience and support.
Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
It’s going to be amazing.
Mel x
Provisionally Yours is available to steam/download from the following platforms:
Released on Perfect Records, 4th September 2021