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FREDA LIGHTFOOT
Quarterly
Newsletter |
April
Apologies
for the lateness of this newsletter, but we’ve been offline for over a week as
our satellite system was down. We
still don’t have a land-line, which in this part of rural Spain is hard to
come by. We’ve only been waiting
for five years! We’ve just
applied again but we aren’t holding our breath that it will be any time soon.
So frustrating. Trying to fix the internet while getting support on a mobile
phone from Ireland is not exactly fun. Anyone thinking of purchasing a holiday
home in Spain, do check out the possibility of a telephone, along with
everything else, before you buy.
The
good news is that on 1 May comes the publication of Who’s Sorry Now (see below
for details) the fifth book in the Champion Street Market Series.
So do rush out and buy a copy from your local bookshop!
Or visit Amazon on line. It
should also be available in Australia too at about the same time.
See below for details of the latest Prize Draw.
I’ve
had my head down working hard this month. David
and I both celebrated our birthdays, so we’ll quickly draw a veil over that
one. Thirty-five again.
OK, forty-five. Huh, I wish! They
come round quicker every year. Not
that age matters, the sun is still shining and we’re still waiting for rain.
None since early February, but we’ve been suffering from some severe
Levante winds which has smashed a few pots on the terraces, broken a trellis and
an arch, and flipped over the gas space heater, much to the annoyance of our
roosting black wheatear. Fortunately we’ve had no structural damage although a
friend’s garden wall has fallen into their pool.
The
swallows have arrived for the summer, and we’ve spotted one or two bee eaters
already. We’re off to the UK at
the end of the month for a short visit, mainly to see family and friends on this
occasion, but if you’re anywhere near Kendal on the 28th, do pop in
to Sizergh Castle where I’m giving a talk.
The castle alone is worth a visit.
Book
Club
So what have
you all been reading this month? I’m
just coming to the end of A Hollow Crown by Helen Hollick. I love historicals and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this one,
except that at 800 pages I think it rather over-long.
It could easily have made two books, as I felt the for a break in the
middle. It’s set in Saxon
England, which is unusual, and tells the story of Emma of Normandy, Aethelred
and Cnut. A rich, textured, tale,
very well written. Our reading
group has also been reading Atonement which was beautifully written, a good
story, but I found it rather slow and wordy in the first section.
I had a few emails this month telling me of books you enjoy.
Labrynth was one of them, Margaret Forster a favourite with some of you,
Ann Tyler, and Jodi Piccoult. The
book for next month in our Group is The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards.
It was a winner in the Galaxy Awards.
Did anyone read House of Riverton, which was another Richard and Judy
choice?
It was a good yarn, well written, although had some glaring inaccuracies
in it such as a housemaid at the turn of the century pulling on her tights.
The
transition into different time periods was at times rather confusing, but
generally I enjoyed it. I’ll let
you know what I think of this one. If you want to make
recommendations for other readers, do drop me an email.
Events Diary
I have a
couple of events coming up in April which may be of interest.
Sizergh
Castle, Kendal, Cumbria, on the evening of Monday 28th April at 7 pm when I’ll
be talking about how I do my research.
Contact
the National Trust at the castle Tel: 015395 60951 for tickets.
I
look forward to meeting some of you there.
Tuesday
29th April, 12 for 12.30. Thornton Cleveleys Ladies Luncheon Club
Contact
Mrs E. Dodgson 01253 827860
Click to
sign up for my Quarterly Newsletter
The
draw for the Readers'
Survey
was
won by
Joy
Park from South Australia. Congratulations Joy!
Previous newsletters:
Spring 2008
Winter 2007
Autumn 2007
Summer 2007
Spring 2007
Morocco
Winter
2006
Autumn
2006
Summer
2006
Spring
2006
Winter
2005: Our First Olive Harvest
Autumn
2005 -Womens'
Fiction Festival - Matera
Summer
2005: RWA Conference in Reno
Spring 2005
If you wish to email me with any comments or
questions my address
is: freda@fredalightfoot.co.uk
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