BlogNor09: Blogging from Bunwell

Driving from Bunwell to Holt yesterday evening to give a talk on Kindred Spirits at Holt Library, I couldn't have had a better reminder of how beautiful the Norfolk countryside is. It was a glorious sunny evening, and the gently undulating fields of rape and early wheat, angular pine forests and traditionally pretty villages looked simply stunning in the soft summer light.

Holt itself is an exceptionally attractive town and provided me with an interested and interesting audience of readers and writers who listened attentively and asked stimulating questions after the delicious snacks that Meg and Tilly at the Library had laid on.

The evening before I had had an equally enjoyable time talking at Long Stratton Library. The first time I spoke there was nearly three years ago when my first novel, Blood and Water came out. I mentioned then that I was thinking of writing a novel set locally during the Second World War, and a gentleman gave me some useful information about James Stewart and Walter Matthau, who both served as members of the USA Air Force based at Old Buckenham Air Base. I incorporated some of this material into Kindred Spirits, so I was very pleased to see the same man at my second talk, and thank him for his contribution.

Kindred Spirits got a very nice review from Keith Skipper in the EDP Sunday Magazine the weekend before last. He called me "An exciting new talent" and said the book was "...a telling fusion of teasing fiction and local history." Keith also commended me for setting "a perfect example to colleagues in (the tv) medium by employing plenty of authentic Norfolk dialect words and phrases. Perhaps she can pass on a few tips to the cast of Kingdom." What Keith didn't say was that I'd listed his own book, Larn Yourself Norfolk: a comprehensive guide to the Norfolk dialect, amongst my source material in the Bibliography of KS !

He did email me, though, to repeat how much he'd enjoyed the book and suggest that I submit it for this year's East Anglian Book Awards (sponsored my Jarrolds and the EDP) - which I have now done.

Today (23rd April) is BBC Norfolk's Blogging Norfolk Day, when they hope to create a snapshot of Norfolk life across the East Anglian blogosphere. I was in the Radio Norfolk studio on Tuesday, talking about my third novel, Mr Mikey's Ladies. Mr Mikey has his own blog - perhaps he should make a contribution, though he's hardly a Norfolk boy. A South Londoner, his current home is in Sydney, from where he dispenses Agony Aunt advice to any of his Ladies visiting his e-salon, and other celebrities besides.