It’s that time of year when many of us give ourselves over to the festive spirit, and I’m looking forward to sharing some time with family and eating lots of seasonal treats.

If you’ve been wondering why you haven’t heard from me for a while, it’s because I have been away from my keyboard for about a month. Unfortunately, I have a trapped nerve in my neck, and it’s made it distinctly uncomfortable to sit at my desk. Even now, I am dictating this so that I can stand up and move around. I’ve been given some exercises by a physiotherapist, and they seem to be working. At any rate, I am slowly getting better, so I should be fighting fit very soon.

I’m looking forward to getting back to work on the next Devonshire mystery, and I hope to resume the sending out of newsletters early in the New Year. I have lots of plans and ideas about ways that I can deliver more content for you all. As well as the newsletters, I will, of course, keep taking and sharing the photos that so many of you enjoy.

Thank you one and all for your encouragement and support. It really does mean a huge amount to me that you have chosen to invest your time in reading my work, and I am privileged to have such a lovely bunch of friendly and helpful readers. It’s amazing to me that the characters and stories I’ve dreamed up are alive in the minds of readers all around the world. It seems miraculous that readers who may be separated by thousands of miles can come together in an imaginary realm. Some of you may have strolled to The Wild Boar in Embervale for a pint of ale, while others may have travelled to far-flung planets or distant futures. Others may have dared to encounter the Darkeningstone and journeyed across millennia to a time when the spirits were very much alive in the minds of our ancestors. All these worlds began life as a hastily typed sentence or two or a scribble on a pad of paper. Stephen King put it well when he said, “Books are a uniquely portable magic.”

For your company on this journey through the world of words, I thank you. I’m grateful too, for all the lovely emails, comments and messages I have received; I valued each each and every one of them.

It only remains for me to wish you a happy and safe holiday season and a wonderful New Year, but I couldn’t sign off without sharing a few seasonal photos, so you’ll see those below.

All the best to you and yours, from Sue, Lottie and me.

The village hunkering down for winter.

Sue and some bloke in a hat.

Lottie

A wintry walk near our little village in Devon

A vintage glass bauble inherited from my mum brings back many happy memories of childhood Christmases.

Our jolly little tree.

Looking out over the Teign Valley in Devon

Happy Christmas, one and all!