Blooming Marvellous, innit?
Glorious gardens, a writing update, photos and some merch
Hello there,
Not so much of an essay-type piece this week, but more of a newsy catch-up. It’s nice to vary these things, I think.
I’ve just come in from the garden where we’ve been dodging the showers to get some tidying up done. After a long dry spell, we’ve had some torrential rain in the last couple of days. I must confess to bunking off from my writing room on Friday as it was forecast to be a sunny day. Mrs C and I went for a run and enjoyed the sunshine, so I made up the time by writing this weekend when it was raining.
All being well, I’m within a few days of finishing the first draft of the next Devonshire Crime Thriller. One step at a time, DC Spiller and DC Cove are getting closer to catching the killer. The exciting parts are generally faster to write, but there are going to be some twists in this tale, so there’s still going to be some figuring out for me to do.
I’ll be taking the evening off when I’ve sent this email, so I’d better get on with it.
Without further ado, here’s our ROTW:
Reader of The Week
Today we’re saying Hi to Diane.
First name: Diane
Where you’re from: Fargo, North Dakota, USA
Favourite book: A Shamefaced Murder
Favourite authors: Michael Campling and Richard Osman
Last book you read: The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
Fun fact: Reading mystery novels is like putting jigsaw puzzles together.
Thanks Diane, and it’s very kind of you to add me as a favourite author. I’m very glad you enjoyed A Shamefaced Murder. For me, too, mystery novels are very like jigsaw puzzles. Sometimes it feels as though I have a huge pile of pieces that will never fit together, but bit by bit the connections are made.
Who will be the next ROTW?
If you’d like it to be you, all you have to do is to fill in this form:
Featured Photos
A few more from North Devon, including a spooky dilapidated house that’s almost a book cover b y itself, and some gardens from the flower show at RHS Rosemoor. RHS stands for Royal Horticultural Society - it sounds stiff and formal, but it’s not. It’s a very friendly and welcoming place.
Three ways to enjoy the photos: a collage in the email, separate images in the substack app, an interactive gallery in the online post.
More photos next time.
A Mugging?
Over on my new store (yes, I’m banging on about that again), you can now buy a few pieces of merchandise as well as the ebooks for the Devonshire Mysteries. I had fun designing this “I Solved a Devonshire Mystery” mug. I ordered a sample and it came quickly and the quality was good, so if you want to claim bragging rights and sip your Earl Grey with a certain flair, you can find the mug on my store here:
authormichaelcampling.com/en-gbp/products/i-solved-a-devonshire-mystery
The mugs are printed by Printful who operate all over the world, and my new store handles multiple currencies and tax where applicable.
Do you Tik? Do you Tok?
I know, I know, it’s not for everyone, but millions of people use TikTok, and there’s a great deal of discussion about books, so here at Campling Towers we’re experimenting with TikTok. Mrs C has been wonderful, helping me to make lots of short videos featuring my books, and we plan to mention books by other writers too, mainly mysteries and crime. If you’re using TikTok and you fancy taking a peek, my profile is here:
Hope you have a good week
I’ll be focusing on finishing that book, but I’d like to do a bit more gardening if the weather allows. We have a yard full of plants that we ambitiously bought after seeing the lovely gardens at RHS Rosemoor, all still in their plastic pots. Still, the rain means we haven’t had to water them. Every cloud…
Over to You
Favourite plant to grow in a garden?
I’d love to hear about it.
I’ll aim to have another newsletter ready by next Sunday.
Until then, happy reading and take care,
Mikey
