London Adventures

 

I'm now working busily on the final edit of the new Rachel Savernake after three separate short trips that have been hugely enjoyable. Among them was a lunch at the British Library, with the senior publishing team, to discuss a number of this year's projects. More about these soon in my newsletter. And then I wandered over to the BBC to record 'A Good Read', hosted by Harriett Gilbert (daughter of Michael). In this programme, Sir Tom Shakespeare and I discussed favourite books as well as one chosen by Harriett; it was a lot of fun and the photo shows the three of us in the studio. It was also good to have a drink with Harriett and Sally the producer in the BBC Club, chatting about aspects of crime fiction as well as some of Harriett's memories of her father. 

Another London trip enabled me to combine a very enjoyable Detection Club dinner with participation in the Lansdowne Literary Festival, splendidly organised once again by Veronica Hollander. The Club has a range of excellent facilities and I was able to present a tailor-made version of my 1920s murder mystery to be performed over dinner - one witness per course! The cast were great and the event was a sell-out.

 

Whilst in London I had the chance to catch up a couple of times with my daughter and also to explore St James Park, which is delightful, for the first time in many years. And I also wandered round the National Gallery a couple of times - there's so much to take in there, and the current exhibition, featuring Joseph Wright of Derby, is well worth a look. I had the chance to sign books in several shops and enjoyed the coincidence of seeing a great display, in Waterstones, Piccadilly, of Michael Gilbert's Sky High, the latest British Library Crime Classic.

A third trip took me to the home counties and a visit to Anthea Fraser, who, I'm happy to report is still in good form and still writing. I also had the chance to stay with Nigel Moss, a great connoisseur of Golden Age detective fiction, whose company I always relish. All this travelling has been a lot of fun, and although I now need to crack on with various writing projects quite urgently, the trips have energised and motivated me. A change is as good as a rest, they say...