Alison Golden's Blog, page 3

📚 I knew it! 📚

Hey there, lovely reader,I've said it before and I'll say it again, I have some of the smartest readers out there.I know this because the standard of the questions I received from you last week was outstanding.So outstanding in fact that I will take a few weeks to answer them in this newsletter.Question of the week

Roxy is such a different character than your others. The setting too. How did Roxy come to you as a new main character with her own stories to tell?

Many authors prefer to write ...

📚 July Japes 📚

Hey there, lovely reader,

It's been very quiet for me these past weeks as I bury myself in writing.

I did manage to stay up to watch fireworks on July 4th, though. They are launched from San Francisco Bay and we live at the top of the hill (mountain?) overlooking it.It's always a spectacular show and as I'm practically a hermit at the moment, I found it lovely just to be able to walk outside and watch from my lounger.One year we did venture down the hill (mountain?) to see them but we had to s...

📚 What I learned 📚

Hey there, lovely reader,It's been another busy writing week. I'm cracking on. Some days things flow, other days it's a struggle. A good night's sleep always helps. 😉What I learned this week

I cracked on apace with the latest book this week. I'm still in the phase that requires research. Below are some of the things I learned this week.

I don't always use the things I learn in any shape or form in my writing, or they may make their way in only tangentially or in a very minor way, but all of i...

📚 Hairdressers, windows, and scones with jam! 📚

Hey there, lovely reader,It's been a busy week for me. I braved a new hairdresser. When the person who'd cut my hair for over twenty years retired, I was a bit lost as to what to do until I decided I would do something really retro: I decided to go back to the hairdresser who cut my hair as a teenager and who still does my mother's hair.

Of course, he is in the UK, and I am not, not after I postponed my trip. So I had to find someone in the meantime.

I took my courage in my hands and drove down...

📚 Last one . . . 📚

Hey there, lovely reader,I was planning to leave on Saturday for three lovely months in the UK, but COVID had other ideas. I'm over the worst, but evaluating my plans – whether to hop on a plane as soon as I feel up to it, or shift the trip to later in the year.What I didn't realize when I went for my booster was that I had already contracted the blinking thing and was in the infectious/no symptoms period. So I had an unnecessary booster shot which took me down for a couple of days, only to th...

📚 I had beignets! 📚

Hey there!I am busy getting ready for my trip to the UK at the beginning of next month. I've decided to go for three months so I don't have to rush my plans and because we're having construction done on our house which will not be conducive to writing. This way I'll be able to get a lot done before I come home.

Preparations take the form of mostly getting all my medical checkups in order, allocating chores so that my flowers will be watered and my PO box emptied, and making sure I have my three...

📚 What has Audrey Hepburn got to do with it? 📚

Hey there!It's still pretty chilly in the mornings at 7 a.m. when I go out for my walk but the blooms and blossoms are beautiful. These are from my deck guarded conscientiously by Shaun the Sheep.[image error]

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What I learned this week

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The above beautiful photo is of Audrey Hepburn (but you knew that.) It was taken by Irving Penn, an American photographer. I went to an exhibit of his photographs in San Francisco this week.

I am not a visual person. I am the sort that, when tasked with setting up a a visua...

📚 Welcome, May! 📚

Hey there!Happy May! In one month today, I touch down in the UK for two months. While I'm there, I will be traveling with family and also continuing the project I started last summer – to clear a family member's house of no longer wanted items. I'm looking forward to it.The month of May will be about cracking on with the latest Inspector Graham before I take a break from it, and preparing for my trip.[image error]Things I learned this week

In the early stages of writing a new book, I'm doing a lot of res...

📚 A day in the life of . . . me 📚

Hey there!I hope you are having a lovely week. I recently shut down my social media accounts for a test. I was looking for ways to cut down distractions from writing.I've found that I've filled my time with more writing and reading, finishing off three books this week (all non-fiction) and am altogether calmer and more willing to sit looking out over the fields. I also made big strides on the new Inspector Graham plot.It made me think that I'd share a day in the life of . . . me. And follow t...

📚 Spring is here! 📚

Hey there, lovely reader,Last month was a banner month for me, my most successful since I started writing nine years ago. It's very exciting for me to see so many people around the world discover Annabelle, Graham, Roxy, and Diana for the first time, especially in new markets like Germany.

This week I have news of the latest audiobook, what I did last week and what I'm doing now. Plus a couple of Easter pictures – two of my faves: hot cross buns made by my son; and daffodils on our deck. I've a...