Communicating

The problem with being an ‘unknown’ author is that normally you don’t have a large team behind you with an enormous marketing budget. It reminded me of my previous career in banking when the dedicated small business centres were initially being set up. Head of the first and largest in the country at the time- …

Christmas traditions

It’s been a busy week catching up after the book fair and yes, someone did comment about poor old Rudolph needing a few puffs of air for his antlers. It made me realise how long it’s been since he first joined my Christmas decoration box, but I’d hazard a guess at more than 20 years. …

Halloween and Weird and Peculiar

Have you ever wondered why orange and black are traditional Halloween colours? Apparently, orange represents the warmth and colours of autumn and black is for the cold, dark winter ahead. Does anyone actually eat pumpkins? I’ve heard of them being mashed into a soup but apart from that their only purpose seems to be for …

Summer Changes background

Despite indications to the contrary, it is actually summer here in the UK. Spring saw summer heatwaves, then a quick trip into winter with absolutely torrential rain before reverting back to autumn with strong winds, sunshine and everything in between. What has this to do with books? When my first book ‘Changes’ was released, I …

Halloween retribution

It’s been a busy week with the development of my new YouTube channel ‘Val’s Tales.’ Covid-19 has caused delays with the logistics of combining people and equipment but where there’s a will, stubbornness comes into its own. 😊 More news as it progresses. The post is one day early this week, as I thought it …

Trick or Treat

It's a shame when bullies turn a fun tradition into a frightening experience for the elderly, but beware - sometimes all is not as it seems. 😀  ‘Did you get the box of sweets as I asked you?’ ‘I told you, we’re getting too old for all that rubbish. Anyway, the kids round here are …

Getting Christmassy Blogger post and Follow me short story

Getting Christmassy It's that time of year again, and I was delighted to be asked to share my Christmas thoughts as a guest on Pauline Barclay's blog: Click on the link to read the full post. Getting Christmassy blog link ........................................................................................................................................................... Follow Me I've never understood why Christmas is traditionally associated with ghost stories, but this …

Penny for the guy

Having been brought up in Britain where Guy Fawkes night was a long standing tradition, I though some of my International readers might be interested in a little of the background. As usual one of the characters took over and it ended up as a short story.  😉  In the run up to Guy Fawkes night …