Hello everyone, and apologies for my silence.
I normally write my newsletter a bit more frequently but life has been so busy of late sometimes it’s hard to find the time. Having had Covid too I find myself more tired than usual but I’m coming out of it now. I lost my sense of taste and smell and you would think a person would use that opportunity to just eat leafy green vegetables and healthy lean protein. Some person might, but alas not this person. I was sure the next bite would have a taste so …. 🙂
I posted on social media recently, the most lovely picture of a monument in East Cork, around a half an hour from my house, called Kindred Spirits, and every time I see it it always moves me.
It is a sculpture of nine stainless steel feathers and was created to commemorate the donation of $170 made by the Choctaw Nation in the 1840s to relieve suffering here in this country during the Irish Potato Famine.
Imagine, these people, who were so far away and had plenty of their own troubles, sent us help. I find it truly amazing, a display of such kindness and empathy towards strangers. And then, fast forward to our time and the Irish people give generously to a charity that is trying to alleviate suffering among Native American people caused by Covid.
The organisers of the charity described it as , ‘Acts of kindness from indigenous ancestors passed, being reciprocated nearly 200 years later, through blood memory and interconnectedness.
As the leaders of the world gather in Glasgow to try to face and manage the climate crisis, stories like this, highlight the indisputable fact that we humans, no matter what colour, creed, gender or language we have, will always share more uniting elements than divisive ones.
We should all remember that. There’s money in division, in discord and aggression, less so in unity.
Meanwhile, I’m just putting the final finishing touches to Harp’s last adventure called Roaring Liberty before it goes to my wonderful copy editor, and let me tell you it’s a doorstopper of a book. I never set out to write long or short books, it’s just how it happens, and this is a long one. Hopefully it wont feel like that when it is published!
You can preorder it here for delivery in January.
I’m also excited about a new book with a new central character, which I’m having great fun writing. I can say no more for now but I hope you like her as much as I do. I’m delighted she came to visit my head, I’m loving having her around.
This productivity will be greatly assisted by the recent construction of my new home office in the garden of our cottage. It really is a lovely space and hopefully I can write there without interruptions of the ‘Where are my football boots?’ or ‘what’s the French for chauffeur?’ or ‘the (Insert tech equipment here) is broken!’ variety.
We shall see.
I’ve had a bit of bad luck in the Christmas cake department however. I normally would make one or two Christmas cakes and around five plum puddings around now and let them be maturing between now and Christmas. We have to ‘feed’ the cake and puddings weekly, a little capful of whiskey each a week to enrich it, and so I was preparing the entire thing, bought the multitudinous ingredient list, pulled out my gran’s recipe, and set it all in the larder in preparation of a big baking day. Well, a tiny furry friend had the same idea,
We live in the countryside in a 150 year old cottage so once the cold weather comes, little field mice love to find ways in. Well, after lots of building work, one (I’m telling myself it was one) did and he had a fine feast for himself so all the ingredients had to be replaced.
And so, we live to bake another day.
One last thing before I sign off, I have recently made all of my books available in hardback format and I must say they are really lovely. So if you’re thinking of something nice to put under the tree for yourself, or someone else, you might consider one? Your purchase will go directly to fund the replacement haul of raisins and brown sugar! I’m thinking of adding something to my website, a nice little Christmas message with perhaps a recipe or something you could download and print at home to insert into the book if giving it as a gift? Anyway, we’ll see about that.
All the hardbacks are available on Amazon for your country.
Thank you to everyone who writes and asks about my parents. I am so overwhelmed by your concern and compassion, Both are doing ok, and we are hoping for a nice family Christmas together.
So from me, my folks, the family, the mouse, Scoobi and Scrappy the cute but clueless dogs, and everyone else in the cottage, I wish you all a lovely week.
Le grá agus míle buiochas,
Jean xx