Beat the lockdown blues with a book 📚

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As Europe returns to lockdown, and night arrives ever earlier across the northern hemisphere, there could hardly be a better time to curl up with a book.
So take a look at my reading suggestions … and, if you have a UK address,
you can enter a competition to win a signed copy of one of my novels
and five other novels I’ve read and enjoyed.

Before that, a reminder that the competition I announced last month is still open. Don’t miss out on another chance to win a copy of my forthcoming novel, Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home!

Mental health is one of my novel’s themes; can you think of any other novels about mental health you’ve read and enjoyed? Click on the image to go to the submission form and I’ll pick a winner at random on November 30, 2020.

Terms and conditions
To be eligible for a free copy of Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home, you must remain subscribed to this newsletter until publication in May 2021. This is the second of three opportunities, but no entrant may win more than one book. If a close relative wins a prize, I’ll pick an additional winner.

Have you read Somebody’s Daughter?

Back in February, I invited subscribers to download an e-book
of five short stories, Somebody’s Daughter;
if you missed out, your free copy awaits you here:

SOMEBODY'S DAUGHTER MOBI FOR KINDLE

SOMEBODY'S DAUGHTER EPUB FOR OTHER E-READERS

SOMEBODY'S DAUGHTER PDF

The first story, “A Daughter Your Age”,
was inspired by a hairy incident during a summer job:

One summer, back in my student days, I worked at a pickle factory in a village in Germany. The nearest supermarket was across the border in the Netherlands and, if we overslept and missed the bus into town, we’d hitch. On one such occasion, a seemingly reasonable guy took me on a diversion down a quiet country lane … I’ve always wondered if I had a lucky escape.

If you’ve read Somebody’s Daughter, I’d love to know what you think.
You can either reply to this email or complete my short survey.

If you wish, you can also help me and other potential readers
by sharing your thoughts online, for example:

Goodreads

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Introducing Alison Jean Lester

I connected with Alison Jean Lester online after reading her first two novels. Her third book, published last month, is a little different, with a target readership of adults confronting the end of life, or supporting loved ones who are. Although I'm (hopefully) neither, I’m very much looking forward to reading it.

In Absolutely Delicious: A Chronicle of Extraordinary Dying, Alison Jean Lester describes the roads leading to her mother’s cooperation with her terminal disease and her decision to forego treatments that might have prolonged her life, but also might have ruined her death. It is a story that illuminates the benefits of acceptance and the many gifts offered by daring to own one’s end.

Yes, I am normally a fiction writer. But this story, so very important to me, required no imagination.

It just so happens that Alison is one of five other authors joining me in a new venture to bring a silver lining to one lucky reader during the UK lockdown. You could win six literary / historical novels, each one signed by the author, to keep you entertained this winter. Even if you don't win, it's a chance to discover new authors, with a few freebies to thank you for taking part. As it's not restricted to my newsletter subscribers, you can invite your friends and family to participate, and earn yourself extra entries when you do. But don't hang about, the competition closes next Monday 16 November – click on the button to join in. (Apologies to my overseas supporters that the prize can only go to a UK address.)

YES, I'D LIKE TO WIN 6 NOVELS SIGNED BY THE AUTHORS