I finally typed The End, which I almost never do, on the 174th sheet of my new Regency. Whether it is the end or not, it is printed out and needs a title.  I'm thinking of Double Trouble but don't take that as final. Here's the opening:

London, 1811

 “Confound it, Ellen! Why in the world is he talking to her?”

Phee’s voice, though low, carried the unmistakable edge of fury. A flush rose high on her cheeks, and her periwinkle eyes, ordinarily cool and composed, sparked with indignation. She stood rigid, chin lifted, the ostrich plume in her hair trembling slightly with the force of her restraint.

Only Ellen, standing close enough to catch the words, heard them. She blinked once, slowly, and followed her sister’s gaze across the crowded withdrawing room that tonight did duty as ballroom.

There, beneath the golden glow of a dozen chandeliers, stood Richard, Lord Quarrington. Tall, dark-haired, and infuriatingly at ease with his situation, he was engaged in what appeared to be a most agreeable conversation with Lady Cecilia Frosterley. The latter, all pale gold curls and artful delicacy, tilted her head just so, her gloved fingers resting lightly on the edge of her fan. Her laugh, soft and silvery, floated across the room like a bell.

“He may speak to whomever he pleases,” Ellen said mildly, though her tone carried more caution than conviction.

But Phee was already moving, her silk skirts whispering with purpose as she strode across the parquet floor. Guests parted instinctively, some with murmured greetings, others with sidelong glances. Ellen followed, her own steps quieter, more measured.

“He does not need anyone’s permission to speak to any young lady of our acquaintance,” she added, catching up.

Phee halted so abruptly that Ellen nearly collided with her. Eyes blazing, she declared, “But he knows how much I dislike her.”

Ellen opened her mouth, then closed it again. She had learned, over the years, that Phee’s tempers were best met with patience, not argument. Still, she ventured, “And Lady Cecilia knows how much you admire him.”

Phee’s breath caught and for a moment, her expression faltered, showing a flicker of vulnerability beneath the outrage. Then she drew herself up, spine straight as a sword. “That is entirely beside the point.”

“Is it?” Ellen asked gently.

Phee didn’t answer. Her gaze had returned to the far corner of the room, where Lord Quarrington now leaned in slightly, saying something that made Lady Cecilia smile. Not the demure smile expected of a debutante, but something sly, knowing. And downright possessive.

Phee’s hands clenched at her sides.

The room was stifling. The scent of beeswax and lavender hung heavy in the air, mingling with the perfume of roses and the faint tang of perspiration. Music drifted from the musicians’ gallery playing a waltz, languid and sweet but Phee heard none of it. Her world had narrowed to that corner of the room, to that smile, to the way Richard’s eyes crinkled at the corners when he laughed.

He had laughed like that with her once.

Massive probs for Amazon

I think my time placing Ads on Amazon to promote my books is over.

For the last 18 months I have the feeling they are benefitting from me rather me benefitting from them. Sales are way down and even KENP reads are none-existent. Now this may be for a number of reason but  Amazon glitches are not helping.

To be honest, this time my bank had a rather large part to play because they declined to pay off the invoice for no other reason than fraud protection. They suspected/were checking that I was really me, so they said when I rang today. So they were the reason Amazon stopped everything dead. 

I think the banks should at least e-mail people if they are going to do this. Their action has caused me awful problems and all for nothing - there was no fraud.

Though I have spent a good hour online with Amazon Ads AI helper today telling them their billing page does not allow me to pay the wretched unpaid invoice (for $9.18 cents.) In the end the AI helper handed over to an attendant and though Avindar could send a message to me, I could not send one back to him. No joy with  Microsoft Edge (my normal browser)  or with Firefox or Google Chrome. (The AI helper thought that would help if I changed browsers.) I think Amazon Ads has massive problems these days.  Anyway, I gave up and took the dog for a walk.

No more ticks!

Autumn is here at last and I for one am well pleased. I was so tired of the flies and ticks not to mention coming back home sweating. The ticks attempted to attack my dog, not me! but I got bitten by midgies and other assorted flying insects quite often. We used an antic-tick collar to protect her and though we had to remove perhaps 3 ticks over the season, they proved to be dead on removal so the yellow  collar that smells so beautiful did its job. Nala is much more lively out on walks now the days are cooler, so she is benefitting too.

Last night the forecast said the temperature would drop to 2 degrees C, so I changed the beds over to duvets in anticipation of chilly weather but I don't think it really got that cold. Anything under 3 is likely to produce frost here in the north east. I was toasty warm, and I had been chilly the previous night, so it was a good decision regardless of temperature.

My new novel is progressing. 48,150 word count now but moving awfully slowly.

I have never known a story grow, word-count-wise, so slowly. I am beginning to doubt it will ever be finished!

The picture seemed suitably autumnal - it was taken last year about this time when we went to Gamrie in Aberdeenshire for a week. Nala is just about to fall asleep, dreaming no doubt of her runs along the beach chasing the seagulls.

no longer A Good Thing To Do.

 It may be that selling books on Kindle (otherwise Amazon KDP) is no longer A Good Thing To Do. Sales for the last year have not been anything like they have in the past. Amazon tells me I have clicks, for which they charge, but the charge for clicks outweighs the profit from sales.

KENP  (page reads)are also just about vanished. My career as an author is just about over even though I am 40,000 words into a new Regency romance.

Audible (talking books) is taking over so they say and I think that is sad on many levels. Reading is a skill that needs to be practiced, whereas anyone can listen. Every time I have tried listening to a book, I have fallen asleep, only to wake  a little later to find I have missed a good deal of the book. Often it is two in the morning and then I struggle to get back to sleep, so maybe this colours my view!  The less one reads over time the harder it seems to be when one comes back to it.

I look at this photo of Stac Polly and think once upon a time I climbed to the top of that (and almost got eaten alive by the infamous Scottish midgie) but now the thought of doing it again makes me smile, sit down and read a book.

Shopping

 Today I thought I would pop down to the Metrocentre to buy a pair of slippers (boot style) to keep my feet warm these cold windy nights. Thought the traffic was rather heavy on the way in but got parked with no problems. M&S did not have the kind of slipper I wanted, Hotel Chocolate charges far too much for 6  - yes, six, chocolates. At £4.95 that's 82p per sweetie, and nearby Pavers didn't have the slippers I wanted. After that I considered searching the Metrocentre for said slippers, thought of the building traffic and my dog waiting at home, and opted to go home. Got in the mini, drove to the exit lane and found a nose-to-tail line of cars, two lanes actually, waiting to exit said carpark. We didn't move for about ten minutes. I phoned home. "Are there any accidents?" I asked and explained why I was sitting in my car wasting petrol. He phoned back. "No accidents but every road around the Metrocentre is scarlet. That means its clogged."

I tried to visualise where I was. Surely there must be another route out of the car park? I knew the locality, but until I could get out of the car park, I couldn't do a thing. Checked the map on my phone. Nope. One way in, one way out and we were all at a standstill. Of course people didn't behave well.  Some drivers came back to their cars, saw what was happening and we watched as they drove to the lane closest to the exit and then expected to be let into the stream of cars at once.

  Jaws were set and drivers of waiting cars stared straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge someone trying to butt in. Picture a tiny 24 year-old-mini trying to change lanes once we were in spitting distance of the exit and all the big modern cars ignoring us. But we got there, and ducked round the silly creature ahead of me waiting for three lanes of traffic all to stop and let s/he into the far lane. 

We made it out of the Metrocentre into Dunstan but that was bogged down with escapees. Took ages to get to the overpass where I could escape up the hill and into Whickam then to Blaydon and out west. Now I am safe and warm at home, recounting the story to hubby, all I can say is I think the one way in, one way out system is basically unsafe. If a bomb had gone off in the middle, no one could move. Escape would be impossible, and emergency vehicles couldn't get in. Food for thought. Anyway, I have decided I'm buying the boots online! It's early October, for goodness sake. Nowhere near Christmas!

Raw steak

 

I regret to report that the pink salt trick has done little for me. Over six days of imbibing said pink crystals, water, lemon juice and honey (not all at once) I report that I am now half a pound heavier than day one. Day 2 was encouraging as I seemed to have lost one whole pound. But regrettably this was not to last.

Perhaps you have to be exceedingly fat to lose much. While I carry a little more than I would like, I don't think anyone would call me fat. I will take a break and perhaps try again in a week or so.

It was Nala's birthday yesterday. She reached the grand old age of 8 and so she got to chomp down on a piece of raw steak for her dinner. Gone in a minute and a half, I should think - if I ever thought of timing it! This morning while I was weeding in the sunshine, I heard her chewing something close by, looked round and here she is trying to break off a dead lavender branch. Very hurt when I told her she couldn't do that - no no no.

Pink Salt, anyone?

 Another re-vamp done. I suspect I could do better on the cover and may do some extra work on it but it will remain essentially the same. I am working on writing a new book  but every now and then the urge to do some photoshopping grabs me. I used to paint and draw as a hobby so I suppose this stems from the same spring.

I have unpublished most of my paperbacks. They didn't sell well, especially not for the effort they took to get the full cover at exactly the right proportions, but one or two copies may still hang about under their old titles and covers. There's nothing I can do about that. Amazon's rules are strict and unbreakable. 

Yesterday Fb was flooded with The Pink Salt Trick articles which were remarkably coy about telling the fourth and final ingredient. I finally discovered it was berberine or maybe resveratrol - neither of which I have ever heard of and certainly don't keep in my kitchen. I don't even keep green tea powder. Pink salt we do have. I may drink a little pink salt and lemon juice and see if it makes me sick. Salt is supposed to, isn't it?