Cheryl's 'By the Letter'


A birthday present - loving the reviews - an invitation - just for you - Crispina Kemp author - plot devices	View in browser

Welcome (back)!

I can't believe it's been a month since my last missive, but in that time autumn has continued to make tentative steps towards winter. We've still not turned the heating on, which augurs well for keeping the warmth in our new, old, house. The renovation work goes on ... and on ... The next three weeks are on a tight schedule of juggling plasterers (more artex removal as above), painters, floor laying people, and electricians, with the aim of having our downstairs furniture in the right rooms and right positions by the beginning of November. And a clear spare room for when my favourite daughter visits then. Fingers crossed!

My birthday present to you ...

September through to January is when most of the family's birthdays fall, with Christmas to break things up a little. Mine is tomorrow, and I'm giving the presents.

I know many of you have read and love Keepers, but many have joined this list since the book's launch and may not 'yet' be fans. Set in Australia in 1950, and loosely based on my own family, Keepers has had 4 and 5 star reviews like this:

This is a beautifully written book, uplifting and heart warming . I could not put this book down and read it in one session.

The button will take you to a landing page where you can download a copy for whatever eReader you have.

Enjoy it, and please, please, please leave a review, tell a friend, buy a copy as a Christmas present for someone! Thank you!

Download my copy of Keepers

By the way, the sequel people asked for is on its way. It will likely be a novella, and is proving a great deal of fun to write. More about that next month.

On promotion at a mere 1.99 - £ or $ (any $)

River Witch update

River Witch continues to be met with enthusiasm by readers. Within a month of release it's garnered over 50 four and five star reviews on Goodreads. What's been fascinating has been the mini-surge in Keepers sales as so many readers said they wanted to read more by this author, and appear to have actually meant it. Am I happy? Of course!
River Witch is in a promotion so for a few days the kindle version will be a mere 1.99 in AUD, CAD, USD and GBP ... (hmmm - no comment). It's also in Kindle Unlimited.
Paperbacks can be found at Forest Books and Crafts, and ordered via this link from Chepstow Bookshop.

My signing at Forest Books was postponed due to illness (not mine), and will now be on Sat 22 Oct, 11 am -1 pm. Drop in and say hi!

'This was an absolutely magnificent read that I struggled to put down. I was captivated by the author’s beautiful and articulate writing, which fabricated this captivating tale. The characters were unique and fascinating, and they all came together perfectly to weave this story into something truly remarkable in my opinion.' Goodreads 6 Oct

Other News

Meet the author supper - Newnham community library event

On Thursday 20 October 7.00 pm, Newnham Library are kindly hosting a Meet the Author supper for River Witch. The event is a fund raiser for this excellent community library, so if you're local, please do come along. I can guarantee the food, and I promise not to talk for long - honest!

Tickets available here.

Guest author

Crispina Kemp

Crispina Kemp has a most vivid imagination, and the ability to transfer her thoughts to paper. Some pure fantasy, some historical fantasy, her books follow the intrigues and dramas of richly complex characters (including a lovesick dragon) in fantastical settings. I'm not done with her Spinner's Game series yet, but am part way through her latest, Roots of Rookeri, and learning a whole new language as I go. Have a read of my interview with Crispina to discover how and where she gets her inspiration.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE
Writing books always entails, for me, the horrible job of throwing out scenes for one reason or another. This deleted scene could have been the prologue to River Witch, but in the end I went with my original beginning, although it was a true case of 'killing those darlings' as writers say. Enjoy it!

Devils screeching, witches flayed ...

WRITERS ARE READERS TOO

The Mad Women's Ball by Victoria Mas

One of those highly popular novels which, in my humble view, has me asking: Why? Here are my thoughts.

WRITER'S CORNER

PLOT DEVICES

I knew the term, but if you asked me to tell you exactly what these creatures of writing craft are, I would have had to pass. So I went looking because I love learning craft, and playing with it too. I did my 'ask Twitter's #writingcommunity' thing and that was enormously helpful, once I'd sorted it out. Together with my own research, I can now answer the question, although I'm sure there's much more to be said.

Six plot devices explained

COMING UP

Hopefully sharing good news on both the house and writing fronts, and I'll go into a little more detail about the new book.
My November guest is someone everyone who writes or reads historical crime will definitely want to meet - you will love the resources this person provides and their fascinating newsletter. A book too!

Cheryl

PS: If this email was forwarded to you and you would like to sign up for my newsletter, you can do so here, and download your free copy of Dragon Gift.

Do you like By the Letter? Feel free to share it!

Cheryl Burman

Forest of Dean
United Kingdom

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