Hello everyone,
Happy October – can you believe 2023 is that old? It’ll be a busy month for me: besides seeing A Winter to Remember safely onto bookshop shelves, and tackling all the associated fanfare that goes along with a new book arrival – signings, marketing, publicity – I’ll be making a start on the next, after the plot I’m still tinkering with comes together in a solid enough shape for me to work with it. In addition, October is Children’s Book Festival month in libraries throughout Ireland, and I’ve been booked to meet local schoolchildren in libraries in Tipperary, Limerick and Kerry, so I’ll be on the road a bit. All good – and everything will get done.
I was on the road in September too, a sunnier one than I usually walk on. The Portuguese Camino de Santiago trip with my pal Marita went really well. We chose the coastal path, so there were a lot of boardwalks and beaches, and coffees in cafes overlooking the ocean, and occasional dips too, when the mood took us. We really enjoyed it, and found the Portuguese people really lovely (and the Spanish too, it has to be said, on the two days we spent over the border). We didn’t make it to Santiago, we just didn’t have enough time, but next year, all going well, we’ll take a different route and end up there. Highly recommend for a holiday with a difference – and since you can walk as much or as little as you want each day, it’s not just for long distance walkers. All you need is some time off, a good pair of boots and an open mind. We met great folk, fellow walkers and locals alike. Everyone, it seemed, had time to talk.
And now the clock has reached bedtime on the last day of September, so I’ll bid you goodnight and God bless. Hope you enjoy A Winter to Remember if you’re of a mind to pick it up.
Mind yourselves.
