Reading into Spring

Memoir of an Irish Guard, for which I was ghost writer, is now published and it looks fantastic. I'm so pleased with how the project has turned out.

I have also had the opportunity to read some fabulous books in the past months, both fiction and non-fiction. Just finished The Re-origin of Species by Swedish science journalist Torill Kornfeldt. What a wonderful read. Kornfeldt has done things I could only ever dream of as she followed various scientific efforts in de-extinction around the world, including spending time in Siberia. What a job!

Prior to this I read Cold Cold Heart by Tami Hoag. I've read several of Hoag's books over the years and always enjoyed these crime thrillers. This one was very different and more a victim story than a crime solving story and was a good exploration into the human mind and spirit. I enjoyed it but probably wouldn't rush to read another of hers - since I still have nine books on my bedside table...

And there must be something about winter as continuing the 'cold' theme I've just started another Louise Penny novel, Dead Cold. I'm only one chapter in but I'm already hooked - as usual.

So many books, so little time...

Where do three months go?

I looked at my blog this morning and realised I hadn't posted for that long. So what have I been doing all this time? Well, I have been writing two ghost-written books.

One is Memoir of an Irish Guard (120,000 words) which, as the title suggests, is the story of an Irishman,  Roger Gillen, who became a Guard and went off to the second world war. He was captured in France and incarcerated in a German POW camp; he escaped, three times, and eventually returned to England. What a fabulous read.

The other is The Big Steal (30,000 words) about the whistleblower who thwarted the great bullion robbery of Heathrow Airport in 1948. Another great read.

I have also just completed a first draft of an historical essay about the Tasmanian International Exhibition held in Launceston in 1891-92. What a fabulous event it was - a first for Tasmania and a real boost for Launceston.

In July I joined the committee of the Launceston School for Seniors and have taken on the role of Newsletter Editor. Previously the newsletters were printed in black and white and left at the school. I I suggested we email them out to as many as possible to say printing and enable students to see them in colour. It turned out that 2/3 of the school was already on email and it was a mammoth task to correct hundreds of email addresses and create 15 alphabetical email listings, but we did it! Our first e-newsletter went out this week. It looks great on the computer in full colour and with live hyperlinks!

And in between I have read a few books. The one I really want to recommend is The Falls by Australian author B Michael Radburn. I picked it up at the Book Grocer in Melbourne for $7 and can't believe how good it is. It is the follow-up to The Crossing which I have just ordered from e-bay. The Falls is a crime mystery set in the Victorian high country; The Crossing is set in the Tasmanian wilderness - just one more reason I have to read it.

And that, in a nutshell, is three months! I still don't know where the time goes.