I’m struggling to think of any good things to say about this past week as it’s kinda been the week from hell. So let’s just stick to books and reading and move on shall we? 😉 

What I read

I finished Kate London’s Post Mortem which was a great debut novel from the former police officer.

As I suspected, I ditched my anally-prepared chronological reading list for Sue Grafton’s X, which I very much enjoyed, before picking up Nora Roberts’ (JD Robb’s) latest, Devoted in Death.

Before returning to my orderly list with Susan Johnson’s The Landing.

What I wrote

Again it was just book stuff. I seem a bit hamstrung when it comes to talking about more personal things on the blog at the moment.

I kicked off my week with a review of Sophie Hannah’s A Game for All the Family — which started out as riveting but ultimately disappointed. A little.

I shared my thoughts about Deadly Messengers, a book by an Aussie author, Susan May.

I reviewed Post Mortem by Kate London and finally Sue Grafton’s X. I also announced a competition I’m running ONLY FOR AUSSIE RESIDENTS to win a copy of X and Val McDermid’s Splinter the Silence.

What I did

I was sick. In last week’s post I hoped I was getting better. Well, nope. No siree… I got worse. I spent about 20hrs straight in bed on Monday and felt mostly crappy for the remainder of the week. Even now I still have a bit of a cough and headache (though I suspect the former causes the latter!)

Then on Thursday night my mother (who lives in a neighbouring town) was taken to hospital in an ambulance because of chest pains (she’s being treated and monitored by a cardiologist so has an existing condition) and I spent the 30min drive there (at 9.30pm) freaking out BIG TIME. The staff was great and she was there getting checked out until almost 3am. The upshot is her cardiologist is tweaking her medication. So, a long and stressful night. For all concerned.

It kinda reminded me how the best laid plans can get unstuck ridiculously easily. Life’s short. Yadda yadda yadda.

What I’m planning on reading

Early One Morning by Virginia Baily is a novel which is partially set during WWII so wouldn’t normally appeal (given my mehness for historical fiction), however it seems to also be a novel which examines the time and events retrospectively so I’m feeling brave! 😉

Next on my list is The Assassins by Gayle Lynds, which I expect I requested though it sounds like a return to my spy and espionage novel-loving past* than my current mystery / suspense / crime fiction bent.

And then there’s Cathy Kelly’s Between Sisters. I’ve not read any of Kelly’s books in the past, so figured it was time to expand my horizons. A little.

Other stuff

The lovely Evil Overlord, Elizabeth, read an interview I did with Daniela recently and commented on one of the book ideas I mentioned. She of course suggested I get my act into gear and pitch it to a publisher but she suggested in the interim I could publish excerpts on my blog. I kinda like that idea (the second part, not the first of course as it’s a bit too scary!).

As an aside, if you’re at a loose end I’ve previously blogged a bit here about my time in Mozambique (a lifetime ago). Not sure how these would translate into something more novel-like:

We are all one under the skin
That time I was on the radio at 4.30am
We need to talk about…

I’m also thinking of biting the bullet and enrolling in a Magazine and Newspaper Writing course at the Australian Writers’ Centre. I’ve done some similar things in the past so wasn’t sure I ‘needed’ it… but in retrospect it might give me the confidence I need to start pitching ideas to potential sources. Perhaps. As I’m minimally employed at the moment I’d have to reprioritise my finances, but I hope it’ll be worth it.

And… that’s my books and reading related news for another week.

What’s on your agenda? 

Linking up with Kimberley from The Caffeinated Reviewer for the Sunday Post.

* I was once MADLY in love with anything and everything by David Morrell, Robert Ludlum, John LeCarre and Len Deighton.