This post is by way of a (very) temporary farewell. Some of you may remember that last summer I published my first novel, “Fatal Forgery”. (If by some fluke you have missed it, here it is on Amazon, with some lovely reviews.) The hero, a London police officer called Samuel Plank, now has quite a few fans, and I have decided that I would like to write more about him – not least because, in an amazing coincidence, he shares my fascination with financial crime. So for the next month – July being my really quiet training month – I am hiding away on a writing retreat, to take the eight chapters that I have already written and the plot that I have constructed and the endless notes that I have made, and turn them into what is known in my house as “Plank 2: He’s Back, Even Though You Suggested That One Book Would Get It Out Of Your System”. (Granted, I’m going to have to come up with something more catchy before publication.)
For you lovely blog readers, this means that I will go rather quiet. The place to which I am retreating has (a) no telephone, and (b) no Internet – because I know that I have (c) no discipline, and will otherwise while away hours tootling round history websites and cooing over pictures of Mr Darcy (well, it’s sort of the right period). However, I do not want to lose you, of course – there are now 374 of you, and you’re all lovely. So here’s the deal: every Friday from now until the end of July, I will be going to an Internet café to check emails and (more importantly) write you a blog post. So we’re dropping down from the two or three a week that you have come to expect, but it’s only for four weeks. Please stay!
As for the new novel, I don’t want to give too much away, but can I just mention that I think I have worked out how to get money laundering into it – a mere 161 years before it was first criminalised in the UK. You can see why I like Sam so much.
I hate money laundering 
Good Luck!
Where on earth are you going, which has no phones and internet?
Have a good break too if you can.
Nikki
Nicolla J Tanguy
Managing Director
Bank J. Safra Sarasin Ltd, Guernsey Branch
Direct Dial +44 1481 739801
It’s Switzerland, Nikki – but a tiny flat at the top of a mountain. I could get phone and Internet wired in, but I choose not to, antisocial moo that I am!
I have stocked up on choccie biscuits and DVDs, so will try to relax in the evenings.
Best wishes from Sue
enjoy the break, Susan – I’m sure the retreat away from the distractions of modern life will be excellent for body and soul and really bring the creative flow from within you.
something, in fact, we should all do from time to time…”too busy” is the sad reality for most, perhaps we need to evolve more as society. I think we’d all achieve a lot more in the long run.
all the best, and enjoy.
I wish you a great holiday, Susan! I am off for more pottery adventures. If you manage to sneak a peak on FB at the internet café, you’ll see the results. And I am looking forward to your new book.