Notes of Cheer - The First One
Book news, a free chapter, and the lure of crockery that looks like a fruit...
Hello - how are you? I hope you’re really well.
A very warm welcome to the first proper edition of Notes of Cheer. If you’ve been a subscriber to my newsletter for a while, huge thanks for coming with me to Substack, and if you’ve just signed up, an equally big thank you for giving it a go.
It’s been a busy time here, juggling plans for Dear Miss Lake (the new book) publication alongside working on a totally new novel, set in a different era and without the characters I’ve had in my head for the last fourteen or so years. It’s a bit weird! Usually Emmy, Bunty, Guy, Charles….they’re all there waiting to muck in. Now I’m off on my own. As readers have been saying, it’s bittersweet to say goodbye to the old gang, but I’m excited about the new ideas. Keeping them quiet is going to be a challenge!
Do scroll down if you want to go straight to more info about the book and a link to a special preview of the first chapter (shriek!).
Meanwhile, as well writing, you’ll be pleased to know I have been on a DIY course and if the career in novels doesn’t work out, will be absolutely poised to become the new Handy Andy. Mates rates for all subscribers obviously guaranteed.
Admittedly the ‘course’ was only a day, and really just about drills, but hey, dream big, kids! Screwfix wasn’t built in a day.
Anyway, it all started with the upsetting news that the lovely DIY bloke I know decided to retire. Hmm. I know. A bad day all round.
Being made of stern stuff, I didn’t immediately panic as I can bash a nail in a wall and also do enjoy the drama of a fence falling down in a storm. During lockdown, the tarpaulin flew off the shed and in torrential rain I stuffed the hole in the exposed apex (exposed apex - is that a term?) with old compost bags and actually stopped the leak. Reader, I’ve never felt so alive.
So, when the LDIYB took his well-earned retirement (I can confirm that it is poor form to refer to it ‘selfishly giving up’) I didn’t panic. OK, sobbing, ‘But sixty-five is the new thirty,’ and, ‘Honestly, golf’s boring, you’ll hate it,’ through his letterbox could be interpreted as weak, but it was worth a go. And when it failed, I signed up for the course.
Ma, look at me now!
Who knew there was so much to learn just about ‘bits’? I’ve always admired people who keep journals where they paint their month in watercolours and annotate it in lovely handwriting. Sadly, the above is not that.
If you look closely though, it may not be artistic, but do you see my immediate and remarkable insight into this new world? Have a read and if you’re not already fully in the drill know, now you can confidently tell people that a spade drill bit “makes holes”. That’s yours for free. AND (top tip), do be careful as, “the snail can go fast”.
Is this not very nearly philosophical?
(Note: if you’re new to this newsletter I must apologise if you were expecting deep literary insight. I do get onto books and stuff in a minute. Thank you).
As you can also see, some of the equipment was quite scary. The one that looks like I got bored and drew an ice-cream instead was vicious, and so I started writing notes to self on avoiding ever having to use one.
Anyway, going forward, for all DIY information and advice, please leave your comment below*.
(*Satisfaction not guaranteed or let’s face it, likely).
Right, finally some book news.
It’s now less than four weeks until Dear Miss Lake comes out in the UK on the 3rd of July in hardback, ebook and on audio (and then 5 August in the USA and Canada). So there’s a fair bit going on.
First … the promised FREE STUFF!
Do you fancy a preview of Chapter One?
Get in! My publishers have given me the OK so you can be one of the first to see it: find it HERE.
You’ll see it’s a jaunty start to the book, although if you’ve read the others in the series, you’ll know there’s a rollercoaster ahead.
Oh, and good news if you’re in the UK because…
Mrs Porter Calling is 99p this month on Kindle
All the way through to the end of June, so do grab a bargain.
Actually, the first two books, Dear Mrs Bird and Yours Cheerfully are both I think at least, on Kindle at £3.99 (I’ve just looked) though I don’t know how long that will last, so load up for a binge read while you can.
Anna Popplewell is Back for the Audio
Properly good news as we managed to get actor Anna Popplewell to narrate. I’m so pleased as it means Anna has done the whole series. And she’s great.
A couple of weeks ago I went along to the recording in London, partly to read the author’s note and acknowledgements at the end of the book, and also to listen in on some of the recording. And I have to say that listening to it live is a cool thing to get to do.
It’s really special to hear characters coming to life, especially the new ones. As much as you put hours and hours into forming them and in your head it’s like they’re real, hearing how them speak is quite difficult I think. Imagining what a character looks like, writing their words, even holding something they’d wear or use (see below for how I collect things for this) is all very doable. Hearing them though is, for me at least, the hardest part. You can describe a high pitched young voice or a grumpy one, but when you hear them for real - especially when you’re there - that other sense really kicks in.
I wrote about this the other day on Instagram: one of the new characters is a young woman called Wallace Carter, and when Anna read some of her dialogue, I just had a huge grin on my face because she was Wallace. It was quite emotional. In the character notes I’d written, part of Wall’s was, “clearly younger and with less life experience than Emmy, but has backbone and pluck.”
And there she was.
So I’m immensely grateful to both Picador and Anna for making it happen. If you’re an audio fan, do give it a go.
Now just to mention a couple of events and then I’ll shut up (momentarily) about Dear Miss Lake.
Events
If you live anywhere near Hertfordshire, on Wednesday 9th July I’ll be at Tring Library chatting about all things Emmy and Bunty. All the details are here. It would be lovely to see you.
And on Sunday 29 June, Katie Fforde and I are gatecrashing our friend author Jo Thomas’s event at the Evesham Festival of Words. Jo will be in conversation about her new book A Place in the Sun but we’re going along as (a) Jo is very funny, (b) there’s cake, and © we plan to heckle. So if you live near, do come and say hello as it’s going to be fun.
And now…
Top Reads Corner
As usual, here are some recommendations of books I’ve really enjoyed. I’ve also written a post here with some of my previous newsletter recommendations. There are also tons of brilliant suggestions in the Comments section - thanks everyone!
Four Gardens by Marjory Sharp
First published in 1935, it was out of print for ages until Dean Street Press re-published it a couple of years ago, and thank goodness they did. Four Gardens follows the life of Caroline Smith, from her adolescence in the late nineteenth centure through to middle-age, loosely charting it via the gardens that surround her at key stages in her life. The characters are wonderful and the feeling of time and place, exceptional.
As you can see from the picture, I got hold of a first edition. I know it’s tatty but isn’t the illustration gorgeous? It was designed by Anna Zinkeisen whose self-portrait I saw just the other day in the National Portrait Gallery. Wonderful, isn’t it? Anyway, back to the book. I simply loved Four Gardens.
Wise Children by Angela Carter
If Four Gardens quietly works its way into your head and stays there, Wise Children breaks down the door! Someone mentioned it to me recently and I hadn’t read it so spent a happy weekend catching up. It’s a cracker - the story of two show business/stagey sisters and their extended, entirely bonkers family through a big chunk of the twentieth century. Funny and mad and tragic, and then mad and funny again, I was swept along and ended up exhausted in a really good way.
Did you have a dressing up box when you were little? It’s like falling in that along with a magnum of champagne. Entirely enjoyable, and happily without the hangover.
Cheerfulness Breaks In by Angela Thirkell
When I wrote the post about books and authors I’ve recommended in the past, I was astonished that Angela Thirkell wasn’t one of them. Most remiss so I’m putting it right now.
I’m pretty sure Cheerfulness Breaks In was the first AT novel I read. Set as WW2 breaks out (clever title), I remember immediately loving the way all the characters downplay the war as a small inconvenience, while various unimportant local hiccups are given way higher importance. As with many Thirkell novels the plot isn’t the point (dizzy Rose Birkett gets married, evacuees arrive and everyone is plucky which is more than enough for me) and I’m 100% happy with that. Sometimes you just need cheer in a dark place, without tons of action going on. Great fun and I’m going to read it again now as it’s been ages.
Right. Anyone up for some vintage? Excellent. One of the things I’m looking forward to on Substack is talking about old stuff I collect that no one else bids for on eBay delightful vintage objects that appeal to the discerning eye.
Sometimes it is actually helpful for book research, not least as for me it’s day to day items that can become a tangible connection to a character. Perhaps a brooch or a note book, tube map or theatre programme. There’s also the unknown story that comes with even the simplest object. Who bought it new and why? What conversations did a dinner plate witness? It’s rather like, ‘if only walls could talk’. What letters did a fountain pen write, what meetings happened as it sat by the blotter on a desk? I love everything about that.
Most interesting of all, why was that particular object kept for the rest of someone’s life?
Ticket stubs are brilliant for that. Menus from a dinner dance. No monetary value, but something important must have happened for a person to carefully put them away. Gold dust to writers.
Mind you, I did once find a very odd Edward VIII commemorative tape measure that must have been sitting in a sewing basket for decades. A little celluloid head with alarming teeth and a tape measure that shoots out the back of its neck. Seriously. Do google it if you never want to sleep again. One seller refers to it as ‘unusual’ which in this case may be a euphemism for ‘possessed’. Mad.
But let’s move on as I’ve called this letter Notes of Cheer and not Peculiar Stuff to Give You the Heebie-Jeebies. Here’s a nice thing.
Vintage Enthusiasm of the Month
Summer is here and what better than a vintage ceramic fruit strainer? AKA salad drainers/colanders etc, let’s just agree that they’re all bowls with holes. I’ve gone mad for them.
Isn’t this lovely?
Full transparency, I was on Skye McAlpine’s gorgeous website, coveting her beautiful Frutti di Bosco dinnerware (look at this Jug of Dreams which I’m desperate for!) and I started wondering about the history of fruit based ceramics.
Before I knew it (and this happens a lot), I was on the ‘Bay and it turns out that fruit strainers like this were a definite thing. And are, as far as I can see, not something that many people now want. (The fools!). So I snapped up the fella above. I think it’s supposed to have a plate to catch the drips, but that’s why tea towels were invented so there we are. I think it’s beautiful.
Even better, if you search for it, Fruit Crockery (just made that up) is plentiful and reasonable. I’m guessing the one below is 1950s - a cherries and strawbs combo that could be yours (ok, mine) for £11.99. Really. Shut up!
If you were to rush off there (or to Etsy though I find vintage stuff there more expensive), you could become the proud owner of a plate disguised as asparagus. Now we’re talking. Naturally, this would put you right at the front of the in crowd at exactly the right time of year. (Here’s one - fabulous I think you’ll agree).
Or go for a lovely old AJ Wilkinson jam pot like this. I love jam pots. Find the right one and a slice of toast turns into a hoot.
So, that’s my current fad. I realise original 1950s Beswick Ware ceramic wickerwork-esqe tablewear may not be in fashion. I’ve no idea. But if that’s true, it’s actually brilliant news because it means (whisper it) there will be less people bidding. Hurrah. (NB: the nice strainer was £36 so let’s not get carried away).
Who’s with me? Let me know in the comments if Fruit Crockery might be your bag. Then we can start a new gang.
Right, just time for some recent favourite things before I let you crack on. Usually I have a big list of Where Things Are Mostly Cheerful, but as this is my first Substack email, I’m all about the writers here that I really enjoy.
First of all, a huge thank you to India Knight for mentioning Notes of Cheer in her newsletter yesterday. I was chuffed to bits. India’s Home is the epitome of cheer and style on Substack, so if you aren’t already reading it, do head over there now.
For readers new to the platform and on the look out for more authors, you can find JoJo Moyes here, and also Libby Page, and if you’re writing, Daisy Buchanon’s Creative Confidence Clinic is crackerjack too.
Daisy Goodwin is a great read, and Jessica Fellowes whose post today will have you rushing out to buy new pyjamas so very good for morale.
I’d better stop now as I’ve just realised why I’m behind on writing the new book. Just tons of great people to read. More in next month’s email.
Thank you so much for reading this. Was it too long? Do let me know what you think, want more of (drill bits!), or less (er…it’s the drill bits, isn’t it?) in the comments below.
Until next time which will be Sunday 6 July, have a lovely month.
Yours,
AJ
this is inspiring stuff! I can be stumped by a drawing pin. But I'm taking heart!
I always enjoyed getting your newsletters and now I have your Substacks to cheer. Marvellous, thank you. Also, I am now completely enthralled by Anna Zinkeisen and want to know everything about her after seeing that self portrait (I also want to be her quite a lot).