At the moment I am exploring what is possible. I thought this picture might cheer you up today. Once I have the web site design right, I will take off the Old Posts and start writing fresh content every month. I'm thinking of adding some tabs for work in progress or a link to my Instagram.

Bramblings having stand off in Suffolk this afternoon @OlympusUK OM-1 pic.twitter.com/DIpUXZd4RC

— Old Man of Minsmere (@oldman65Suffolk) April 9, 2022

Breakfast at Brewer Street

I am excited to say that I have published my second novel on Amazon and it is available to buy now in  Kindle or paperback. The impetus for completion was that I wanted to enter it in the UK Kindle Storyteller contest. The closing date is 31 August 2020 - so just scrapped in!

As you may know, I started writing in November 2019 and the first 50,000 or so words were written during Nanowrimo while I was in Australia. It is hard to keep writing at that pace and inevitably there are changes as the plot develops that require rewrites.

The book is set in 1938 and that means I have been exploring what it was like to live then. This including reading different publications from the period and even etiquette guides for newlyweds. 

Here are two photos of some of the research material.

I can highly recommend Boys Cinema it is a gripping read! Lots of information about the stars of the day and stories from the films.

Picture Post and Lilliput were both new around then, they both started just before the WW2.  Great photojournalism.

If you would like to buy a copy of the new book it is available at http://author.to/SimonBardwell

NaNoWriMo

I think I should say I am taking part again in the great and wonderful thing that is NaNoWriMo. If you run along to http://www.nanowrimo.org you will see that this is where writers around the world try to knock together a first draft of a novel in a month. They aim to achieve 50,000-word draft or above. We are on holiday but I am not letting that deter me!

I am working on my second novel. For those that like the technical detail. I am using my Acer Chromebook and an app called Dabble which takes care of most of the formatting worries and the word count.

This may seem like a crazy or impossible task but really it isn't. First drafts aren't perfect and are an opportunity to try and let the story flow out of you. 

It is not too late to join in the fun of doing this, with the help of a supportive community. 

Free Books for a First Anniversary!

I wanted to celebrate the first anniversary of the publication of my first novel, so I have made it free on Kindle for the weekend until Sunday. Do please help yourselves to it and invite others to do so, I would love that.

All the reviews are on the UK web site for Amazon. Do have a look they are favourable for the most part! And the typos were corrected!

The book is intended for adult readers.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07GVQ75KR

USA Kindle here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GVQ75KR

Australian Kindle here:
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07GVQ75KR