Notice something different? Yep – I’ve finally started a newsletter, and you can sign up just above this! It’s going to be an occasional thing, just when I have a new release or something truly newsworthy has happened. In researching doing a newsletter I subscribed to several, and a few left me absolutely astonished. Some came every few days, and contained nothing newsworthy except ‘buy my book and here’s a sample’ or ‘here’s what I’m doing today.’ I can’t help but wonder how these people do it – send out so many newsletters (mostly very sparse on real content), deal with the necessities of living (family, cooking, laundry, etc) and still have time to write! They must be younger and much more energetic than I.
Anyway, don’t worry that I’ll flood your mailbox with a lot of fluff. I believe my readers are intelligent enough to want me to spend my time writing new books instead of sending out newsletters telling you what I cooked for dinner! (And considering my cooking, that might be a very wise choice!)
Had some sad news this morning. On 14 December there was a literary evening set for Boekhalter de Kleine Johannes (which in my non-existent Dutch translates as Little John’s Bookstore) in Louvain, the university town of Belgium, featuring my dear friend Dr. Dirk Huyge. He is a Curator at the Royal Museum of Art and History in Brussels and the Director of the Belgian Archaeological Mission to El Kab in Egypt. It was in the latter capacity that he invited The Husband and me to come stay at the dig house to research a book. At the meeting he was set to speak on Egyptology, what it’s like to dig in Egypt and how he came to be a character in A KILLING AT EL KAB.
Exciting, no? When we heard of the meeting, of course The Husband and I looked in to going over for it, but as we had feared the logistics and the expense were impossible. However, Mr. Vander Velpen, the owner, suggested that I attend by Skype, which would be perfect. As the day neared I was getting more and more excited, but today learned that because of a death the event would have to be postponed until 8 February 2017. It’s not the same as it being cancelled altogether, and it will happen, but I’m just a tad let down, which seems selfish and ungracious, since someone lost a loved one, for which I am very sorry.
Ah, well, I must look on the bright side and realize that it just gives me more time to work, as I am hideously far behind on my page count! And, speaking of which, I should go get busy right now.
I wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas, and a safe, prosperous and Happy New Year!