APRIL 2011
After a long silence I have determined to find the time to produce a blog once a month telling you about my life as a paperback writer. Topics will vary but as it is Spring and this is the best time of year to be in an English garden I shall update you on mine.
In 1990 I planted a Christmas tree in the garden. Now, my garden is a decent size but Norway spruce grow big. I mean BIG and in 2010 it was higher than a three storey house and casting huge shadows across the lawn so, with great reluctance, it had to go. I argued (with myself!) that conifers are not indigenous to this part of the UK so my decision was ecologically sound.
At the same time, quite by chance so it must have been fate, I was clearing a neglected strawberry barrel and found, I kid you not, a tiny oak tree sprouting from an acorn, hidden in one of the strawberry pockets. I do have a visiting squirrel or two that steal my hazelnuts and bury them in the lawn. But I’m not aware of an established oak tree in the neighbourhood so my little acorn must have travelled quite a distance. I live in a semi-urban locality – small town with lots of big gardens – so it’s not inconceivable that there is an oak tree around and I shall search for the nearest.
Last autumn I carefully extracted the tiny sapling, re-potted it and left it out on the patio. The winter weather was unusually cold and harsh for Hampshire and I wondered if it would survive. It has rewarded me by producing new leaves and I have given its slender stem a supporting splint. At the moment I have no idea where I can plant it but I think I have a good few years before I must decide. The space beneath my sacrificed spruce has already been turned into my new vegetable plot, complete with three marked out beds for crop rotation.
As I write this my fruit trees are a picture of spring. Plum and pear blossom is beginning to drop while the cherry and apple are in full bloom. Bumble bees are in evidence, my frog pond is full of tadpoles and the wisteria smells heavenly. The sun is surprisingly hot for April and I am already set up for outdoor eating. I wonder how long the good weather will last . . .
On the writing front, I have recently finished editing, and have submitted, the manuscript for my next book The Lost and Found Girl (you read about it here first!) My editor likes the story and the design team at Sphere is already working on the cover. The hardback is due out in late autumn. Since then I’ve been quite excited about an idea for the book after that and have started to research and sketch out some scenes.
Thank you for reading and look out for my next blog before the end of May
Best regards
Catherine
