Autumn
Hello Autumn and Hello Everyone. I hope you are all well and healthy. It certainly has been a strange year. Most of us have never experienced anything like it. We stayed home much of the time in order to protect ourselves and others. And even though it seems like we lost several months, time marches on. The seasons continue to change, and autumn has sneaked up on us.
In England, our lockdown eased up at the beginning of July, so we did get to enjoy a bit of summer. As far as weather goes, it was a good summer. Since there was a lot less international travel, many people spent their holidays visiting places closer to home.
We took the opportunity to see more of the southwest of England around our new home in Bath. We didn’t have a car in London (city dwellers don’t need one). But now that we’re “country folk,” we have a vehicle, and we’re enjoying discovering nearby towns. So, you’ll probably be reading about some of them here on my blog. We’re also enjoying all the nice parks here in Bath, and I’m hoping to see some lovely autumn colors, as there are lots of deciduous trees around.
New Beginnings
Autumn always feels like a time of new beginnings to me. In France, there’s a word for this time of year, it’s called la rentrée which simply means “the return.” It’s the time (in normal years) when people return from their summer holidays and go back to work and children go back to school. In September the French set goals and plan for the things they want to accomplish in the coming year – similar to the New Year’s resolutions we all make in January.
New Book in October
Just like the French, I always get inspired to plan something new at the end of summer. This year, I have a new book coming out. Bowlers, Brollies, and More: Curious Histories of England should be out by the end of October. It’s my seventh book, and this one is a collection of my stories about England from my blog. It might make a nice Christmas gift for someone who likes England. Or see my other books for more gift ideas.
NaNoWriMo: Writing in November
Every year, November is National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo. It’s an annual online creative writing project. And it’s free – anyone can join in the fun. But it’s not all fun and games: Participants put their heads down and attempt to write 50,000 words on their manuscript during the month of November. You aren’t expected to have a completed novel by the end, but if you meet your word count, you should end up with a nice first draft.
NaNoWriMo began in 1999 and has grown year by year. The participants (called Wrimos) are provided with inspiration, forums, pep talks and support from other writers. There’s a lot of creative writing energy buzzing around in November, and if you want to get plugged in to it, have a look at the website: NaNoWriMo.org
In the past, I haven’t officially participated in NaNoWriMo, I’ve just made an extra writing effort in November. This year, however, I’ve officially signed up. I’ve already received a lot of good information, such as preparation tools and ideas. So, we’ll see how I fare. Please feel free to join me in this writing adventure. NaNoWriMo.org
Jeff’s Book
In other news… My husband, Jeff, recently published his memoir. He was orphaned as a child, and his is a rags-to-riches story that will tug at your heartstrings. The book has been really well received and has inspired lots of people. Check out Jeff’s book here. (paid link)
Thank You
I want to say a big THANK YOU to you, my readers. Thank you to everyone who has read my posts, bought one of my books, left a book review, bought me a tea, or just sent nice thoughts my way. I appreciate each and every one of you, and I hope my stories bring you a little bit of enjoyment and give you ideas for places to visit when we can all travel more freely again – hopefully next year.
Wishing you all the best,
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