Hello! I hope everything's going well in your little corner of the world. Things have been rather chaotic on my end, with a bit of sombre news (more on that below) but first - before I forget: I’m taking part in an exciting event tomorrow (Sun 3rd Dec) and getting together with several other cozy mystery authors to offer our readers 50 giveaways to kick off the festive season! 

So if you're on Facebook, make sure to pop in the Cozy Town Sleuths Facebook Group to check it out:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/295263407973070

Also, for my French- and German-speaking readers, I'm delighted to tell you that Book 9 in the Oxford Tearoom Mysteries is now available in both languages! You can pick up the ebook & print editions on Amazon. 

GERMAN

In Eiskalt abserviert sieht sich Gemma mit einem besonders rätselhaften Mord bei einer Talentshow konfrontiert, die in Oxford gastiert. Gleichzeitig entdecken die Silberlocken plötzlich ihre Liebe zum Showbiz … 😉

Kindle &  Taschenbuch

** And also available in audio: Hörbuch

** For my French readers, you'll also be able to purchase the paperback in bookshops early next year, via my partnership with French publisher City Editions who is distributing my books to all good bookstores across France. 

🎄 Plus... French & German-speaking readers will soon be able to read the Christmas mystery in your own language! 🎅 Yes, my wonderful translators have been burning the candle at both ends and put in an amazing effort to finish Book 10: The Mousse Wonderful Time of Year, so that it would be ready in time for the holiday period. Both the French (Bûche et embûches) and German (Süße Rache, frohes Fest) versions will be releasing next week and the Kindle versions for both can be pre-ordered already.

***

Now, unfortunately, I also have some sombre news to share: my lovely husband was diagnosed with cancer a couple of months ago. It's always scary to confront the "C" word and as my husband is very fit and active, it was quite daunting and unexpected. So things have been very stressful and chaotic lately, with various medical procedures and preparations for the surgery. 

I'm glad to report that the operation to remove the tumour went very smoothly and he is home now and recovering well so far. There is still a long period of physiotherapy and rehab, as the treatment comes with some unpleasant side effects, but the good news is that the post-op report was great (clean margins!) so the prognosis is promising! 

As you can imagine, it's been almost impossible for me to focus on work while all this was happening and my writing schedule went completely out the window. So I’ve had to take time off from writing and I'm afraid that the final book(s) in the Bewitched by Chocolate series has been delayed again. I’d been hoping to finish it before Christmas but it’s now looking like early next year… 

I’m sorry to disappoint fans of the series but sometimes, “life happens” and family comes first, as they say. 

I hope to get back into the manuscript soon and will keep you posted!

***

And now for some nicer news: Muesli fans will be happy to hear that the little minx recently had her annual medical too and passed with flying colours. Our vet is a treasure and has looked after her since she was a young cat, but as you can see from Muesli’s look of reproach, she still hasn't warmed to his (lovely) bedside manner! 😉 

Muesli is 13yrs old now and officially “middle aged” for a cat… which means that like many females, she is battling a growing waistline - haha! She is around 5.5kg (12lbs) but because she is such a small cat, the vet said ideally she needs to lose 1kg (2lbs)… so I suppose we'll have to get stricter about going on a "feline diet" and there will be many more looks of reproach coming my way! 😉

Until next time...

.