Always look on the bright side…

We all go through tricky times. Some of us try to keep up the sunny disposition which as it happens is the same price as being miserable.

Moving to a remote island four years ago did wonders for that sunny disposition, watching the woes of Brexit and other UK economic and political disasters from a safe distance.

Within weeks of touchdown in Alderney, a new publishing contract and an enjoyable deal with the island government for media work. Both right up my street.

These sat perfectly with the UK magazine I edit, covering all aspects of the natural health market, which seemed to be progressing nicely and still is, probably because it’s run by really nice people.

Not even pandemic lockdowns could disrupt; in fact working with the States of Alderney emergency group to find ways of communicating news and encouragement to all 2,000 residents was in itself a welcome challenge.

But…

A war. Inflation. Migrant disasters. Spiralling costs. Suddenly a sunny disposition seems to cost more than being miserable. This is resolved by losing myself in the next historical fiction series and by my wife in creating a beautifully illustrated children’s book.

So, here is my sunny news

• A new publisher is now priming my earlier novels for relaunch while awaiting a new series set around Julius Caesar’s brush with doughty British Celts, 56-54 BCE. Might take a few months but it feels like a new beginning (and I’ve taken the opportunity to tighten some of the prose).

• Our three-week archaeological dig in May unearthed a sestertius of Antoninus Pius (150-151 AD) on the very first day, and on the last a Bronze Age skeleton which was unexpected as the site was known to be a Roman settlement on top of an Iron Age cemetery. Here, lead archaeologist Phil de Jersey reveals the find.

• A visit by two of our children which demonstrated the value of taking a few days off just to enjoy sunshine, conversation, rummy, a kayak excursion and fine food. Then there’s the new grandson, Freddie Forrest, a rugby player or cricketer-to-be if ever I saw one.

• And finally… Alderney yet again punched above its weight in the literary world when three best-selling crime writers, Kate Rhodes, Elly Griffiths and Jane Casey, dropped in to give lectures on ‘The Anatomy of a Crime Thriller’, together with a special workshop for would-be authors and a fun evening of ‘Crime Dining’ at the Blonde Hedgehog.

Each expressed their delight in visiting an island where so many crime thriller readers, plus the growing number of published authors, gave them a typical Alderney welcome.

The Alderney Literary Trust event climaxed at the Blonde Hedgehog when the authors and representatives from sponsor Ravenscroft welcomed around 40 islanders and visitors for an evening of ‘Crime Dining’. The authors read extracts from their latest books and invited diners to join in a quickfire round to deliver the ‘Killer Line’, which brought high praise from the writers and much laughter at the amusing entries.

Our very own crime thriller writer, Rachel Abbott, summed it up: “We were thrilled to be able to invite such amazing authors to an event in Alderney and it was good to have such excellent support from the community.”

Meanwhile, here’s Kate Rhodes explaining how it’s done…