OCTOBER 20: Yes, it’s true isn’t it? Only how many shopping days until Christmas? What a year it’s been.
Today I feel really thrilled that someone has finally got something right. The actor David Suchet(He played Poirot, in case you need reminding), has been awarded a knighthood. I worked with him as a young actress at the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was my workshop leader, and I was in the RSC production on Once in a Lifetime, with him, and he taught me so much. He is one on the genius’ of our business and his knighthood is so well deserved. Hooray for this.
May 2020: So we are in lockdown, still. The government has said we can work from home or go back to work if we can’t. I can write, but I can’t do any acting, as contact is only within 2 metres of another person. All my after dinner talks and festival hosting etc is cancelled. However, this time will pass and I am using mine to write more and keep my acting craft up to scratch. My latest book The Terror Within, is still doing well, I am delighted to say, and I have had a lot of lovely letters from readers saying they are enjoying it. I so love to hear from readers. I hope everyone out there is finding things to do within this difficult time. A good time for spring cleaning, or if you have dogs, you can get longer walks than usual. On my web Caninesinkent.co.uk I am going to explore some lovely walks and will write about them on there. Also another thing I have been doing is having a clear-out. I hate clutter, so I am bagging up anything I don’t use and making loads of bags of stuff to be delivered to charity shops as soon as they re-open. Fortunately the weather is good, so loads of reading too, out in the garden, Sadly my hubby suffers terrible with hay fever, so he sits inside the open conservatory doors and sneezes! Stay well everyone.
APRIL 2020: Just so delighted with the reviews on Terror Within. Anyone who writes will know the dread and fear one feels when a book is due out. In the theatre I thought first nights were the worst thing in the world, but the good thing about those is that all the mistakes you make you can rectify the next night or through the run. With a novel, and so many hundreds of copies been printed, if you have made a mistake there is no going back.
Thankyou to all the bloggers, Amazon Reviewers, and everyone who has reviewed it. I am ever grateful you like it. I will keep striving to get better. I know we are all in lockdown, but when this is over, I am going to be out signing in various places (all will be up on my EVENTS page, on this web, and if any of you are in the area, I would love you come and say Hi.
Book Signing
It is December and, officially my latest, The Terror Within, has hit the shops. I am currently being sent around doing lots of promotion to publicise the fact that it is coming out soon.
I went to a book shop yesterday. The staff there were terribly nice, and because no customers seemed to be vaguely impressed with my presence in the shop, except to ask me if I knew where the Sci-Fi or the young adult author’s books were kept, one of the shop assistants brought me tea and cake. I adore cake and can hardly resist the smell of a chocolate sponge laden with running chocolate. However, I am abstaining from cake at the moment. (I didn’t like to say so at the time as the cake was definitely home-made, and with all the trouble it takes to bake a cake, and Mary Berry’s latest book flying off the shelf in front of my very eyes, when no one was even looking at mine, I felt the least I could have done was to say thank you. Otherwise, it might have looked like I was envious of Mary Berry. Actually I am. Every shot I see of her on television she has her mouth stuffed with cake and yet she has the most gorgeous figure. The truth is I am going on holiday soon and am hoping to get into my clothes, so am attempting to avoid anything that is heavily sprinkled with sugar. I was about to sip from the lovely china cup brimming with hot tea when a customer came up and studied my name which was written on the large oblong pice of paper on my table, next to a pile of my books. She then asked if I was Linda Regan. Relieved I didn’t have my mouth stuffed with chocolate sponge cake, I said I was, and asked if she wanted me to sign one of my books for her. She said she did, but her eyes were glued to the chocolate cake on the plate in front of me. I crossed my fingers behind my back and told her I wasn’t a cake person and would she like the slice. She said she would and immediately ate it, washing it down with my much-looked forward to cup of hot tea. I didn’t like to object because she was the first person all day to ask for a signed copy of my book. (even though I asked if she wanted one). So I just handed her the book, duly signed. She thanked me and as I watched her walk to the till to pay, she walked past it, and then out the door and into the street, still carrying my book in her hand!