I have something new for you this year…
Happy 2023! By happy coincidence, this is my 23rd newsletter.
What new thing does the year bring? The Scroll is going audio!
There it is at the top of the email. Click on the arrow to listen. (It’s about 7 minutes, plus 20 extra minutes of short story.)
The text version will also continue to come to your inbox.
In this newsletter you’ll find:
free historical fiction offerings from other authors
a look at New Year a hundred years back
a link to LISTEN to my ‘Star-bound’ story, if you missed it in December
a New Year rhyme, written as a pep-talk to myself, and you too?
I’ve been thinking about you over summer holidays. Truly :)
I’ve been thinking many people, perhaps you included, don’t always have the time they’d like to sit and read. But maybe you fit in a fair bit of listening as you do other things. So, if I want to reach busy people, with stories to entertain and uplift, audio is worth a go.
If you didn’t get a chance to read my Christmas story ‘Star-bound’, you can now listen to that here:
Discover a new author
If you do want an adventure on the page, here’s a swag of historical fiction e-books you can read for free:
A couple of the historical mysteries look fun:
Trouble in Cadiz promises espionage and romantic adventure. A Girl Like You is billed as ‘Downton Abbey meets Miss Fisher’s murder mysteries’, which sounds enticing. The series has good reviews (e.g. from Library Journal), although the first chapters are a little slow to get going.
(A confession: I checked out the other books in the promotion after signing up for it, which was a mistake. I’m not convinced their content and writing style will appeal to readers of this newsletter. Their covers feature many girls in ball dresses, or half out of ball dresses, and over-muscled alpha males. Ignore or indulge — it’s up to you.)
The books are available for a limited time only, until mid-February, so take a look soon.
Bringing in the New Year - of 1923
New Year celebrations haven’t changed hugely in a century. In 1923 Australians took the day off, to go on picnics, and to cricket matches and yacht races.
We don’t go to the beach in jackets and ties now. And certainly no swastikas. My guess is that in this cartoon, the symbol is being used to satirize the millionaire capitalist, standing next to the ‘dinkum seafaring man’.
When we’re done celebrating, the turning of the year tends to make us reflect. That’s been so for centuries too.
From today everyone is going to turn over a new leaf… We can almost fancy that we can hear the universal rustling of turning pages… Take a new quill and empty the old year’s lees from the inkstands. There is a dead fly at the bottom, dead as last year. Spread fresh blotting paper, and on the first page of the new diary, commence with a fair start on January 1.
From London’s ‘Daily Telegraph’, printed in the Bacchus Marsh Express, Victoria, Australia, 2 January 1886.
Thinking about all this, I wrote a little New Year rhyme:
What’s to be in ‘23?
A New Year pep-talk to myself
What’s to be in ‘23?
A year is long
A life is short;
Let’s not spend it
Without thought;
Let’s not have the daily clatter
Drowning out the things that matter.What’s to be in ‘23,
Worth the time and energy?
Love never ends;
Truth sets free;
May the year
Be full of these.
Bring on 2023!
Tell me: how was the audio?
If you listened to this edition, or the ‘Star-bound’ story, I’d love to know how it went. Too loud, too soft, too quick, too slow, distracting background noises…? Would it help if I made this newsletter available as a podcast, listed on the usual apps? Let me know so I can tweak it next time. Email me back or leave a comment.
Best wishes for a happy, healthy, heart-ful 2023. Let’s spread out fresh blotting paper and get going :)
Alison
The audio for your story was great. Good pacing. I like the soft touch of the music. It added a suitable mystical element to the lyrical prose.