Bonus edition: Winter Cheer
A new book, witches and rainbow socks
Dear friends,
I don’t usually send a newsletter in February but I wanted to make an exception this year. It’s been a particularly gloomy and grey January, and writing this newsletter always feels cheering!
Something else which has been cheering me up lately is the arrival of this beautiful finished copy of Secrets on the Shore. It’s such a bright and cheerful-looking book: the orange cover is so vibrant, the silver foil sparkles, and (as always) Karl James Mountford’s artwork is delightful. It feels lovely to have a new Sophie and Lil book in my hands once again!
As a reminder, this book — celebrating 10 years since The Clockwork Sparrow was first published — brings together the novella ‘Secrets on the Shore’ (previously published only as an e-book), the short story ‘The Purloined Pearls’ (a mystery narrated by Lil) and a variety of other material, including letters from me and case-notes from behind the scenes at Taylor & Rose. It’s out on 27th February.
Here’s a bit more about it:
It's time to solve a seaside mystery! Sophie and Lil, our two daring detectives, are on their very first case for the Secret Service Bureau. The sleepy town of Rye appears peaceful, but lurking in the cobbled streets and on the misty shores are secrets galore. For a band of German spies are plotting dastardly deeds that could plunge the whole country into terrible danger . . .
Plus bonus detective delights, including author notes, a special short story, and case files from the archives of Taylor & Rose. Discover how Sophie and Lil became secret agents!
If you’d like to read it, I’d be delighted if you pre-ordered a copy from Waterstones, Bookshop.org.uk, or best of all directly from lovely independent bookshop ebb & flo, whre you can get a signed and dedicated copy!
Something else that has been cheering me up is (as always) reading. Here’s a few of the books — and other things — that have brightened the grey days:
Carbonel by Barbara Sleigh
Perhaps you know this lovely children’s book already? Originally published in 1955, it’s a completely charming story about a little girl called Rosemary, whose errand to the local market takes an unexpected turn when she aquires a witch’s broom — and a witch’s cat to go with it. Rosemary learns that the cat, Carbonel, has been trapped by a spell, and teams up with a new friend John to track down everything they will need to undo it, and free Carbonel so he can return to his true destiny as the ‘King of Cats’. My 6-year-old and I loved reading this together. The story is simple enough, without too much intense ‘peril’ or ‘chaos’ (two things that my daughter tends to find stressful in stories) — but it is so engaging, with a wonderfully tangible feeling of magic. We loved reading about riding a broom over the town rooftops, and chanting the mysterious ‘Summoning Words’ (the jury is still out on whether or not they work on our own cats). It’s so elegantly written: like many children’s books of this period, it credits its young readers with the ability to understand complex language, but never in a way that feels overwhelming or too much. It’s clear that author Barbara Sleigh had a profound understanding of both children and cats: we are, of course, great fans of black cats (and indeed witches) in our house, but whether you’re a cat-lover or not, I heartily recommend this for younger readers.
Young Hag by Isabel Greenberg
More witches! This glorious graphic novel is a brilliant reimagining of Arthurian legend, which puts the female characters (Morgan Le Fay, Nimue, Igraine and all the rest) firmly centre stage. It’s funny and heartfelt and imaginative and irreverent — I love Greenberg’s artwork style, and there’s such a lot to relish here about growing up and becoming the protagonist of your own adventure. It’s not marketed specifically to young people, but I think it’s one that would be particularly suited to teens and young adults. Of course, adult readers will enjoy it enormously too!
Ballet Shoes at the National Theatre
I’m diverging from my usual book recommendations to give a very enthusiastic endorsement for the wonderful production of Noel Streatfeild’s ‘Ballet Shoes’ that is currently at the National Theatre. I went to see it just before Christmas and had the most gorgeous and magical couple of hours. I’m a huge fan of the original book, and could probably recite most of it by heart: this is is a joyful, uplifting adaptation — not absolutely faithful, but a truly loving interpretation, which gets to the heart of what makes the book so special, and reimagines it in a new and meaningful way. I honestly think this is one of the best things I’ve seen on stage in years; I could write an essay on everything I loved about it, but instead I’ll just say — whether or not you’re already a Streatfeild superfan like me, do go and see it if you have the chance — I promise you won’t regret it. It’s on until the end of this month.
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
I’ve been reading a little more romance lately, and I especially enjoyed this. It’s the story of Nora, a scriptwriter of romantic films and a newly-single mum, living in a small American town. When we first meet her, a film crew is about to descend on her home, which they’re using for a location to shoot one of her scripts — ‘The Tea House’ , a film closely inspired by the collapse of her own marriage. But once the shooting wraps, the film’s handsome star, Leo Vance, seems strangely reluctant to leave. This feels like a properly believable, grown-up love story (and to be clear, it’s definitely for adult readers!) complicated by real life (jobs, children, previous relationships, responsibilities…) but it’s also a lot of fun. If you enjoy it, then I’d also recommend Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine, which isn’t actually out until April, but also has a main character who is a romance writer, and is similarly suprised and discomfited when she finds the familiar conventions of the novels she writes seeping out of the pages, and into her own life.
I was delighted by the first edition of this lovely new magazine, from picture book creator and owner of the Shelf Editions bookshop, Helen Hancocks. It’s a love letter to the art of the picture book, featuring lots of interviews with creators and reviews of newly published books. I LOVE reading about picture books (and indeed talking about them, as listeners to the original Down the Rabbit Hole podcast may remember!) If you too are enthusiastic about picture books as an artform, I can also recommend subscribing to Taylor Sterling’s Moonbow, or Jon Klassen & Mac Barnett’s Looking at Picture Books, both of which make fascinating reading.
A few other things that have been cheering me up lately: snowdrops appearing in the garden; celebrating Lunar New Year; pots of spring flowers by my front door; sorting out the bookshelves; and getting back into knitting. Somewhat inspired by a writing project I’ve lately worked on, I recently knitted my first pair of socks, using this pattern and tutorial. Behold — I’m so proud of them and I can’t wait to do another pair!
I’ll be back next month with my usual Spring/World Book Day edition — but before I go, just to say that I’ll be appearing at my local literature festival, Lancaster Litfest in March. On Saturday 8th you can find me at Lancaster Library where I’ll be ‘Reader in Residence’ - drop in for a chat about reading or writing. And on Sunday 9th I’ll be at The Dukes Theatre to celebrate Secrets on the Shore and 10 years of Sophie and Lil - tickets are free to book here, or you can also stream free online here.
I’ll also be at the Oxford Literature Festival on Saturday 5th April, where I’ll be talking to fellow authors Patrice Lawrence and Sufiya Ahmed about the joys of mysteries - find out more and book tickets here.
As always you can stay up-to-date with events on my website here or on my Instagram. Like lots of people, I’m posting less on social media these days, but (in addition to this newsletter of course) Instagram is probably the best place to follow me for updates.
Until next time, happy reading!
Katherine x