The start of an exciting year!
So, 2025 is here and this will be the year that I FINALLY (it really has been a long time coming) publish my first book. And hopefully not just one! That book – The Kismet Pension – has just been through its final proofread. The next step is to send out some copies to people who will read it in advance of publication and be ready to post reviews as soon as it is published.
I’m now aiming for March for publication. It will be available (on Amazon) to download to Kindle, laptop and for those who like a ‘proper’ book, it will also be available to buy in paperback form. These days I don’t even have to order a stack of these – I will do ‘print to order’, which does exactly what it says, so that when someone orders a paperback, the company print one copy and send it to them. Amazing!
I always imagined The Kismet as a series, so at the start of this month I began writing the second book. It is nice to be writing something new, but it also feels like returning to old friends as these characters have lived in my head for so long!
I even managed to keep writing an hour or two a day on a trip to Istanbul. If you haven’t been, I highly recommend a visit. It is unlike any other city I have been to. Apart from the incredible history (remains of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires everywhere), and the geographical quirk of being split by TWO waterways and having a European shore and an Asian shore, it is a cosmopolitan city with a tradition of drawing people from other countries who come there to study, to work and to seek refuge.
I visited some favourite places – like Galata Tower, and some that I hadn’t seen before – like the glorious Chora church with its amazing mosaics and frescoes. I took the boat across the Bosphorus, marvelling at the collection of tiny fishing boats that bob around in the middle of the straits, seemingly unperturbed by the tankers, ferries, tour boats and coast guard vessels that weave around them. And I sat in coffee shops and watched the world go by – which is a great thing to do in Istanbul.
I have also been watching Istanbul in the BBC2 crime series, The Turkish Detective. It is based on the books of Barbara Nadel, with her wonderful, flawed, detective, Inspector Ikmen. The Turkish actor who plays the character does a great job of bringing him to life and it gives you a taste of this unique city.
There is another crime series set in Istanbul that I love – but it is very different to the Inspector Ikmen books. Written by the historian Jason Goodwin and set in 19th century Istanbul, the main character, Yashim, is an investigator closely involved with the Ottoman court. There is a lot of intrigue and many colourful characters and the books give a fascinating picture of a city undergoing huge change as the old ways declined and the empire fell apart.
Back at home, the January weather has been bright and sunny, while the mountains in the distance are covered in snow. I go walking every morning with my two dogs and we often have the beach to ourselves – so different to the summer!