Hello fellow book fans

The summer is over, and autumn is officially with us! Next stop, Christmas, which is good news or bad news, depending on which side of the fence you sit. My view about it is, let’s just hope it’s a white Christmas! Santa has problems taking off and landing without that extra ‘slip’ factor.

The world that is ‘The Leighman’s’ is now happily rumbling around the book marketplace, and if you enjoyed reading the first Leighman novel, Not All That Glisters, you will be pleased to hear that the next book in the series is going to be available very shortly.

Empire City

This time, the setting is totally changed. We find ourselves ‘over the pond ‘ in New York City … you know, the one that never sleeps! I have visited NYC several times and love the place. Nowhere else quite like it. The reason for the ‘change of location’ from Somerset and Italy is that we are following the story of ‘Golden Girl’, otherwise known as Anita Gorlinska. Reader feedback told me how much they liked the character and asked the inevitable question ‘What really did happen between Anita and Jack in New York?’.  Don’t worry, all will be revealed in ‘Empire City’s Golden Girl’. Was Jack a cad? Did Anita push herself on him? The whole story will be revealed in all its gory detail.

But this book is not just about Jack and Anita, not at all. We get a sense of the making of Golden Girl … who she really is and how she navigates through the sales deals to the distress of some onlookers in the wings. Yes, sparks fly in the boardroom igniting head-to-head battles with those who cross her both professionally and personally. Hopefully, a thumping good read 🤞.

Day-to-Day

Back in day-to-day life, my personal reading has taken me over old ground. In respect of the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s work, I am currently reading Pride and Prejudice. Lovely. All about relationship and social difficulties, so very much up my street … along with many other people who have loved and appreciated her work over the years. I have to say that I can’t help visualising Colin Firth as I read about Darcy. Still, could be worse, couldn’t it? The BBC did a great series about Jane Austen which I think is still available on iplayer. I thoroughly recommend watching it. Jane Austen, the original Golden Girl in my eyes!

Well, back to the office! There is never a dull moment if you are an author, always exciting  things to plan and visualise in your mind. Now the final manuscript of Empire City’s Golden Girl is pretty much completed, it’s time to continue putting pen to paper on the sequel to my first book in the Leighman series titled ‘The Eyes of Love and Hate’, release date middle-ish 2026. Now who had those amazing eyes in Not All That Glisters? I wonder if he is getting a starring role in the sequel? Hmmm … maybe!

‘Till next time

Thanks to Diane Picchiottino for the fabulous picture of the never sleeping New York skyline on Unsplash.