If I had to write up a detailed report of what has happened to Pat this last week, I would be able to publish it in book form such would be the number of pages. Suffice it to say we have had four visits from medical professionals, a late evening consultation with an emergency nurse, and the delivery of a contraption to help Pat get up and down: the first of several items promised, including a hospital bed. In the seven days since my last blog post, Pat has had one good day. She was so bright, I even managed to persuade her to let me take her out for a drive. This meant the ramp had to be assembled, but that didn’t prove a problem. In fact, I was so pleased with it, I gave it a second coat of paint. If Pat recovers some of her good health, I will get her out a little more often, but at the moment she is too unwell.

My book sales are just holding at one sale a day spread between Amazon and D2D. Total sales 31. Cost of ads? Massive! Doesn’t make sense to carry on at the rate I’m spending money. But I remain optimistic and will start another campaign on BookBub, which seems to outsell Amazon in my case, and keep an eye on targeting etc. I do have small opportunities from time to time to look at my results and figure out what kind of changes might improve my sales. What I can’t do though is spend time on videos and following explicit instructions.

Oh, I made a pitch to an on-line publisher too. Well, not so much a pitch, but a tongue in cheek approach that will almost certainly yield nothing. The SPF bosses, James Blatch and Mark Dawson, have set up an on-line publishing company called Fuse Books. They have one author on their books (yes, one). They have asked the members of the SPF group for crime/mystery submissions but have warned that they will only take on a couple of authors with at least 3 books in a series. My tongue in cheek submission was to offer my three Marcus Blake thrillers which were never intended as a series. A betting man wouldn’t put money on my books even getting past first post, but I live in hope.

A book was released on Amazon yesterday: one in which I contributed a small piece. It’s called With love, comes hope: stories & inspiration during the 2020 pandemic. It’s available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Comes-Hope-Inspiration-Pandemic-ebook/dp/B08CRWWT82, and all proceeds go to Bridge 2 international humanitarian charity based in Guernsey. Why not have a look? My piece is on page 242.

I made a decision this afternoon to send Tuppence away for a short period, simply to stop her leaping all over Pat, getting under our feet, barking at every Tom, Dick & Harry, and generally being a nuisance whenever the nurses or paramedics turn up. I contacted Barking Mad, a franchise dog boarding organisation I’ve used a few times, and within one hour, the agent was here having sourced a ‘host’ for Tuppence. The woman who will be looking after Tuppence has had her before. So, two hours after making the decision, Tuppence has gone and peace reigns in the house. Aahh….. Wish me luck. (Well, Tuppence really).