Brake caliper question! Bagheera´s came with either Bendix style or Ate style front brake calipers. What is the difference? And can a pair of ATE calipers be switched to a set of Bendix calipers? What other models used the ATE caiper? And where to buy them at a reasonable price? Best regards JL.
The Bagheera did *not* come with Bendix front calipers, it came with Girling or ATE. The rear calipers were Bendix.
You can swap a pair of ATE with a pair of Girling front calipers if you need to, and you can get the Girling ones overhauled as the seal kits are still available as far as I'm aware; but the seal kits for the ATE were unavailable last time I tried, which was a couple of years ago.
There should be enough scrap Bagheera around to get a pair of Girling front calipers even if you have to have them overhauled.


It's no secret that the initial sleepless nights with a new baby are difficult. And sometimes this sleep deprivation can go on for months, or even years! It doesn't make matters any better to think about how easy it must be for friends who do not have children. With some amount of envy, I remember contemplating my care-free, single friends who were living the good life while I was home nesting in an endless, sleepless state, wondering if I would survive.
Parenting can seem so unfair when things are challenging. But when your child takes their first step, utters their first word, and reaches so many other milestones, the pain, suffering, and sacrifice disappear in exchange for moments of pure joy.
Each milestone exhausts us, but also makes both child and parent more resilient in a symbiotic kind of way. Our children's happiness becomes ours and their pain and disappointment is also felt, as if it was our very own.
Here are 12 tips to help you navigate those first years of parenthood.
When your child is a newborn, don't trade sleep for a clean house. One is restorative, the other is not.
Remember that moms and dads do things differently from each other and that we all want to succeed. Agree on the big things, let the little things go.
Barter for a date night with another family every week.
Follow your child's lead and watch and listen. They will teach you who they are.
Remember that a small child is a complete person with all of the emotions that adults have.
Try to allow for differences. Your child may be your opposite, but we learn more from people who are different from us than from those who are similar to us.
Keep a good friend close by.
Support single parents and their children, invite them for dinner.
Get parenting support from experts who can help you prevent small issues from growing into big problems. Contact us at Parents Place!
Children are the future. Treat every child as if they were your own and help make the world a better place.
Mechele Pruitt, BA, is the Director of Parents Place in San Francisco.
Mechele has worked in the field of early childhood and education for more than 25 years. She owned and operated two successful preschools for 16 years in the Silicon Valley, where she trained teachers in best practices and the Reggio Emilia philosophy of northern Italy. In addition, Mechele worked for the San Francisco Unified School District for nine years as a resource teacher, working closely with children with autism and children with learning differences. She has also designed and implemented afterschool arts programs for school-age children and served as a children's program director for the YWCA in Memphis, Tenn., and in Palo Alto. Mechele is a graduate of Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, where she earned her bachelor's degree in child development/education.
What an awesome article! Whether you planned it or not, you've got a handful when you bring that baby home. I'm pretty sure that every first-time parent feels overwhelmed in a huge way. There are just so many things to do to care for a baby (or triplets) that people are bound to sacrifice whatever they have to.
But the article does a fantastic job of reframing the experience, because there is nothing like the feeling of being there for a child's first, for being bathed in the adoring, fresh gaze of a child, or to be able to comfort a crying child until he or she is ready to laugh again. These moments, while fleeting, are the life-changing ones that make life worthwhile.
Your webinar on positive discipline looks great - I'm going to check it out.


The verdant, rugged Huehuetenango highlands are one of the best coffee production regions in Guatemala. Protected from frost by hot winds blowing in from Mexico's Tehuantepec plain to warm the Cuchumatanes, it is the highest non-volcanic mountain range in Central America. It is here, in the municipality of Cuilco, that Hermilo Pérez has been running his family farm for 25 years.
Starting at about 1,425 metres above sea level and reaching up to some 1,900 metres above sea level, El Kristal farm covers roughly 9 hectares. In its lush, black soil Hermilo cultivates primarily coffee, which includes the Arabica varieties caturra, bourbon, catuaí, pacamara and pache colís. He also grows fruits and macadamia nuts, while an additional acre of the farm is covered by forest.
Hermilo first learned about the AAA Program through an agronomist from Exportcafe, one of the Nespresso main partners in the country. "Of course the better prices they offered was an interesting incentive, but it was also the prospects of improving the conditions of the farm, and raising the profile of our coffee without damaging our natural resources that convinced me to join the Nespresso AAA Program," Hermilo said.
Over the years and with the support of Nespresso trained agronomists, Hermilo has successfully taken measures to ensure the long-term quality of his coffee, his farm and the livelihood of the people who live on it.
"The Nespresso AAA Program helps us keep our farm clean and preserve the natural resources around it," said Hermilo. "Although it was quite a challenge, we have built septic tanks so that waste water is no longer discharged into the rivers and streams that flow through the farm. We no longer burn our rubbish, and we divide it into organic and inorganic waste before disposal," he continued.
Hermilo has also improved the living quarters of his workers. About 15 help with the pruning, clearing and weeding, and an additional 50 come for the harvest. He has also improved the efficiency of his wet and dry processing facilities, and is currently in the process of building a water powered turbine engine to generate electricity for the farm in general.
The Nespresso AAA Program is about more than fulfilling quality and sustainability criteria; it is an on-going process that includes rigorous assessments, improvements in infrastructure as well as changes in attitudes and approaches, step-by-step. As a long-term participant in the AAA Program, Hermilo Pérez stands as a role model for other farmers in the region.


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Callbox Maintains High Rankings on Major Agency Review Sites
April 4, 2018 /in In The News /by Dara Lin
Latest ratings from three high-profile sources show that Callbox continues its steady streak of top-notch performance in a number of marketing service categories.
Earlier this month, three ratings and reviews sites published their updated rankings of best-performing marketing agencies. Business.com, Clutch, and 10Seoes each gave Callbox very high scores in several service criteria, placing the company well ahead of many of its peers. The new batch of reports adds to the Callbox team's outstanding record of recognitions from third-party sources.
No. 2 on Clutch's Top B2B Lead Generation Companies (as of April 2, 2018)
Callbox took the second Spot on Clutch's latest Top B2B Lead Generation Companies Leaders Matrix. The updated ratings indicated that Callbox garnered 33.4 points for the "Ability to Deliver" criterion (top score was 33.6).
A breakdown of the Ability to Deliver score showed that the company received high ratings for all three subcategories: 16 points for Customer Reviews, 7.8 points for Client Portfolio, and 9.6 points for Market Presence.
Clutch uses its trademark Leaders Matrix methodology to help buyers objectively find a vendor that matches its needs. The Leaders Matrix maps service providers according to their area of focus and proven ability to deliver.
No. 4 on Business.com's Best Sales Lead Generation Services (as of March 2018)
Business.com recently ranked Callbox fourth on its Best Sales Lead Generation Services list. The report rates each service provider based on how well it stacks up against the competition in terms of lead generation strategy, lead management capabilities, and quality of customer support.
According to the report, Callbox's main strengths include its multi-channel philosophy (integrating both traditional and digital channels), robust lead tracking and nurturing tools (using Pipeline, the company's proprietary CRM), and end-to-end customer experience management (through its full-service campaign teams).
No. 6 on 10Seos' Top 10 Lead Generation Companies for Best Services, April 2018
This month's list of Top 10 Lead Generation Companies for Best Services from 10Seos shows Callbox in sixth place. While the website primarily focuses on SEO agency rankings and reviews, 10Seos also serves as a trusted resource for finding other types of marketing service providers.
Similar to Clutch and Business.com, 10Seos also gives greater weight to customer feedback in its rating methodology. The site follows a rigorous set of standards and procedures that takes both customer experience and project portfolios into account.
As Q2 begins in earnest, the Callbox team counts these developments as part of its growing list of recognitions garnered for 2018, and looks forward to keeping customer success front and center of the services it offers.
Check out our recently published Client Success Stories!
Try out our Record List Preview Tool and get a breakdown of our record list by country!
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Read our latest marketing news or Subscribe to our newsletter!
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A Couple of Weeks Away to Callbox's Second Sales Prospecting Workshop
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New Callbox Site Feature Brings Key B2B Industries into Sharper Focus
https://www.callboxinc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/New-Callbox-Site-Feature-Brings-Key-B2B-Industries-into-Sharper-Focus.jpg 352 800 Dara Lin https://www.callboxinc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/callbox-logo.png Dara Lin2018-05-16 08:00:362018-07-12 14:21:19New Callbox Site Feature Brings Key B2B Industries into Sharper Focus
Callbox Adds Interactive Data Preview Tool as New Website Feature
https://www.callboxinc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Callbox-Adds-Interactive-Data-Preview-Tool-as-New-Website-Feature-AU.jpg 352 800 Dara Lin https://www.callboxinc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/callbox-logo.png Dara Lin2018-03-29 08:00:402018-03-28 17:43:43Callbox Adds Interactive Data Preview Tool as New Website Feature
https://www.callboxinc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Callbox-Maintains-High-Rankings-on-Major-Agency-Review-Sites.jpg 352 800 Dara Lin https://www.callboxinc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/callbox-logo.png Dara Lin2018-04-04 08:00:512018-09-06 13:55:53Callbox Maintains High Rankings on Major Agency Review Sites
Callbox Continues Momentum in 2018 with Latest Spate of Top Rankings
January 16, 2018 /in In The News /by admin
A series of high-profile reports published earlier this month further cements Callbox's place among top lead generation providers.
The Callbox team is off to a strong start in 2018 as newly-released rankings from Clutch, Profiles and Reviews, Business.com, and 10Seos show the company continues to outperform its lead generation peers in a number of service categories and criteria. The recent round of recognitions extends Callbox's unbroken string of high rankings going back several years.
No. 1 in Clutch's Top B2B Lead Generation Category (as of January 10, 2018)
Callbox topped Clutch's latest B2B Lead Generation Leaders Matrix, jumping 3 notches from its ranking last year. The report showed Callbox received a score of 33.8 points under the "Ability to Deliver" criterion and a rating of 75% for "Service Focus". Callbox's Ability to Deliver score was buoyed by excellent performance in all three components that make up the yardstick: Reviews (16.4 points), Client Portfolio (7.8 points), and Market Presence (9.6 points).
Clutch is a ratings website that helps buyers compare and evaluate IT service providers. It rates and ranks vendors using its trademark Leaders Matrix tool, which gives more weight to customer feedback.
No. 1 on Profile and Review's 2018 Top 10 Lead Generation Service Providers
Profiles and Reviews recently ranked Callbox #1 on its 2018 Top 10 Lead Generation Providers list. While it gave Callbox and five other lead generation companies a 5-star rating, only Callbox offered all four of the key lead generation solutions in its main comparison table: Digital Media, Direct Mail, Telephone Contact, and CRM Integration.
Profiles and Reviews has more than 50 years of call center management experience. This makes the rating company a trusted resource among businesses looking for lead generation solution providers and other call center services.
No. 4 on Business.com's Best Sales Lead Generation Services (as of January 3, 2018)
Callbox took the 4th spot on Business.com's latest Best Sales Lead Generation Services rankings. The list compares how well each provider measures up to the competition in terms of lead generation methodology, lead tracking capabilities, reporting tools, and customer support. Business.com cites Callbox's multi-channel, multi-touch philosophy, Pipeline lead/campaign management platform, robust list of business contacts, and full-service campaign teams as the main factors that contribute to the company's high ranking.
Since 1999, Business.com has remained a leading resource portal geared toward small businesses, offering valuable content and expert advice for managing and growing their companies.
No 4. On 10 SEOs' Top 10 Lead Generation Companies for Services, January 2018
Callbox also places 4th in 10 SEOs' most recent list of top 10 lead generation firms. While 10SEOs is primarily a rankings and reviews resource for SEO services, the website also serves as a useful guide for comparing providers of other marketing solutions such as generating qualified sales leads and appointments.
Like the other rankings and ratings portals mentioned earlier, 10 SEOs prioritizes customer feedback when determining rankings. 10 SEOs follows a very strict ranking criterion that combines actual customer experience and in-depth company project portfolios.
The Callbox team welcomes all these developments as a sign that its focus on customer success continues to drive results. Throughout its 14-year history, Callbox has maintained a lengthy track record of outstanding performance. With the new ratings, the trend will last well into the future.
Get to know Callbox even better. Watch our video
Get qualified and industry targeted leads today! Dial +61 2 9037 2248
Grab a copy of our FREE EBOOK, The Ultimate Lead Generation Kit! Updated with links to the best and latest techniques that will help generate quality sales leads for your business
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Clutch Ranks Callbox Among Top 5 B2B Firms in 2 Service Categories
https://www.callboxinc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Clutch-Ranks-Callbox-Among-Top-5-B2B-Firms-in-2-Service-Categories.jpg 352 800 admin https://www.callboxinc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/callbox-logo.png admin2017-10-31 06:01:442018-09-06 12:44:55Clutch Ranks Callbox Among Top 5 B2B Firms in 2 Service Categories
Business Phrases: Callbox Among Top Lead Generation Services
https://www.callboxinc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Business-Phrases-Callbox-Among-Top-Lead-Generation-Services1-1.jpg 352 800 admin https://www.callboxinc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/callbox-logo.png admin2017-09-08 01:51:462018-09-06 10:59:17Business Phrases: Callbox Among Top Lead Generation Services
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Teams from Mini's to Veteran's
We are a community based club established in 1973, and set up to support local sport in and around Market Bosworth. Our FA Charter Standard was achieved in 2011, which has helped build our reputation of being a sustainable football club for the local community that provides for all ages and all abilities.
© 2021 Market Bosworth Football Club.
Coaching Ethos


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Whether you're a seasoned archer or a novice, Red River Reloading has exactly what you are looking for in archery equipment and supplies. We carry traditional bows, compound bows and crossbows and all of the accessories you will need to help make your trip successful. Nothing beats the thrill of bringing in game close and making a shot on an animal with a bow or crossbow. After all, men have been hunting with bow and arrow since around the Mesolithic times. The bow and arrow were not just used for hunting, they were also a very effictive weapon for warfare from prehistoric times all of the way until the widespread use of gunpowder in the 16th century. Archery is an excellent skill to have and a great hobby that is very rewarding.


The InvestorPlace 10 Best Stocks for 2019 contest features 10 stock picks from a group of money managers, market experts and financial journalists competing against each other and our readers for the best return throughout all of 2019. The year-to-date returns below will be based on market close Dec. 31, 2018, and will include dividends.
Throughout the year, the contributors will regularly offer updates as the market, the news and maybe even just sentiment move their 10 Best Stocks for 2019 picks.
Questions about the 10 Best Stocks for 2019 picks or contributors on the list? Email us at [email protected] or engage in the conversation on Twitter using hashtag #beststocks.


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Corinne Segal Corinne Segal
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/fifa-bans-joseph-blatter-and-michel-platini-from-soccer-for-eight-years
FIFA bans Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini from soccer for eight years
World Dec 21, 2015 10:16 AM EST
FIFA's ethics court has banned president Joseph "Sepp" Blatter and vice-president Michel Platini from soccer for eight years in the latest fallout from investigations of corruption in the organization.
The verdict, which FIFA announced Monday morning in Zurich, bars both men from all football-related activities, effective immediately.
The decision centered on a $2.1 million payment that Blatter made to Platini, FIFA's vice president and head of the Union of European Football Associations, in 2011. Blatter has said he paid Platini for consulting services he performed between 1999 and 2002. But Blatter could not prove any "legal basis" for the payment, which was a conflict of interest and violated FIFA's rules of conduct, according to a statement from the FIFA ethics committee.
"Mr. Blatter found himself in a situation of conflict of interest, despite which he continued to perform his related duties, failing to disclose said situation and the existence of personal interests linked to his prospective activities," the committee wrote in a statement.
That payment is also under criminal investigation by Swiss authorities.
The U.S. opened an inquiry into FIFA earlier this year, and in May, 14 officials were arrested on charges of taking bribes. On Oct. 8, Blatter and Platini were both suspended from soccer for 90 days along with FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke. More than a dozen more FIFA officials were arrested during a Dec. 3 raid on a Zurich hotel, but neither Blatter nor Platini were among those arrested at that time.
Both men intend to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the Associated Press reported. "I will fight until the end," Blatter said at a press conference Monday. Platini called the decision a "masquerade."
Blatter had led FIFA since 1998, and had planned to leave the position in February. Issa Hayatou is currently serving as interim president, and FIFA will elect a new president on Feb. 26, 2016.
Left: FIFA President Sepp Blatter has been banned for soccer for eight years along with vice-president Michael Platini over an illegal payment he made to Platini in 2011. Photo by Ruben Sprich
fifa corruption
Corinne is the Senior Multimedia Web Editor for NewsHour Weekend. She serves on the advisory board for VIDA: Women in Literary Arts.
@cesegal


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Understanding UV and skin cancer – timeline
This provides a timeline of events related to ultraviolet radiation from both a living world and a physical world perspective.
900 BC–500 AD – Ancient Greek and Roman women lighten their skin
Tanned skin is not seen as desirable. Unfortunately, the lead-based whitening paints often cause premature deaths (aside from skin ruptures, madness and infertility) due to lead poisoning.
1500s – Tanned skin associated with the working classes
Upper class women apply copious amounts of powder on their faces. Ladies throughout Europe and America always protect their hands and faces with gloves, hats and parasols (small sun umbrellas) when outside.
1652 – Human lymphatic system described
Danish physician Thomas Bartholinus (1616–1680) publishes the first full description of the human lymphatic system – later found to be an important part of the body's immune response to cancer and also one of the most common pathways for the spread of cancer cells to other areas of the body (metastasis).
1660s – The Malpighian layer in the skin named
Medical doctor and Italian scientist Marcello Malpighi (1628–1694) from the University of Bologna (Italy) uses the microscope to study living plant and animal tissue. He is considered to be the father of microscopic anatomy.
1665 – The term 'cell' is first used
Robert Hooke uses the term 'cell' to describe the structures he sees when looking through a compound microscope at non-living cork cells. These structures remind him of the rooms that monks live in, so he names them 'cells'.
1670s – Leeuwenhoek builds superior microscopes
Leeuwenhoek's skill at grinding lenses enables him to build microscopes that can magnify up to 200 times, whereas most others can only magnify up to 20–30 times. He also draws single-celled organisms, which he calls 'animalcules' and we now call microorganisms.
1787 – First metastatic melanoma surgically removed
Scottish surgeon John Hunter (1728–1793), considered one of the most distinguished scientists and surgeons of his time, describes the removal of a "cancerous fungous excrescence". In 1968, microscopic examination of the preserved tumour shows that it was a melanoma.
1801 – Ultraviolet radiation discovered
Johann Wilhelm Ritter (1776–1810) finds that the process of decomposition of silver chloride is most efficient in the presence of 'invisible' radiation, beyond the violet end of the spectrum. This radiation becomes known as ultraviolet radiation.
1804 – First description of melanoma as a disease
French physician René Laennec (1781–1826) presents melanoma as a disease in a lecture for the Faculté de Médecine de Paris. In 1820, general practitioner William Norris presents the same report in English.
1839 – Proposal that living things are made of cells
German scientists Theodor Schwann (physiologist) and Matthias Schleiden (botanist) carry out independent work, but talk to each other about their microscopic observations of plants and animals and come to the conclusion that all living things are made up of cells. This is the central idea of the cell theory.
1840 – Advanced melanoma untreatable
Despite significant medical advances in treating many forms of cancer more than one and a half centuries, later this situation remains the same – early removal is still of critical importance.
1842 – Chromosomes observed in plant cells
Chromosomes are observed in plant cells by Swiss Scientist Karl von Nageli (1817–1891). He is best known for his correspondence with Gregor Mendel and that he did not recognise the significance of his discoveries about the breeding of peas.
1920s – Sun tans become fashionable
Being bronzed becomes associated with having wealth and leisure time, and being able to afford to travel to warmer climates during winter months. (Some credit style icon Coco Chanel with with beginning this fashion trend.)
1931 – Spectrophotometer invented
Gordon Dobson (1889–1976) produces his spectrophotometer – a measuring device used to measure ozone from the ground. It is still the standard instrument used worldwide, with a network of over 150 instruments making daily observations.
1953 – Structure of DNA discovered
James Watson and Francis Crick publish the first accurate model of the DNA structure in the journal Nature, based on X-ray diffraction images taken by Rosalind Franklin. Information about DNA is also written by Maurice Wilkins (a New Zealander born in Pongaroa, North Wairarapa), and the three share the Nobel Prize in 1962.
1956 – Melanomas associated with intensity of sunlight
Australian professor Henry Lancaster discovers that melanomas are directly associated with latitude (i.e. intensity of sunlight) and that exposure to the sun is a very risk high factor in the development of the cancer.
1960s – Melanoma an ancient problem
Examination of nine Peruvian Inca mummies (dated to be approximately 2,400 years old) reveals signs of melanoma (masses on the skin and metastases to the bones), which shows melanoma is not a new disease.
1970s – Sun-tanning widely popular
Advertising campaigns featuring bronzed and beautiful bodies become the norm. The social significance of having a tan is totally reversed from Egyptian times.
1974 – CFCs linked to ozone depletion
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), first created back in 1928 as non-toxic non-flammable refrigerants, feature in a laboratory study published by Mario Molina and Sherwood Rowland that shows CFCs can break down ozone in the presence of high frequency UV light. They received a Nobel Prize in 1995.
1985 – Antarctic ozone hole discovered
British Antarctic Survey scientists Joseph Farman, Brian Gardiner and Jonathan Shanklin discover the Antarctic ozone hole and publish a paper in Nature summarising data that shows that the ozone levels for Antarctica had dropped to 10% below normal January levels.
1989 – Montreal Protocol becomes official
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of a number of substances believed to be responsible for depleting ozone. It is followed by many countries.
2004 – Skin cancer rates on the rise
In New Zealand, there are 45,000–70,000 non-melanoma skin cancers, 1,896 melanoma cases and 249 deaths (152 males and 97 females) from melanoma. Find out more about skin cancer in these articles.
2016 – Mole checking via smartphone launched
New Zealand company Firstcheck creates a smartphone app through which users can take photos of a mole they are concerned about, send to a dermatologist to review and receive feedback within 3 days.
2019 – New Zealand melanoma rates decline
In February 2019, researchers at Australia's QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, released a study that showed New Zealand melanoma rates have declined and Australia's have remained steady. New Zealand skin cancer rates are still amongst the highest in the world.
2020 – Review of skin cancer scanning apps
A review of six algorithm-based AI apps that assess the risk of suspicious moles has found that they cannot be relied upon to detect all skin cancers, this research was published in The British Medical Journal (BMJ) in Febraury 2020. It is agreed though, that the apps will get better as technology improves and artificial intelligence offers a huge hope for the future.
Published 29 July 2008, Updated 11 February 2020 Referencing Hub articles


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Q: Android Dalvik Vs. ART Garbage Collection with ViewPager and Bitmap.recycle So I have an image slider which is a ViewPager with an image that you can swipe horizontal to move to the next one.
Before loading new images into the image slider I call mBitmap.recycle() on each bitmap to make sure I'm not wasting memory
Checking the memory monitor in Android studio reveals that in Android 4.4 (Dalvik) this works properly and every time new images are loaded, it always goes down to the amount of memory it uses when no images are loaded.
In Android 5.0 and up, that's not always the case. If you scroll sideways and view each image in the image slider at least once, when you go to load a new set of images, there's some leftover garbage that doesn't get collected, which is odd since I explicitly called recycle() on every image.
This crashes phones with lower heapSize (like 96MB), and on phones with larger heapsize (like 256 MB), you can compound this issue a couple times, up until about 100MB of uncollected garbage, and 90MB of legit used memory.
Once it hits that point of 190/256MB it seems like the garbage collection system starts "working" but I'm still not sure the Bitmap.recycle() calls that are actually doing the work. When the heap needs to readjust itself, it frees up a lot of memory each time, like 20MB, but simply invoking garbage collection (by clicking the button in Android studio) doesn't do that, it only removes the small amount of overhead when sliding between images.
So to summarize: Bitmap.recycle() is performing as expected if the images in the image slider / ViewPager are not seen, but if you see each of them at least once, the garbage collection somehow seems to be ignoring Bitmap.recycle()
Here's an image showing what exactly I'm talking about (this is for Android v5.0(ART), see the other image for v4.4(dalvik).

If you have any questions about my explanation of what's happening, I can clarify.
EDIT: Here's what it looks like when the same actions are performed on Android 4.4. Notice how every time recycle() is called it goes down to ~20MB of memory, which is about what my app uses not counting the bitmaps.
Image:
Android v4.4 memory monitor example

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


A solution to 'Blackberry thumb'?
Rewriting the Smartphone keyboard is hopefully a brilliant way to decrease the incidence of 'Blackberry Thumb'. Prevention is always better than cure and I hope this new keyboard enables people to work more efficiently and less painfully from their hand held devices. It is of course better to vary work postures and patterns and to use all sorts of equipment throughout the working day: pens and pencils, hand held devices, lap tops and computers can all be used rather than being stuck to a hand held device. It is also important that you move whilst working to increase blood flow to muscles and that you do not always sit still – try standing, walking, kneeling and squatting as some postural variations. Keeping muscles hydrated by drinking up to 2 litres of water a day can make working muscles more effective and ensures that more breaks are taken within the working day as you need to go to the toilet! Read this article and be inspired - entrepreneur Jon Reynolds at 28 years of age has redesigned the Smartphone Keyboard. Up until now this has been a dream of his and now it is a reality. Imagine how things would be if we all keep dreaming and striving for developments and possibilities within our own specialist fields.


Why does a joint replacement cost $30,000 in one hospital and $160,000 in another? At The Action Group's Community Dialogue on Joint Replacements for Hips and Knees last Friday, we began our journey toward improving transparency, quality and safety, while addressing inappropriate use and high costs in Minnesota.
Read our latest guest blog from the event's keynote speaker, Cheryl DeMars, President and CEO of The Alliance.
View available meeting presentations from Friday.
Action Group members can join the Joint Replacement Care Delivery Learning Network, which helps purchasers increase the value of care that is often subject to overuse or inappropriate use. Contact Sue Jesseman for more information: sjesseman@mnhealthactiongroup.org, or 952-896-5186.
"Forty-five of 50 states —- 90 percent —- fail to adequately make price information available to their consumers even as the Affordable Care Act, employers and insurance companies push for greater transparency." Payment Reform is central to many Action Group initiatives and was a focal point of the Community Dialogue described above. Last week, Forbes released a thought-provoking article, based on a recent report from the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute.
The Action Group continuously monitors developments at the Capitol, representing the collective voice of the people who write the checks for health care, ensuring that patients get the care they need at the right time, in the right place, for the right price.
Many issues related to health care licensure, professional scopes of practice, health care homes, pharmacy benefit manager regulations, E-cigarettes, and even eyeglass prescriptions can be found in both Senate File 2087 and Senate File 1484.
The Senate will unveil their proposal for health care spending today, March 31. The House passed their suggestions last Thursday night. For more information on what the House included, please see this summary from the House Research Department.


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2021-02-02 23:13:39 | States in the US are Pulling Back Vaccine Doses from Federal Program for Nursing Homes
February 2, 2021 - by Richard Fausset - Leave a Comment
Story by: Richard Fausset The New York Times World News
It did not take long for Keith Reed, a deputy health commissioner in Oklahoma, to spot a big logistical problem with the state's vaccination rollout. Week after week, Oklahoma was allocating thousands of precious doses to a federal program for nursing home patients that was not using them all. In fact, tens of thousands of doses were sitting untouched in freezers.
So his department called an audible. It decided to stop allocating any more of Oklahoma's vaccine supply to the federal program, a partnership with private pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens that is meant to immunize residents of long-term care facilities. Instead, they would go to distribution channels that would get them into people's arms faster.
A number of states have made similar moves to shift supplies away from the federal effort, known as the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program, a telling example of how chaotic the inoculation effort in the U.S. has been so far. Some of the other states include Minnesota, Maine, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio.
Mr. Reed said the Oklahoma move would do no harm: Walgreens and CVS have assured him, he said, that all nursing home residents in the state who needed — and wanted — to be vaccinated would have the first of their two shots by the end of the week.
The federal program used a formula that turned out to significantly overestimate how many shots would be needed for long-term care facilities like nursing homes, whose residents are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus. And another problem arose: A considerable number of residents and, especially, workers at the facilities are turning down the chance to be vaccinated.
See also 2021-02-18 11:26:47 | Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai denied bail again | Media News
A study released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that in the first month of the program, 77.8 percent of residents and 37.5 percent of workers received the vaccine at the average long-term care facility. The study says the true rate for workers may be higher because some may have been vaccinated in other settings. But, even so, federal officials are particularly concerned about how many workers are refusing inoculation, and have been stepping up efforts to change their minds.
Mr. Reed said the doses Oklahoma was taking away from the federal program will be going to thousands of Oklahomans who are 65 or older and do not live in nursing homes.
"Our goal is to move vaccine from freezers to somebody's arm within seven days of receiving it," Mr. Reed said in an interview last week. "We just had a hard time with that amount of vaccine off-limits to us that was set aside for this program, when we could be using that vaccine to go straight to Oklahomans."
Advocates for nursing home residents are watching closely for any sign that the moves will impede their vaccinations.
"If we find that older adults are not getting the vaccines that they need, then that's concerning to us," said Lisa Sanders, a spokeswoman for LeadingAge, which represents more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers.
Source References: The New York Times World News
2021-02-28 23:45:17 | China Appears to Warn India: Push Too Hard and the Lights Could Go Out
2021-02-28 22:11:09 | Trump says he won't form new party, vows to unite Republicans | Politics News
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Superman in Marvel - Chapter 10
Superman in Marvel
Chapter 10 - Iron Man's Attention
Chapter 10: Iron Man's Attention
"Jarvis, what is that?"
"According to the captured optical image analysis, that could be a super humanoid that can fly and doesn't need oxygen to breathe," Jarvis said calmly.
Tony Stark said that he knew that it should be an individual in the pictures of outer space captured by his satellite, but how could a person be at such a high altitude? The Iron Man Suit that he built himself could not support it until it reached a height of 30,000 meters, but that guy was close to satellite orbit without any armor: "How long has he stayed there?"
"Since the target was discovered by the satellite, the target has not moved. The standard time is one hour, thirty-six minutes and fifty seconds.
"An hour and a half?" If Jarvis remembered correctly, then this person floating in outer space should be a dead person, but from the occasional turning neck in the picture, he knew that it was a living creature: "No ice, no oxygen, How did you get into space orbit?" Then Tony immediately thought of a crucial question. Are the creatures in the picture flying from the earth or from the universe?
This determines the definition of this creature, superhuman or alien.
Unfortunately, Stark's satellite did not capture the moment when the creature appeared, and was curious. As a brilliant scientist, Tony was also full of curiosity about the unknown.
"Zoom in and let me see what he has in his hand?" Tony told Jarvis, this time it was really a surprise.
The outstanding industrial strength of Stark Industries gave Tony Stark the world's most advanced exploration satellite. At this time, the focal length was continuously extended to accurately capture the close-up of Kent's uniform.
A red 'S'.
"One letter?" What does it mean? After seeing the letters, Tony suspected that the target on the screen might be flying up from the earth, because this is 'S', but what exactly does it mean? "What is the abbreviation for the word?"
Jarvis immediately listed all the phrases beginning with S, and then found the phrase that best describes the situation now, and it was still 'Super'.
Artificial intelligence is so understanding, Tony mutters to himself: "Super? Superman?!"
"Perhaps this is really a superman."
Tony Stark is already an Iron Man at this time. During a trip to the Middle East to promote new weapons, he was attacked by terrorists and was hit by fragments of bombs. Now the periphery of the heart is iron. If there is no electromagnetic in the chest to sucked the shrapnel, then the shrapnel continued to penetrate until it pierced the heart, at which time he died.
But it was also because of the opportunity to use a small 'ark reactor' magnet for self-rescue in the chest. He came up with the design of using a chest small reactor as an energy source to drive a single mobile armor in a terrorist cave. Use the armor to escape the terrorist control, and finally escape the tiger's mouth. In that incident, he saw that terrorists had a large number of Stark's industrial-made weapons in his hands, which made him painfully decide to withdraw from the arms industry and prevent terrorists from killing innocents with weapons produced by his company.
After returning to the United States, Tony did not forget to upgrade his steel suit, because the idea was really genius. Of course, he is not like using steel suit as a weapon. At most, it is a rich and cool toy loved by big boys.
However, Tony Stark looks like a wave-shaped skeleton, but he also has a sense of justice, so when he knew that his company did not immediately cut off the arms deal with the war-torn area, he was angry, put on a brand-new steel coat to create and destroy the Middle East. Weapons left by my company there.
The next thing is to fight the veteran who has been collaborating with terrorists in the company. The veteran got the design drawings of Tony's first-generation steel suit from the terrorists. He plans to mass-produce the steel suit and make Tony's brilliant idea become the sharpest Killing weapon.
Senior executives of two companies with different ideas drove steel suits to fight each other, and hit the street from Stark's research institute.
Caused great riots.
In modern society, there are two big robots faught in the streets.
You punch me, I shoot you. The splattered Mars is simply greeting pedestrians on the road and taking out their mobile phones to look over Here is the Super Robot War.
On that day, all major video sites and social networking sites were full of robotic melee videos taken by passers-by. It was the filming of the movie, the new weapon of the government, and how did these robots have anything to do with Stark?
Because the robot rushed out of Stark's research building, plus Stark said that he would withdraw from the arms industry, which is already big news. Now that Stark's weapons department is completely closed, it has been revealed that the company has produced awesome robotic weapons. Isn't this just playing on its own?
In order to maintain the company's image and to calm down the Robot Street Fighter incident, Tony held a press conference under the dual pressure of the company and the government, and publicly acknowledged that he was the operator of the red robot, and he was Iron Man.
For a while, New York was impressed by the wayward games of the rich. Of course, Tony was also distressed and admitted very easily, but the public relations work was extremely heavy, and there were various lawsuits and legal issues.
However, Tony is rich, and despite the trouble, he can continue to wear Iron Man suit to safeguard justice and fight terrorists around the world.
Because apart from terrorists, the Earth at this time does not seem to have any other enemies that need to be defeated.
Iron Man is very red, not only for his upholding justice, but also because Tony Stark is a high-profile person, walking around the world, participating in various large-scale events, and every appearance is a fragrant car beauty, occupying a larger headlines of the news media, both the rich and the iron man, made Tony fire all over the river.
But becoming a superhero, Tony also takes it very seriously. Although it is still the world's waves, he also designed a lot of advanced equipment to help him combat terrorists, such as monitoring global satellites, such as more advanced Iron Man suit.
Of course, Iron Man suits are not the credit of Tony alone. The reason why his Iron Man suit can be upgraded so quickly is that On the one hand, Tony himself is constantly inspired, on the other hand, the powerful Stark industry is backing up, all the high-tech equipment materials are all applied by Tony to his Iron Man suit. As a big man, even if the paint composition is different, Tony will build a new Iron Man suit. He is a rich man and will not buckle and say a Iron Man suit paint was shoveled off and changed to spray.
But now Tony feels stressed because he hasn't designed the Iron Man suit that can go to the universe perfectly. Now there is a person who wears nothing, and stayed in the universe for an hour and a half or more, which makes him feel very under pressure.
You must know that Tony is so diligent in upgrading the Iron Man suit because of various deficiencies in the process of presiding justice. Although each upgrade is very subtle, the problem does come out in action. Tony can only rely on himself. Warframe to face various situations. Now he has encountered a difficult situation that all his current armors cannot cope with. He cannot stay in the universe for a long time. If the man on the screen is an enemy, how should he cope? This is a problem that must be faced.


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Extract and UK Giveaway: A True and Faithful Brother by Linda Stratmann
March 27, 2017 lindasbookbag	6 Comments
When you love historical fiction as well as a good mystery, what could be better than the opportunity from the History Press to run a giveaway for a book, A True and Faithful Brother, by Linda Stratmann. I also have the very opening of the book for you to read.
A True and Faithful Brother is the latest in Linda's Frances Doughty Mysteries and was published by the Mystery Press, an imprint of the History Press, on 1st March 2017. A True and Faithful Brother is available for purchase here.
You'll find a giveaway for A True and Faithful Brother at the bottom of this blog post with grateful thanks to The History Press.
A True and Faithful Brother
London 1882: When a wealthy philanthropist disappears from a locked and guarded room, Frances Doughty is reluctantly drawn into a case that tears the veil of mystery from her own past. Can London's very own Lady Detective solve this sinister new case before a murderer catches up with her and she becomes the next victim?
An Extract from A True and Faithful Brother
Frances Doughty unfastened the top three buttons of her gown, thankful for the sake of decency that no more was required. She was comforted by the fact that the man who stood beside her, calm and solemn in his dark attire, had performed his duty many times before, and would be both her guide and support. Facing her was a closed door. In a few moments it would open, and once she had passed into the next room there could be no turning back.
Although she had been prepared, it was nevertheless a shock when the hood of white fabric was placed over her head. The world vanished as if in a fog and suddenly she felt alone, helpless and vulnerable. Aware that she had begun to tremble, she tried to conceal her apprehension and breathe as evenly as she was able, hoping to face the mystery to come humbly and without fear. Moments later came the descent of the hempen rope around her neck, its weight resting on her shoulders and tightened by the loop of the noose. Her throat was dry, her palms moist, and she could feel the deep pulsing of her heart.
There was the sound of the door opening. It was time. As she felt a steadying hand on her elbow, encouraging her to step forward, Frances could not help but cast her mind back over the remarkable train of events that had placed her in this very unusual situation.
About Linda Stratmann
Linda Stratmann was born in Leicester in 1948 and first started scribbling stories and poems at the age of six. She became interested in true crime when watching Edgar Lustgarten on TV in the 1950s. Linda attended Wyggeston Girls Grammar School, trained to be a chemist's dispenser, and later studied at Newcastle University where she obtained a first in Psychology. She then spent 27 years in the civil service before leaving to devote her time to writing. Linda loves spending time in libraries and archives and really enjoys giving talks on her subject.
You can follow Linda on Twitter, visit her website and find her on Facebook.
For your chance to win one of three paperback copies of A True and Faithful Friend by Linda Stratman, click here. UK only I'm afraid and the giveaway closes at UK midnight on Sunday 2nd April 2017.
Coming Soon: The Deepings Literary Festival
March 26, 2017 lindasbookbag	14 Comments
I'm absolutely thrilled that The Deepings villages where I live in south Lincolnshire are about to host their first ever literary festival at the end of April 2017. Under the leadership of local Councillor Judy Stevens there's an exciting programme about to take place. Full details and booking can be found here, but I thought I'd just share a few of the events that I'm involved with on Linda's Book Bag.
Thursday 27th April
Although we have friends coming that day, I'm going to be sneaking out to attend the festival launch at the library. It's not long since the library was under threat of closure but a team led by local campaigner Liz Waterland fought hard and now we have a vibrant and exciting venue for the whole community. If anyone would like to go too, just contact the library by 31st March.
Friday 28th April
Again, check here for full event details including Alison Weir and musicians Pennyless, but excitingly for me I shall be hosting Alison Bruce, author of Cambridge Black in a question and answer session from 2.30PM at Iron Horse Ranch. There will also be music from Rachel Eyre.
You can follow Alison on Twitter and visit her website, but why not come along to meet her in person?
With events for children, authors galore and a black tie gala evening with author and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, there's so much happening on Saturday. I'll be off to a morning with Karen Maitland, author of The Plague Charmer which is firmly on my TBR.
After that I'm thrilleed to be having lunch with a favourite author Erica James. You an follow Erica on Twitter and visit her website. My U3A latest read for April just happens to be one of Erica's books: The Dandelion Years and I'm very much looking forward to reading it.
As soon as lunch is over I'm dashing off to the library again for a bit of read dating! Between 2 and 3.30 there will be 10 local authors for readers to meet in the style of a speed dating event! These include Ted Barnes, Carol Browne (click here to read her previous visit to Linda's Book Bag), Darren Calpin, Michael Cayzer, Jane Isaac (I've met Jane several times and she's lovely! Click here to read my review of one of her books, Beneath the Ashes), Cartlon King, Emma Lannigan, Richard Pike, Ros Rendle and Lizzie Steele.
Sunday 30th April
I haven't quite decided which event to go to on Sunday, but am very tempted by afternoon tea with poet Stuart Henson in John Clare's home village of Helpston.
Monday 1st May
Events continue with dance included too so do check out the website for more details. Many events are getting sold out so if you'd like to take part, you'd better get in quickly.
An Interview with Martine McDonagh, Author of Narcissism for Beginners
Narcissism for Beginners by Martine McDonagh is a book that really appeals to me but I just haven't had time to read yet. However, I am lucky enough to have interviewed Martine all about it.
Published by Unbound on 9th March 2017, Narcissism for Beginners is available for purchase in e-book and paperback here.
Narcissism for Beginners
Meet Sonny Anderson as he tips headlong into adulthood. Sonny doesn't remember his mother's face; he was kidnapped at age five by his father, Guru Bim, and taken to live in a commune in Brazil. Since the age of ten, Sonny has lived in Redondo Beach, California, with his guardian Thomas Hardiker. Brits think he's an American, Americans think he's a Brit.
When he turns 21, Sonny musters the courage to travel alone to the UK in an attempt to leave a troubled past behind, reunite with his mother and finally learn the truth about his childhood. With a list of people to visit, a whole lot of attitude and five mysterious letters from his guardian, Sonny sets out to learn the truth. But is it a truth he wants to hear?
Narcissism for Beginners is a fresh, witty and humane take on the struggle to make sense of growing up.
An Interview with Martine McDonagh
Welcome to Linda's Book Bag Martine. Thank you so much for agreeing to answer some questions on my blog about your writing. Firstly, please could you tell me a little about yourself?
Thank you for having me! I live in West Yorkshire and work in West Sussex (not the easiest commute) and am naturally nomadic, fortunately. I love herons. Until a few years ago I worked as an artist manager in the music industry, managing the careers of a number of bands, including James and Fujiya & Miyagi. A couple of years ago, I designed and now run the MA Creative Writing & Publishing at West Dean College in Sussex.
Without spoiling the plot, please could you tell us a bit about Narcissism for Beginners?
The main character in Narcissism for Beginners is Sonny, a 21 year-old living in Redondo Beach, California, with his guardian, Thomas when the novel begins. Sonny was kidnapped at age five by his own father, a self-made guru, and taken to live on a commune in Brazil. He's had no contact with his mother since and doesn't even remember her face. When Thomas gives him a list of names and addresses on his birthday, of people who knew both his parents, Sonny plucks up the courage to go to the UK in search of his mother.
I knew when I was very young that I wanted to be a writer, but I didn't really have any concept of what that meant besides just enjoying writing. I suppose I've always preferred writing to talking and have always written stuff down, although not always in a structured form, but I've had a go at everything: poetry, screenplays, short stories. I was in my mid thirties when I realised that if I didn't start taking writing seriously then, I probably never would. Now I definitely prefer the long uphill climb of a novel.
I wouldn't say I find any of it particularly easy. I love writing the first draft because I write that longhand and uncritically and there's an aesthetically pleasing aspect to dragging a pen over smooth clean paper. Most enjoyable is that sense of being completely immersed in the story and those times away from it when it just runs riot in your head, but those are often just moments!
I don't have a fixed routine as I'm rarely in one place for longer than a week, but I do have an ideal that I managed to achieve a few times while writing NfB when I wrote in blocks of three months, first in California and then in France. The ideal is to start work around 9am and work undisturbed by anyone but myself until lunchtime. After lunch, I like to walk and think for 2-3 hours, after which, depending on where I'm at in the writing process, I might go back to my desk for another hour or two. I like to write about places I've been, but find it easier to write about them when I'm somewhere else.
You have an MA in creative writing and you also teach creative writing. How has that impacted on your style?
I wrote the first draft of my first novel while doing my MA at MMU in Manchester and believing (wrongly) that it would probably never be published, I allowed myself to be as indulgent as I pleased. As a result I think my style in that novel is more 'overwritten' and perhaps more opaque than I would allow myself now, but I still follow one rule that I set back then: only use an adverb as an absolute last resort. Teaching has made me tighten up on theory and read more critically again, but what's been lost from my process is my precious thinking time.
Narcissism for Beginners is your third novel. How has your writing process evolved over time?
It's been different each time, changing with my circumstances. I wrote my first novel, I Have Waited and You Have Come, as a single mother of a young child while also working as an artist manager in the music industry. My second, After Phoenix, was written in the blur of grief following my father's death. Narcissism for Beginners was written during a three-year post-house-sale sabbatical travelling and focusing solely on writing. The one I'm writing now has so far been squeezed into free time when not running the MA and guess what, it's not as good – yet.
Narcissism for Beginners has truth as one of its main themes. Why did you choose to explore that theme?
Truth wasn't consciously one of the themes as I wrote, but more those flipsides of truth, delusion and deception. The central theme of the novel is the effect that extremely narcissistic characters have on the people around them, and in particular on their children, and by default those characters are manipulative and dishonest, using whatever means necessary to achieve the best outcomes for themselves regardless of the effect on others. My own dealings with such characters sparked my interest and a desire to explore further.
How did you go about researching detail to ensure Narcissism for Beginners was realistic?
Naturally I read a lot. Popular psychology books were a great help in understanding the basics and more specific studies of gurus such as Dr. Anthony Storr's Feet of Clay and first hand accounts such as Deborah Layton's Seductive Poison really helped to get deeper into the kind of experiences my characters might have had. I also spent some time in the places my main character, Sonny, has lived, mainly because it was important to pitch his voice correctly. My own son, who lived in LA at that time and the sons of friends I lived with in Redondo Beach were an incredible help.
Narcissism for Beginners has an intriguing cover, making me think that life doesn't always pan out as we hope! How did that image come about and what were you hoping to convey (without spoiling the plot please)?
I had very little input into the cover design, other than to state a preference for simple, colourful and bold covers, so all the credit goes to the designer Tree Abraham, who I think did a fantastic job. So much is implied by that dropped ice cream! The cornetto image also relates to Sonny's love for the film Shaun of the Dead, which has helped him make sense of his life.
If you could choose to be a character from Narcissism for Beginners, who would you be and why?
That's a tricky one, not least because there's probably something of me in all the characters, which probably goes without saying. But I think of all of them, it would have to be Thomas because he's really lived through some extremes and come out the other end as a reformed character, albeit not entirely voluntarily.
If Narcissism for Beginners became a film, who would you like to play Sonny and why would you choose them?
Until a couple of days ago I wouldn't have been able to answer this question, but then I saw Shia Laboeuf in American Honey and thought he portrayed the absolute perfect mix of vulnerability and cynicism. He'd be too old though, so whoever the next Shia Laboeuf is. Can't believe I just wrote that.
I read a mix of fiction and non-fiction, mainly related in some way to what I'm writing about at the time, but I love those random finds in second-hand bookshops. I used to read poetry but now I hardly ever do and that's something I need to remedy. I also used to read a lot of plays. Without meaning to sound pretentious (but probably sounding it anyway) I like to read French novels in French, partly to keep improving my French, but also because it challenges my writing brain in a way I don't think reading in English does. French novels are often more experimental stylistically too, less genre-bound, which makes for more interesting and challenging reading in my opinion. And films are important too.
I'm a strong believer in the writer-as-magpie cliché – ideas can come from anywhere and it's important to have curiosity switched on at all times. My main interest that produces ideas is my love of wandering around in strange and familiar places, especially at night. I'm not the first to say this, but there's something in the rhythm of walking that seems to have a kind of peristaltic effect on the brain.
If you had 15 words to persuade a reader that Narcissism for Beginners should be their next read, what would you say?
Narcissism for Beginners is for anyone who's ever been 21, a parent or a child.
Thank you so much for your time in answering my questions.
Thank you Linda, really interesting questions!
About Martine McDonagh
Martine McDonagh has published short fiction in Quick Fictions, The Brighton Book, The Cheeky Guide to Walks in Sussex and the Illustrated Brighton Moment and contributes occasionally to Writing magazine.
Martine has an MA in Creative Writing from MMU and currently runs the MA Creative Writing & Publishing programme at West Dean College, Chichester. She previously worked as an artist manager in the music industry.
You can follow Martine on Twitter and visit her website. You'll also find her on Facebook.
Twitter for Authors, A Guest Post by Dane Cobain
I'm very pleased to welcome Dane Cobain back to Linda's book Bag today. Dane previously wrote about the relevance of poetry and you can read that post here. So often I have authors contact me for a slot on the blog to promote their books but when I ask what their Twitter handle is so that I can tag them they tell me they don't use social media! Today, Dane is sharing his tips for authors in making the most of Twitter.
You'll find Dane's fiction, poetry and non-fiction books here.
Twitter for Authors: Ten Top Tips
A Guest Post by Dane Cobain
For authors, Twitter is one of the best social networks around for reaching out to readers, engaging with fans and making an impact in the industry. Unlike many other social networks, Twitter is public by default, and its username-based system – as opposed to Facebook and LinkedIn, which use profiles and pages to add a degree of separation – makes it easy for authors to talk to both individuals and organisations.
Today, we take a look at ten ways for authors to make the most out of the social network.
Tools like Twuffer allow users to schedule tweets to go out on a date and at a time to suit them. While it's a bad idea to automate too much, it can be useful for scheduling countdowns to cover reveals and new releases or to schedule the same tweet at different times to reach international audiences.
Twitter's inbuilt list tool allows you to group users together in a single timeline. It's a good idea to do this for any publishers that you're interested in, as well as for journalists, reviewers and other influencers, so you can keep an eye on what they're talking about.
Dashboards like Tweetdeck and Hootsuite allow you to view Twitter data in real-time so that you can respond to people accordingly. By saving searches for terms like "need new book" or "new fantasy", authors can reach out to readers directly and offer free samples.
Follower Management
One of Twitter's strengths is that it allows third-party developers to create their own tools using the network's API. Some of them, like ManageFlitter, allow users to manually follow or unfollow other users based on certain criteria. For example, you could follow new bloggers or unfollow users who haven't posted for thirty days.
Hashtags #
Hashtags # are one of the unique benefits that Twitter has to offer, and they allow you to reach a much wider audience. Look up hashtags that are already in use, or try a tool like DisplayPurposes which will offer up suggested tags to help you to reach people.
Live chats are great because you can chat to people in real time, and all of the posts are usually grouped together with a single hashtag. Many chats take place on a regular basis, or you can create your own as a way for your readers to get to know you.
Due to the way that Twitter works, it's much easier to participate in the global conversation around trending topics than it is on Facebook, LinkedIn and other platforms. Because of this, it's a good idea to keep an eye on what people are talking about and to jump into the conversation when appropriate. You don't need to relate it back to your work every time – just make your voice heard and you'll be surprised at how many people start to interact with you.
Never underestimate the power of a retweet. Go out of your way to retweet your most dedicated followers – it gives you extra content to share, and they'll remember it when your next book goes on sale.
Vanity Searches
A vanity search is a search for your own name, and it's particularly useful for authors because they can keep an eye out for people who are talking about their books but who haven't necessarily tagged them by mentioning their username.
Real-Time Conversations
One of Twitter's strengths is how easy it is to talk in real-time about current events. This ranges from events and conferences to the release days for books by other authors if you're reading along with everyone else. Even tweeting throughout a day of writing can be entertaining. Be creative!
How do you use Twitter? Do you have any tips for how to make the most of it? Let us know what you think with a comment.
This post is written by Dane Cobain and sponsored by Publishing Addict, an organisation that specialises in building great author websites to help writers to establish a brand, connect with their readers and to sell more books.
About Dane Cobain
Dane Cobain is an independent poet, musician and storyteller with a passion for language and learning. When he's not in front of a screen writing stories and poetry, he can be found working on his book review blog or developing his website.
You can follow Dane on Twitter and find him on Facebook.
An Interview with Marilyn Bennett, Author of Granny With Benefits
Having spent a considerable amount of time looking at care homes in recent months, it gives me great pleasure to welcome Marilyn Bennett, author of Granny with Benefits, to Linda's Book Bag today. Granny with Benefits features sheltered accommodation!
Published by Matador, Granny With Benefits is available for purchase here.
Granny With Benefits
Grace is thirty-nine and not remotely convinced that life begins at forty.
When her grandmother dies she volunteers to pick up her belongings from the sheltered accommodation. It is the last place she expects to have a chance encounter with the first man she has been instantly attracted to in a very long time, particularly as she is dressed almost head to toe in her grandmother's clothing and accessories.
Grace's granny alter ego elicits a conversation with the man about love, death and the universe, which she is convinced would not have happened otherwise. This inspires her to throw caution to the wind and turn what should have been a simple case of mistaken identity into a dating introduction opportunity for the real her. A decision which sets Grace on a rollercoaster adventure of lies, secrets and lust, making her thirty ninth year one she won't forget, but might well regret…
An Interview with Marilyn Bennett
Welcome to Linda's Book Bag Marilyn. Thank you so much for agreeing to answer some questions on my blog about your writing. Firstly, please could you tell me a little about yourself?
Thank you very much for inviting me! I've worked in telly for the last 23 years and although it's a very creative industry my role is very much about organising the logistics, so I wanted to do something that would explore my creative skills and it turned out to be writing.
Without spoiling the plot, please could you tell us a bit about Granny With Benefits?
Granny with Benefits is about a 39 year old single woman called Grace, who, when her grandmother dies, volunteers to clear out her belongings from Sheltered Accommodation. She has her eye on some coats and is playing adult dress up, wig and glasses included, when a very attractive man unexpectedly comes to the room to view it for his Dad.
Instead of this being a simple case of mistaken identity, Grace spontaneously uses the opportunity to try and engineer a date for the real her. The man has a similar idea, he thinks she might be a great date for his widowed Uncle, so things do not go remotely according to plan.
I find writing dialogue the easiest. I will come up with whole conversations in an instant and without the rest of the scene simply because it get's to the heart of what I want to say.
I think plotting is the most difficult bit for me. I can't start writing until I've plotted everything out. I need a structure. It tends to be quite skeletal, but it's definitely how my brain works. It needs order.
How do you go about researching detail and ensuring your books are realistic?
For Granny with Benefits and the sequel I didn't really have to do detailed research. These are very much slice of life stories. I suppose in some ways I have been doing the research most of my adult life, as the characters are a mash-up of lots of different people that I have encountered in my personal and professional life.
I'm not one of these people who writes everyday. Sometime I just don't fancy it. The way I work is I set myself date deadlines. There's the date to finish plotting and one to finish the draft. That way it doesn't matter if I don't write today or tomorrow, but I have to hit that date.
Generally once I finished plotting and start writing I tend to aim to complete a chapter every time I write.
I only write at home and I need silence. I have this clock with a loud tick in the room I write in. I thought it was so nice when I bought it, but now that I write it slightly gets on my nerves.
You've worked in television production for a long time. How did this impact on your writing style? I wondered if it meant you were more aware of pace, setting or dialogue for example?
Working in television had a impact on my writing style because script writing is my natural go to regarding understanding the basics of writing. My plan was originally to write a short film, I just didn't have the ending, so I started plotting and it instantly lent itself to being a novel.
Scriptwriting really informed the dialogue and pacing of the book. I wanted the dialogue to feel real, so that readers could relate to and believe the characters.It was also important to me that the pacing retained the interest of the reader even when they might not particularly like the characters.
The basic scriptwriting principle of a story having a clear beginning, middle and end was a key factor in how I plotted and structured the novel. I thought there might be a sequel to it, but I wanted to write the book, so it could standalone, so I tried not to drag things out or be repetitive.
You say Granny With Benefits broke a lifelong tradition of never finishing anything! What drove you to write and complete Granny With Benefits?
I've had lots of ideas over the years, but most of them have either been abandoned or not even started. I think I finished the novel because I set myself the task of completing something. I also really enjoyed the process of writing. I had no idea it would be such fun, but I really loved creating the characters, scenarios and relationships. I got a real kick out of it and they pretty much took on a life of their own. I also believed in the story, so for once, it wasn't a half-hearted attempt at something.
I know that launching Granny With Benefits has been a steep learning curve for you. What have you learnt since publication day that might be helpful to other debut authors?
Steep learning curve is an understatement! It's been like trying to climb Everest in my flip flops! I did expect this because I'm completely new to the industry and self-publishing, but it's been way harder and equally as exciting, than I expected.
I've learnt that perseverance and patience is key. I'm happily taking the independent route, but it most certainly is not for everyone. If the book you've written is your life's work or wish then I would suggest you need an agent.
Writing the book is only the very beginning. It took me three years, with time off for good behaviour, to finish Granny with Benefits. I would've finished it sooner if I knew the amount of work that would be required to promote the book. It's really difficult to get the traditional media to take interest in you or your book if you have no track record, so the more you can build an understanding and relationships outside of the traditional media the better. If you have a great agent or/and publicist they are key to helping you do this, as they will already have those crucial contacts and networks on both sides of the fence.
Prepare to go out into the world starkers! By that I mean, you are your campaign and not the book. I've had slight panic attacks around promoting this book because so much of it has been about me personally and not the book. For example, on Friday I did my very first radio interview (yayyyy!). The reason I got the interview is because one of my hobbies is recycling old furniture and antiques. Yes, you read it right. The majority of the interview was spent talking about recycling doors! But I got to mention the book at the end and that's the end game.
Think of it this way, when Walkers want us to buy a packet of crisps, they don't have potatoes in the ads, they have Gary Lineker! Nothing sells itself and right now I am by far the best person to sell my book.
Your blog (here) shows you as someone with a real sense of humour. Have you used this in Granny With Benefits and has it ever got you into trouble?
My sense of humour is what keeps me sane. I don't take myself too seriously and I can laugh through most things as a result. Life is just too short! I think my sense of humour has actually got me out of trouble, so it's been a very handy tool.
My sense of humour is one of the key drivers in Granny with Benefits. I don't think it's laugh out loud humour, more bittersweet comedic moments and it is threaded throughout the entire novel.
Granny With Benefits seems to have a message about making the most of opportunities, even if they don't always work out. Why did you choose to write about this theme?
I think a lot of people suffer from the fear of trying. It can stifle you and result in you not living your life to the full. Over the past few years I have seen people that are very close to me suffer with very grave illnesses, yet they have a life affirming positivity as a result, which is so inspirational. They are taking life by the go-nads and living.
I just wanted to say if you want something in life then go for it! Don't wait for circumstances to take those choices away from you, make your own choices.
When I finished the book. I did a final read-through and I thought "Huh, not bad". Then I thought I better check if anyone else agrees, so I got an Editor.
I would be a songwriter or music producer. have been writing songs since I was a kid, but in my typical DNF character, 95% are only first verse and chorus.
I really like contemporary fiction, women's fiction, romance and thrillers.
I like most types of genres, but the above are my favourites to read.
The next series of books is completely based on one of my other interests. I'm keeping it under wraps for the moment, but I've become obsessed with it over the passed 4 years. It informed everything about my writing. Not what I wrote in terms of the story arc, but the timing of it.It worked for me, so that has been my greenlight to pursue it as the subject for my next series of novels.
(Oh – sounds intriguing!)
If you could choose to be a character from Granny With Benefits, who would you be and why?
I would be Grace's friend Cassie. She's direct, brash and bold. She needs to keep her knickers on a bit more, but other than that I would be her. I would like to be more courageous and not give a monkeys, but its just part of my nature to care.
If Granny With Benefits became a film, who would you like to play Grace and why would you choose them?
Ooooooo, good question! I'm going to have to come back to you on that one. I'm going to compile a dream audition list and then from my imaginary casting chair make my decision.
If you had 15 words to persuade a reader that Granny With Benefits should be their next read, what would you say?
GwB is a must read unromantic love story on how to hijack your forties.
Did you see how I cheated by abbreviating!
I did, but I'll let you off! Thank you so much for your time in answering my questions, Marilyn.
About Marilyn Bennett
Marilyn Bennett has worked in television production for over 20 years. When she decided to write and produce a short film about an elderly woman who ran a dating agency the concept of Granny with Benefits was born. This debut novel Granny with Benefits has broken Marilyn's life-long tradition of never actually completing anything!
You can find Marilyn on Facebook, follow her on Twitter or visit her website.
An Interview with Emily Williams, author of Letters to Eloise
I've heard from so many other bloggers about how good Letters to Eloise by Emily Williams is that I'm devastated I have well over 850 books ahead of it in the review pile! However, when you haven't had time to read the book, you can always interview the author and luckily Emily agreed to take part.
Published by Lutino on 17th February 2017, Letters to Eloise is available for purchase in e-book and paperback here.
Letters to Eloise
'Receiving a hand written letter is something that always puts a smile on my face, no matter who the sender is.' Flora Tierney.
When post-graduate student Flora falls unexpectedly pregnant during her final year studies she hits a huge predicament; continue a recent affair with her handsome but mysterious lecturer who dazzles her with love letters taken from the ancient tale of 'Abelard and Heloise', or chase after the past with her estranged first love?
But will either man be there to support her during the turmoil ahead?
'Banish me, therefore, for ever from your heart', Abelard to Heloise.
Letters to Eloise is the heart-wrenching debut epistolary novel by Emily Williams; a love story of misunderstandings, loss, and betrayal but ultimately the incredible bond between mother and child.
An Interview with Emily Williams
Welcome to Linda's Book Bag Emily. Thank you so much for agreeing to answer some questions on my blog about your writing. Firstly, please could you tell me a little about yourself?
Hi Linda, thank you so much for welcoming me so warmly to your blog. Okay, a little about myself! My name is Emily Williams and I am a thirty-something year old from a sunny seaside town in West Sussex. I started writing stories as a child, but these mostly consisted of pony related stories! I have always wanted to write a novel and have finally written my debut Letters to Eloise.
When I am not writing, I teach in a local primary school part-time and the rest of the time I look after my toddler, baby, and many, many pets!
Without spoiling the plot, please could you tell us a bit about Letters to Eloise?
Letters to Eloise is an epistolary love story. Flora, the protagonist, finds herself pregnant and alone whilst completing her final year studies at university. She is desperate to reconnect with her past love, River, but has become entangled in a relationship with her university lecturer. He tantalises her with quotes taken from the ancient love story Abelard and Heloise and Flora is swept off her feet.
Flora is torn in so many directions, and finds comfort by writing down her experiences and reliving her past in letters to her unborn child.
What made you choose an epistolary format for your debut novel?
I have always enjoyed receiving a hand written letter; I feel it is a more personal touch. I also wrote diaries as a child, but the diary format has been used quite a lot in novels so I chose letters. Flora, the protagonist, also had a purpose to her writing and someone to pour out her emotions too. I researched different novels with the same format to see what worked, and what didn't, and how to weave the story through the letters.
You have a degree in psychology. How far has that impacted on your approach to writing Letters to Eloise?
Subtly, my degree probably did influence my writing approach and there are references to psychology throughout the novel. I have always been interested in human behaviour and character traits and this enables me to hopefully create rounded, real characters. My university experience impacted on Letters to Eloise as Flora is a university student at the time. Although Flora is now studying teaching, as I did, both her and her housemate Brooke talk about their experiences with undergraduate psychology and biology.
Mr Wickham, the university lecturer in the novel, teaches Educational psychology at the university. This is an area that I am greatly interested in and an area I hoped at one point to pursue as a career! I fulfilled my career aspirations through fictional characters!
You teach and have a young child of your own. How far has this influenced your themes in Letters to Eloise?
Before I wrote Letters to Eloise, I wanted a child. I had always wanted children, but I got to a point in my life when I really, really wanted a child. I was not, however, in the right circumstances to have children, and had been told from an early teenager that due to a medical problem, conceiving could be a problem or even impossible. I think I used the novel as an outlet for this and wrote as if I was expecting a baby (which I wanted more than anything).
Unexpectedly, and totally amazingly, I fell pregnant shortly after finishing the first draft. I put the novel aside for a couple of years, as I found that I couldn't read the words whilst pregnant. You'll understand why when you read the novel! I continued editing after the birth of my second child, a daughter, last July.
I wove the teaching element through Flora's character. Flora had just finished her undergraduate degree and was starting her PGCE at university when she fell pregnant. A few anecdotes and teaching references slipped into the novel!
So, with a young family, what are your writing routines and where do you do most of your writing?
I do most of my writing in the dark, on my laptop, sitting in bed! The writing part was straightforward, but the initial ideas bit was different. I covered a wall of my room with reversed Christmas wrapping paper and then drew a huge timetable across it. Any ideas that came to me, I would post it note and put up. After a couple months of ideas, I scaled it all down into a neat timeline to follow letter by letter. This part was the most time consuming!
To what extent do you think we should eschew email and return to handwritten letters like those in Letters to Eloise?
Oh yes, give me a pen and paper any day! Formally, for business and work place, emails are fine. However, I will always send a handwritten letter on special occasions. The speed nowadays is so different and we expect instant communication from each other with social media and texting, but always a handwritten letter gives the impression that you care.
Several members of my family still write handwritten letters and receiving a letter from my late grandmother or my aunty was very special. I hope I will keep up the tradition! The price of stamps is another matter!
Letters to Eloise is an emotional book. Did it affect you as you wrote or were you able to detach yourself from the emotions presented?
At the time of writing, although I wanted a child myself and wrote as if I were Flora, I didn't really 'get' how being pregnant and having children changes you and makes you feel. As soon as I fell pregnant, I couldn't detach myself from the emotions at all and literally couldn't read the book. It was put aside for a very long time! Reading it again was a very emotional experience and enabled me to give the book extra depth when I came to editing. Luckily, several beta readers and relatives had read the book and left copious notes whilst I detached myself from it, so it wasn't a totally wasted couple of years!
As far back as primary school. It just took another thirty years to get there! I first started writing and keeping my stories from around 6-7 years old.
I love photography. I submit my photographs to the stock photography website 'Fotolia'. My border collie, Tia, is the subject that has sold me the most photographs. I took some lovely ones of her in the bluebells in the local Angmering park, Sussex. I also used the draw and wanted to illustrate my own children's books, but I haven't drawn for a while now so would probably be quite rusty! My parents, both teachers, were also both creative and my mother makes stain glass windows, and has a weaving loom. They are also both musicians, sadly a trait that didn't pass to me. Actually, I did play the violin!
(My husband submits his photography to Fotolia and says you should try Shutterstock and Alamy too!)
I had a couple of friends pregnant at the time of writing Letters to Eloise so I asked them to keep notes of the journey for me. After having children, and when I returned to the novel, I went through and changed many details I had wrong about being pregnant. There were several other people I contacted during the research (I won't give plot spoilers!) but they provided valuable information and personal experiences. The historical references were thanks to the translations from 'Sacred texts', and the local history links thanks to the local Heritage Journal.
Once I had the idea of Letters to Eloise the story practically wrote itself. I find the ideas stage the most difficult. I currently have 'ideas block' at the moment, where I just can't get past this stage onto the actual writing!
I enjoyed writing speech, I could just imagine in my head what the characters were saying to each other and picture them in that moment in time talking and chatting, or arguing!
When you're not writing, do you have time to read and if so, what do you like?
At the moment I read hundreds of picture books to my son! But when he is safely tucked in bed, I do enjoy a romance novel or a contemporary story. I have a broad range of genres that I will try, depending on my mood. I enjoy a crime or psychological thriller on occasion. I am currently reading The Stars Are Fire by Anita Shreve, an ARC curtsey of Net Galley. My son Elliot is also lucky to get to be read a copy of Julia Donaldson's new book for children Giant Jumperee, which I love too.
I have a large number of animals, at last count around forty! So many an animal does slip into my writing! I have a pony and a horse; I have always been a massive horse and pony lover from a very young age and I love writing about horses. At home, we also have two dogs, a collie and a Springer. They get me out and about into the countryside, which features in my stories too. Flora's parents were based on a farm, so I could slot a few animals into Letters to Eloise!
Before I had children, I was an avid runner. Sadly at the moment I don't have much time, but Flora was passionate about running too!
If you could choose to be a character from Letters to Eloise, who would you be and why?
Flora's personality is probably the most similar to my own but I would probably like to be Brooke. Her sense of humour would make life very interesting!
If Letters to Eloise became a film, who would you like to play Flora and why would you choose them?
In my mind, as Flora is small and petite with glossy black hair, I always imagined someone like Natalie Portman playing the role. She is independent and able to stand up for herself, but is emotional and thoughtful.
When I planned the novel, I went through a magazine and cut out characters that fitted the descriptions in my head. I know that readers might picture someone completely different in their heads, so I don't want to spoil that for them! It's always the way when a book is made into a film that it ruins the image in your head slightly. Then eventually the film makes that actor/actress become that character. Now you couldn't imagine Bridget Jones as anyone else, for example!
If you had 15 words to persuade a reader that Letters to Eloise should be their next read, what would you say?
I am not very good at selling myself, so I will use some words taken from the lovely reviews that I have received, and rearrange them into one sentence!
'Beautiful and highly emotional read. A complete emotional rollercoaster that will astonish and devastate you.'
(Which takes me back to my earlier comment about hearing great things about Letters to Eloise from other bloggers!)
Thank you so much, Emily, for your time in answering my questions.
Thank you so much Linda for having me on your blog today, I have very much enjoyed answering your questions!
About Emily Williams
Emily Williams lives by the seaside in West Sussex with her family and a large menagerie of small pets. After graduating from Sussex University with a BA in Psychology, Emily trained as a primary school teacher and teaches in a local school. Letters to Eloise is her debut novel.
You can follow Emily on Twitter and visit her blog.
First Editions, A Guest Post by Jan Ellis, Author of The Bookshop Detective
It's a busy time for Jan Ellis at the moment with the first two books in The Bookshop by The Sea series published by Waverley Books today, 23 March 2017, and French Kisses and A London Affair out in paperback in May 2017. You can read my review of French Kisses here, and I'm thrilled to be quoted on the cover for its new release with A London Affair.
The Bookshop Detective is published today, 23rd March 2017 and is available for purchase here.
As she's so busy I'm delighted that Jan has found time to drop in to Linda's Book Bag and tell me a bit about how a first edition book has influenced her own writing.
All of Jan's books are availble for purchase or pre-order here.
The Bookshop Detective
When a ghost ship is spotted on the horizon one spring evening, bookseller Eleanor Mace decides to investigate the myths and legends of Combemouth, the Devon seaside town where she runs The Reading Room. As Eleanor digs deeper into the town s history, she becomes intrigued by a Victorian crime report that seems to have unexpected links to the present day. A celebrity book launch, an exploding dress and some salsa-dancing pensioners make this a mystery with a difference.
French Kisses
E-book cover
To the outside world, Rachel Thompson has it made: a wealthy husband, a successful career as an artist, and a to-die-for house in the middle of rural France.
That is until her husband Michael hits 40, discovers his inner love-rat and runs off with the kids' young, skinny dance teacher.
Determined to ignore her friends' advice to up-sticks and move back to England with her children, Rachel decides to turn their crumbly stone farmhouse into a bijou hotel.
Although Rachel is getting plenty of attention from local admirers, her husband Michael is never far away…
Will Rachel and Michael rekindle their love affair?
Or will she be sharing French Kisses with someone else…?
French Kisses is a fun romance about starting again and learning what really matters.
A London Affair
Turning her back on university, Kate hopes to find an exciting opportunity that will take her away from wellies and wet sheep in the English countryside to the glitz and glamour of London.
However, after a year selling chutney on a chilly market stall, the prospects for a glittering career in the capital are looking increasingly unlikely.
All that changes when Ned, the intriguing buyer from a smart London deli, brings a welcome chance to follow her dream, and Kate finally embarks on a new chapter, leaving behind rural life and ex-boyfriend, Steve, in exchange for six months in the hectic café scene…
A funny and heart-warming contemporary romance, A London Affair will strike a chord with anyone who has ever daydreamed about choosing an unconventional career path, or who simply enjoys cheese and fine delis…
Thank you for inviting me onto your blog, Linda, to talk about the book that I would most like to own as a first edition. When I looked on my shelves, I discovered that I already had it: a much-loved 1965 edition of Brer Rabbit's A Rascal.
I loved Enid Blyton as a child and devoured her books, which were perfectly designed to fit a child's hands. I must have read Blyton's stories a hundred times and, like so many youngsters, dreamt of packing up a picnic and setting sail for a remote island with no adults to tell me it was bedtime. There is a romance to the sea and I always experience a thrill when I stand on a cliff top and look across to a hazy horizon. Those well-thumbed storybooks are certainly where my love of a tall tale began.
When I wrote my first novella – An Unexpected Affair – it seemed natural to have my heroine travel to France to find an old flame because of a book she came across. Eleanor runs a bookshop called The Reading Room and I wanted everything to be as realistic as possible so that readers would be caught up in Eleanor's adventure and care which of the men who cross her path she ends up with. Because of this, her shop, the seaside town I call Combemouth and the French city Eleanor visits are all based on real places.
After heading to the capital in A London Affair and flirting with France again for French Kisses, I returned to the Devon bookshop for A Summer of Surprises and the brand new paperback. I'm very fond of Eleanor and her eccentric bunch of friends and family – especially mother Connie and her octogenarian squeeze, Harold – so I was delighted to revisit them in The Bookshop Detective, my first attempt at 'cosy crime'.
In this story, Eleanor finds herself at Combemouth Manor, reluctantly sorting through the books of a grumpy old chap called Joshua who owns a nervous Yorkshire terrier he insists on dressing in pink fun fur. As Eleanor comes to know Joshua, she finds herself embroiled in his family history and a Victorian mystery that has intriguing links to the present day.
Alongside the detecting, there is a celebrity book launch to plan, a summer festival to attend and an ex-wife – the annoyingly chic Freya – to avoid.
And what have I learnt from Brer Rabbit? That however grown-up I may be, I still enjoy losing myself in tales of mischief and adventure. I hope that readers of The Bookshop Detective will join me on that journey.
About Jan Ellis
Jan's background is in non-fiction publishing and An Unexpected Affair was the first fiction she had written since the age of about seven. Fortunately people enjoyed it, so Jan wrote A Summer of Surprises, which continues the adventures of her bookselling heroine, Eleanor Mace. Now these novellas are available to enjoy in one luscious, paperback volume! Jan is also thrilled to present a brand-new title – The Bookshop Detective – in which Eleanor ends up doing some sleuthing from her quiet corner of rural England.
You can find out more about Jan Ellis by following her on Twitter, and by finding her on Facebook or visiting her website.