Arlene Hunt – Writer

I’m gently sunburned, but turning a nice shade of brown. I was sitting here earlier with the  dog, thinking about by best friend’s wedding next week. Will it be sunny? I truly hope so. But if it ain’t? Well, if is ain’t it ain’t. She’ll still be marrying a wonderful man, she’ll still be a beautiful bride, I’ll still be proud of her and trying not to ruin the makeup with tears of joy.

Working hard on book 7, entitled Blood money. It should be finished by the end of August as I have one third of it in the bag as I type. For some reason I work doubly hard when the weather is glorious. How odd is that? Then when BM is completed I plan to take my hiney off to the States for some research. I hate leaving my office, so that should be interesting.

Reading The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher at the moment and enjoying it immensely I am very surprised so many people didn’t ‘get’ the book. I thought it was excellent and Kate Summerscale really captured the startling starling-like flights of fancy of the Victorian public.

I am looking forward to speaking with Kate next week at the Abbey, there is an interesting conflation between her book and Val McDermid’s A Darker Domain that I would like to explore. I hope I can do both ladies justice. Until then, may the skies stay blue, may the wind be kind and may my darling daughter ease her way into the leaving cert with all the grace and attention she exhibits towards rock bands.

Time off is boring. I have mowed the lawn to death, cleaned out under the stairs, cleaned out the shed, walked the dog repeatedly, considered developing a drinking problem, rejected said thought, run for miles and  have finally reached the conclusion that I don’t actually like time off. It’s as dull as dishwater. So now that I can admit that I can cheerfully crack on with book 7( no title, no plot, no clue).

Currently reading Val McDermid’s book A Darker Domain, and  will then read Kate Summerscale’s Suspicions of Mr Whicher. I will be chairing an evening between these two authors in the Abbey Theatre on June 7th and would like to know what I am talking about for once.

You can take a gander at what the festival is dishing up here,

Tickets are still available I believe.

Well, I didn’t win for best crime thingie and that blasted Alex did. Fortunately I had bigger hair, so nah nah ni nah nah.

No seriously, it was a terrific night and Andrew and I had a cracking time. I got to meet up with Brian McGilloway and his lovely wife and a glowing Tana and her charming beau, and of course Alex, the delightful hussy. Big ups to Ciara Considine and Faith and Breda, and congrats to Ronan on his win for best new author.

I also want to say a big thank you to everyone who voted, I really appreciated your support. I will retire to my sofa now, with my slightly ouchy head, and feel glad and proud to have been a part of the event. Hurrah for books.