The Awful Pawful

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The Awful Pawful- 2006 (Post 214)

The Awful Pawful is the fifth story in the Jack Russell: Dog Detective series. This one finds Jack facing a terror that has all the dogs in Doggeroo hiding under the beds...

Fear comes to Doggeroo! Mysterious attacks are leaving dogs with sore, bleeding noses, but when Jack tries to investigate the witnesses keep schtum. What is so bad that Polly, Jill Russell, the Squekes and Shuffle can't speak of it? Even Fat Molly is too frightened to fight with Jack. And then Jack himself has a close encounter with the Awful Pawful. Something must be done. Jack's the dog to do it, but is anyone brave enough to help him out?

The Awful Pawful is also available as an audio book from Bolinda Audio Books.

This story has one of my favourite covers of the whole series, and is often the one children write to us about. We had a lot of fun naming animals in thr Jack series. SHuffle was chosen because it rhymes with the more obvious "Snuffle". (We tried not to be obvious.) Polly Smote was named after a pretty little mini dachshund we used to see while we were out walking, Fat Molly was named after our son's girlfriend's (now wife's) grumpy cat, and the Squekes, again, because "squeaks" would be obvious. The Squekes' actual breed is never mentioned, but they are obviously allied with pekingese. They act in triplicate. We had so much fun with the Awful Pawful that we brought him back for an encore performance in a later title.

 About the Blog 

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

The Lying Postman

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The Lying Postman- 2005 (Post 213)

The Lying Postman is the fourth story in the Jack Russell: Dog Detective series. This one finds Jack involved in a false accusation that could have his mate Foxie in serious trouble...

Dogs are dogs, and postmen are postmen. Dogs always bark at postmen. Jack and Foxie know that, but the new postman doesn't seem to understand. In no time he has accused the Doggeroo dogs of attacking him. Things are getting serious and Jack soon realises there's a new dog in town. Is the secretive Ralf Boxer behind the postman problem? Can Lord Red stay out of trouble? Will Jack solve the case? You bet!

The Lying Postman is available as an audio book from Bolinda Audio Books. The UK edition is called "Beware of the Postman", and French Canadian children read about "Le facteur menteur".

This story started out with the title "Postman's Knock" but it was soon pretty obvious the game wouldn't fit the name--so to speak, so we changed it. Actually, the UK title, which we didn't think of, is pretty apt. On other matters, Ralf Boxer's name is a bit of a double joke. "Ralf" comes from "Rafe" meaning "wolf", and also sounds like a dog's bark. Boxer is another dog breed, and Jack assumes he is a boxer... But he's not. Incidentally, Ralf is voiced in an amusing fashion (which again we hadn't thought of) in the audio book.

Throughout the Jack Russell series, we kept to things that could legitimately concern dogs and tried to look at matters from a dog's point of view. Having Jack Russell Terriers ourselves made this a lot easier.

 About the Blog 

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Hot Summer Knight

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Hot Summer Knight 2017 (Post 212)

Hot Summer Knight is the seventh story in the Fairy in the Bed series I write under my Lark Westerly pen name. Although the seventh published, it was the second one written, but that doesn't matter since each story can stand alone. Chronologically, it takes place around half a year after Fairy on the Christmas Tree, which was the first in the series. When I wrote that, I had no idea it was going to be a series. I'd enjoyed writing Fairy, which was a Christmas short of around 11k, so when eXtasy Books decided to do another series of shorts, this time for summer, I, or rather Lark, hopped on board. I've always loved connected stories and developed networlds, so I decided to set my summer story in the same reality as the Christmas one. At first, I considered writing a new story about Frances and her fairy lover Niall, but the plot I had in mind would have had to be less than a year after the first. Then it occurred to me that the new series was set to release in July, the Northern Hemisphere summer. Midsummer over there is Midwinter to us, so I wondered if I might make use of that fact. Midsummer night gave me the midsummer knight pun, and there there was Meat Loaf's Dashboard Light song with its "hot summer night". Okay then, I'd call the story Hot Summer Knight.

Now I has a title, and all I needed was a plot. Frances lived in Sydney, but her parents were in Brisbane, and I'd sent her and Niall there for Christmas. I made use of that to swing off to the new story; this time taking Kendra, Frances's orphaned first cousin, who lived near her aunt and uncle and who was best friends with Frances. Until meeting Niall, Frances had been a disaster magnet, romantically speaking, so I thought maybe Kendra was too... There's comfort in solidarity, so how might it be for Kendra when her cousin suddenly lucked out in the romantic stakes? Cue a call from Frances, asking Kendra please to come to Sydney to pet-sit while she and Niall went to a convention to meet Niall's English cousin. Signs of loving domesticity (including jointly-owned cats) made Kendra elect to arrive after Frances and Niall had left already, so she was alone in the house when the cats suddenly went bananas and a knight in armour came clanking up the stairs. Add to this a summer heatwave in the spare room, and Kendra is really thrown in at the deep end. An telephoned appeal to Frances and Niall for advice in dislodging the knight led to his identification and some quick coaching but it's up to Kendra to find the best way to survive the situation.

Like Fairy on the Christmas Tree, and the other titles in the Fairy in the Bed series, Hot Summer Knight is a romantic comedy for adult readers. It was published on July 28th and is available as an ebook from http://www.tinyurl.com/buyhotsummerknight 

If you buy it and enjoy it, Lark would be enchanted if you would leave a review at the website, or at Goodreads or Amazon.  

 About the Blog 

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

The Mugged Pug

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The Mugged Pug- 2005 (Post 211)

The Mugged Pug is the third story in the Jack Russell: Dog Detective series. This one finds Jack involved in a mystery concerning collars... not to speak of the fearsome Pink Stink. Then there is the affair of the pie...

 The dogs of Doggeroo are mysteriously losing their collars. At first Jack assumes they are being careless, but it soon becomes obviously there's more to it than that. Jack goes undercover as a careless, trusting dog to try to uncover the culprit, but no matter what he does, he can't seem to lose his collar. That is, until Sarge borrows it to put on Shuffle the Pug! Finally, Jack discovers the truth and he and the dogs of Doggeroo take action.

The Mugged Pug is available as an audio book from Bolinda Audio Books. The UK edition is called "Pug in Trouble", and French Canadian children read about "Vols a Val-Cabot". 

Throughout the Jack Russell series, we kept to things that could legitimately concern dogs and tried to look at matters from a dog's point of view. Having Jack Russell Terriers ourselves made this a lot easier.

 About the Blog 

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

The Phantom Mudder

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The Phantom Mudder- 2005 (Post 210)

The Phantom Mudder is the second story in the Jack Russell: Dog Detective series. This one finds Jack, Sarge, and Auntie Tidge settled comfortably in Doggeroo. Sarge and Auntie Tidge are throwing themselves into community pursuits, and Jack is busily doing what a dog detective does... doggedly detecting.

Jack and Foxie, now Auntie Tidge's devoted dog,  attend Doggeroo Dog Show with Sarge and Auntie Tidge. Straightaway Jack is paw-deep in a new mystery. Dogs are mysteriously ending up covered in mud just before their classes. The dogs all deny that they're doing it on purpose, so Jack sets out on the trail of the phantom mudder. Before he discovers the criminal, he has a close encounter with some scented pooch polish. It's amazing what a dog detective will do in the line of duty!

The Phantom Mudder is available as an audio book from Bolinda Audio Books. The UK edition is called "Muddy Mystery", and French Canadian children read about "Le Barbouilleur de Chiens". My co-author and I still find the concept of Jack exclaiming Allors! amusing.

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 About the Blog 

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Rosina and Kate

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Rosina and Kate- 1988 (Post 209)

Rosina and Kate is the third volume of the Rosina trilogy which began with Rosina and Her Calf and continued with Rosina and the Show. In this book Rosina and Kate's friendship is tested again, and this time, Rosina finds herself on the opposite side. Usually, Rosina is the active one in the friendship, urging Kate to step outside her comfort zone, but this time she is still suffering the effects of her accident in Rosina and the Show. Being knocked down by an out-of-control horse has left the usually fearless Rosina stressed and afraid. Kate has taken up riding, and talks Rosina into coming on a trail ride with her. Rosina can't overcome her fear and refuses to go again. Kate gets her own pony and Rosina's lack of engagement echoes Kate's lack of engagement with Star. Kate thinks (with a perfectly reasonable expectation) that her friend owes her the same commitment she's always asked of Kate, but finally the two really fall out. Then Kate in her turn has an accident. Her ability to keep her pony depends of Rosina's help but due to the estrangement, the request comes across as more of a demand. 

The trail ride (minus the fear for Rosina) is based on one I once went on, and Kate's accident is similar to one a friend of mine suffered which hospitalised her for weeks. I think, looking back, Rosina and Kate was the first serious book I wrote because I have always preferred non-angsty stories in my reading and thus in my writing as well. I believe this story reflects not only my growing up (I was thirty and had two children) but also one of those twists in the publishing/literary world; in this case, away from the pleasant stories I loved. 

 About the Blog 

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Rosina and the Show

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Rosina and the Show- 1985/1990 (Post 208)

Rosina and the Show is the second of three books about Rosina Paul, her friend Kate, her calf Star and her baby brother, David. Rosina and Kate have been best friends for a long time, but Rosina's devotion to her calf is still something of a sore point with Kate, who sees herself and the friendship losing out too often to her four-legged rival. In this story, Rosina has entered Star in the local show, and Kate has found herself sidelines yet again. At the show, however, Rosina comes by an accident when a panicking horse knocks her flying. She is hurt and cannot lead Star in her class. Dad can't help, because Star must be shown by a child. Will Kate help out? It would be pretty obvious to any reader that Kate will, but the horse incident has a knock-on effect leading into the third book in the series where Rosina's chickens come home to roost. As was general at this period, Rosina and the Show came out in an orange hardback, matching Rosina and Her Calf, which has a bright blue cover. Again the cover was illustrated by Noela Young, who has such a wonderful touch with children and animals. Five years later, after the third book came out, Rosina and the Show was released as a paperback with a red background. The first and third books never came out in that edition which seems odd, but that's publishing for you!

 About the Blog 

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Everything You Want to Know About Writing and More, Much More

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Everything You Want to Know About Writing and More, Much More - 2016 (Post 207)

Everything You Want to Know About Writing and More, Much More is the omnibus edition of a three volume how-to I wrote by updating twelve existing how-tos and combining them with a lot of new material. It's not quite everything, obviously, but it's most of what I've picked up about writing for fun and for profit for forty-seven years. I've been writing how-to books for around ten years now, and since the writing world continually updates itself, so much advice. Even seasoned old stagers need to update, learn, re-shuffle and brush up on their skills, and after all these years I'm still picking up new tips and new experience. Everything is composed of the yellow Book 1, which gives the basics of character, plot, ideas, etc, the blue Book 2 has diverse subjects such as writing verse, picture books, children's books setting, networlding and common problems, while the red Book 3 is more about the authorial life, options, career courses and so on. The green one has the whole shebang in one massive doorstopper of a volume. The print's a tad smaller than it is in the other vols because otherwise the spine would never have stretched to fit.

The table of contents is below, but here's the link to more info and to the BUY ME area.

Introduction                                                                 1
How to Use this Book

Vol One Chapters
Chapter 1: Pre-Writing Plans and Preparations
Chapter 2 Ideas to Go             
Chapter 3 Plots and Plotting    
Chapter 4 Writing with Style         
Chapter 5 Characters and Characterisation
Chapter 6 Confident Conversations: Writing Dialogue  

Vol Two Chapters
Chapter 7  Fantasy (and Historical) Settings               
Chapter 8 Networlding                                                      
Chapter 9 Writing Metrical Verse                                 
Chapter 10 Writing Picture Books & Ten Picture Book Mistakes        
Chapter 11 Non-Fiction        
Chapter 12 Children’s Books        

Vol Three Chapters
Chapter 13  Twenty Top Tips and Unwritten Rules of Writing      
Chapter 14 A-Z of Writing       
Chapter 15  Writing a Manuscript Proposal & What Publishers Want    Chapter 16 Self-Publishing        
Chapter 17   Whoops Words          
Chapter 18   Special Projects
Chapter 19 You: The Author
Chapter 20 Final Words                           

 About the Blog 

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service.

Effie the Outrageous Elf

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Effie the Outrageous Elf- 2010 (post 206) 

Effie the Outrageous Elf is #5 in the Little Horrors series. The covers, as you can see from this example, are interesting in that the figures are black and white while the rest of the cover has one strong focus colour. The colours are yellow-orange, pink, green, red and purple and the six books together look quite startlingly bright. Effie is a lively elf child whose laid-back brother Om annoys her by being exceedingly zen and smug with it. Effie takes off to join a circus. In the course of her story she bothers everyone, including the Polly-Fae, the parrot fairy assigned by the Hags to assist her in her bid for a Badge of Badness and subsequent entry into the Abademy. The story, as with the others, was fun to write, but the title caused me a few problems. Having dealth with Flax the feral fairy, Mal the mischievous mermaid, Nanda the naughty gnome and Tikki the tricky pixie, I had established a style of title which used either alliteration or assonance or a bit of both. The word Elf didn't lend itself to either, really. The publishers didn't fancy "evil", and anyway, the "e" sound is wrong. I thought of Excitable and Extravagant, but neither was quite right. In the end I went with Outrageous which, somehow, works even if it doesn't really fit the mould. The Polly-Fae joined the Dog-Fae, the Gull-Fae, the Fox-Fae and the Filly-Fae, and was again a slight departure from tradition... but "Polly" is strongly associated with parrots, so I thought it would be okay.

About the Blog 

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment 

The Ducktators

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The Ducktators- 2007- (post 205) 

10th anniversary edition

The Ducktators. Flip Chase is used to her brother's friend, Duncan Plotznik. He arrives, vanishes into the shed, and guts a few computers on a regular basis. When Duncan invites her on an outing, she is quite nonplussed. It's not a date... is it? But then the ducktators enter the scene and Flip is too busy to think about anything else.

E-book

I wrote The Ducktators after learning a few things about imprinting (which I have used in a few other books too) and the way animals can will humans to do things. I had lots of fun with this one and the sole reviewer that ever took notice liked it too. Here's the review! Flip's friend Berry shows up in another story taking place in the same reality, which is very nearly ours. The AgriFair at which Flip and Duncan acquire the ducks is based somewhat on Agfest to which I have been two or three times. Finding something weird at a fair/show is also a theme I've used more than once; notably in "Drummond" and "The Magician's Box".
The Ducktators is available in PDF, ebook and paperback. Click on the links to see details of cost and availability. The cover image is by Lu Cotter aka The Duchess of Drumborg.




About the Blog 

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

PDF

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service, leave me a message.

Pen and Ink

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Pen and Ink- 2017- (post 204) 

Pen and Ink is the fifth story in the Fairy in the Bed series written under one of my pen names; Lark Westerly. Pen Swan (and the oddity of her name doesn't escape her) is a widow of three years' standing when her friend Skye invites her out for a birthday treat. Skye, a dressmaker, is making Pen a dress for a wedding where she'll be working as an artist, making quick sketches of the bridal party. Pen is delighted to visit the penthouse suite of Peckerdale Grene Tower, but somewhat less pleased when Skye and her friend Ril make a peculiar suggestion. Only the intervention of Peck Grene, the young mechanic, saves Pen's evening from meltdown. Peck too has a startling disclosure; one that leaves Pen with a dilemma; should she take a chance on an almost-unbelievable possibility, or should she retire to her lonely house and the life of an eccentric cat-lady?

Pen and Ink follows on from Honey and the Harvest Hob and shares two characters in common; Skye and her husband Simon are Honey's parents. Peck Grene appeared in his own story; Green Balls, which was #3 in the series. The stories all stand alone, but take place in the same world and some characters segue from one book to another. The cover of Pen and Ink is one of my favourites... and yes, the black cat lording it over the couch is Ink. It was fun writing about an older heroine; in fact most of the characters in this one are in their forties. The next in the series is a short called Hot Summer Knight and the one after that continues with Pen's wedding.
Pen and Ink was published TODAY. The ebook version can be viewed and purchased at http://www.extasybooks.com/pen-and-ink/ while the paperback will be available later.
As with the others in this series, the story is a comedy fantasy romance, suited to adult readers. As well as being a romance, this is also a story about friends, loneliness and the choices in life.

About the Blog 

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service, leave me a message.

Myths of the Mind

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Myths of the Mind- 2016- (post 203) 
Myths of the Mind has a subtitle which says it all, really. I started the project in 2012, when I began collecting together some of my fantasy poetry. Despite the title, you won't find existing myth-people here, but characters whose names, stories and attributes I invented myself. When I discovered fiverr and some other similar sites I was able to realise a daydream I'd harboured for a long time; hire illustrators to picture my characters. I hadn't done iT before because I couldn't justify the expense on a project I knew would never be commercial. I should probably add that I am in no way saying illustrators aren't worth their fees; simply that the fees for forty-plus pictures would have added up to something I wouldn't pay. The resulting pictures, costing anything from $6.00 or so to $80.00, are an eclectic bunch, gathered over two periods. I got quite a few in the beginning, but then had a few problems with jobs not being finalised or being misinterpreted. I gave up for a while and then started out again. I also repurposed some pictures intended for another project which I still hope may one day go ahead. If you're interested in seeing the pictures I ended up with, check out my Pinterest board at MYTHS OF THE MIND BOARD. Printing in colour is expensive, (24 pp picture books can attest to that, and this book has far, far more pages than those), but as mentioned before, I always knew this project couldn't be commercial. Nevertheless, I finished and published it, and had a couple of copies printed just for fun. It is truly a poetical pictorial indulgence. Incidentally, I did also produce an ebook which is available HERE for a fiver.

About the Blog 

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service, leave me a message.

A Special Day

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 A Special Day - 2006- (post 202) 
A Special Day is one of a series of topic-based stories I did for the US market. The brief was to write a story about a child who played in a mariachi band. I had no idea what a mariachi band was, and even when I found out there was the little problem that children don't play in them. Still, it was fiction, so I sorted that out fairly quickly. Writing a story set in a culture of which I know little is possible if the story is short and for a young audience. In this case I found it interesting because the research was fun. Mariachi, in case you don;t know either, is a Mexican tradition.

About the Blog 

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service, leave me a message.