Congratu-bloomin-lations

My copies of 'Murder on the Rocks' arrived today. I shot an unboxing video (it's the law or something) but, as usual, it was utterly ghastly. Here, instead, is a still image of the book on my desk.

Murder on the Rocks - all formats, all territories - 26 May 2026

A book cover. The title is Murder on the Rocks, the author T E Kinsey. Within the usual ‘tree’ border Lady Hardcastle and Flo stand on an island with a Tudor fort atop a hill in the distance. The sky is menacing and the sea is beginning to get a little rough. The ‘corner objects’ are an Edwardian goblet and a violin.

I’ve just noticed that we have a cover for Murder on the Rocks.

All formats, all territories, 26 May 2026

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DZBMMHVZ
www.amazon.com/dp/B0DZBMMHVZ

etc

A Kindle showing the "Christmas at The Grange" cover. There's a pearl pendant on a gold chain draped over the kindle. There are three "Christmas at The Grange" baubles on the ground in front of it. Everything is standing in the snow. It's all CGI.

I forgot to mention the Christmas book. You've see it before, but we have Christmas every year now, so... you know...

The usual Blender 3D pic of a home library filled with T E Kinsey books. There’s a big blue armchair on one corner and a Christmas tree on the other. There are piles of books on the floor and ornaments on white, wooden blocks between the bookcases. The whole thing has been passed through a filter to make it look like a watercolour painting. White text at the bottom reads, “Wishing You a Hardcastle Christmas”.

Getting in early because I'm already winding down for my Christmas break.

Thanks for another great year.

No matter what you believe, have a fantastic time over the festive season.

Merry Christmas.

behind the scenes...

There's an anniversary today

Lego Lando is thrilled to be World Champion #F1

Met a nice fella not far from Hyde Park Corner

I know I complain about this every year when Strictly is on, but I'm not allowed to complain about it in the house. And I shouldn't go on about it, but I always imagine Rex Harrison singing, "Why Can't the English Teach Their Children How to Clap?"

I'm no cricket fan, but to judge from the headlines you might have done well to stay up and keep watching

I *know* it's a long way off, but I'll be at HNS 2026 in Maynooth, Ireland, next year with @pamlecky.bsky.social and Fiona Veitch Smith. The conference runs 21-23 Aug (our panel date TBA).

A photograph of two paperback books on a white desk. The corner of a Mac keyboard is visible on the left and an iPad Mini at the top. The paperbacks are of different sizes. The larger is the French translation of Lady Hardcastle - Book 9 (An Act of Foul Play) and is entitled «Meurtre en trois actes». The smaller is the mass market paperback of the German translation of the first Hardcastle book (A Quiet Life in the Country) and is “Lady Hardcastle Und Der Tote Im Wald”.

Every once in a while I get an email telling me that there’s a UPS parcel on its way from Michigan. They’re usually translated editions of Hardcastles and they’re always a joy. Pretty sure I already have the French one somewhere, but the ‘mass market paperback’ of the German one is new to me.

‘Two more broomsticks please!’ Was Robin Blades the greatest percussionist ever? He played china mugs, bells, rattles and car horns for everyone from Alfred Hitchcock to Benjamin Britten – and once got Laurence Olivier to bang a broomstick. We go behind the scenes of a Radio 3 cel...

I’m one of the “people of a certain age...” - he visited my primary school more than once. I clearly recall him demonstrating a tam-tam and explaining that he used it to provide the sound of the gong in the J Arthur Rank film ident.

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...

🥂

I hope @mwcraven.bsky.social and @vaseemkhanuk.bsky.social have been given these. (I had to buy mine, obviously.)

A white floor covered with an untidy pile of paperback books - all Hardcastles by T E Kinsey. It’s CGI, created in Blender. It isn’t AI because that wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun to do.

If you dropped all the Lady Hardcastle books on a studio floor it wouldn’t look like this because there are only twelve of them and this image uses 2,000 virtual books. But they were ‘dropped’ in a fun physics simulation in Blender because I should be working.

In a cluttered corner of a room with IKEA shelves behind and a cymbal stand to one side, there are two electric guitars on stands. The rearmost is a PRS SE Silver Sky in Nylon Blue with a maple neck. In front stands a PRS SE McCarty 594 Single Cut in Vintage Sunburst.

I might be a drummer, but I have a fondness for guitars and I’m working hard at learning some proper technique. I picked up the beautiful instrument at the front from Andertons yesterday.

A 3D CGI image created in Blender, framed in the style of a Hardcastle cover. A mist shrouded forest with spooky light struggling to shine through the trees. In the foreground is a swing (it’s a long story) with a carved pumpkin lantern illuminating a paperback copy of A Picture of Murder.
The caption says, "Movies and murder. And possibly witches."

It’s at about this time every year when I suddenly remember that, yes, actually, I do have a book with witches in it. In a sort of a way.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07D4G28KY/

An overgrown corner of a garden. There’s a bird bath with moss on the base. A pole supporting two bird feeders. Two pigeons are caught mid-flight, their wings a blur, escaping the (unseen to us) unfamiliar flying object and its whiny rotors.

I have a couple of quadcopters ("drones"). I like to keep the batteries in decent condition and when I charge them up I sometimes take them out for a quick test run to make sure everything is still working. Today I tried to sneak up on a couple of pigeons but they were too wily for me.

This was Eddie's shot at fame in 2016:

Regular viewers might remember Eddie, my faithful Muppet Whatnot. His pleather jacket was falling to pieces, so while we were away, our daughter (who was housesitting) crocheted him a new cardigan.

I neglected to mention that we got from Banff to Vancouver on the Rocky Mountaineer…

My wife says she doesn’t want to use the stairs - THEY’RE ON FIRE

Finally, Vancouver... with added killer whales...

Glacier & rainbow

Banff, eh?

Ray of Light with Eleanor Ray Books Podcast · An uplifting new podcast from bestselling author Eleanor Ray for book lovers everywhere. Special guest writers each episode will share insights into their creative process, journey to ...

I’m a guest in another of those wonderful podcast things (the link is to Apple but get it wherever you get your podcasts)

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/r...

Book 3 - Death Around the Bend currently available at the Calgary Central Library