The Good; The Bad and the

First of all, here are some readers reviews of Ribbonworld;-

"This fast-paced book has all the necessary ingredients for a first-rate whodunit -- with the added element of being set on a lonely, isolated planet where a local saying sums up the world's inhospitable nature: "You may use it, or live on it, and even make money from it, but never forget it can snuff you out without a second thought, or even be aware of your passing."

"Apart from the absorbing story, the believability of the setting, the interesting, intriguing characters and the thrill of the plot, the icing on the cake is the superb cover image! Love it!"

"...Richard Dee is proving to be very promising."

"Couldn't put it down."

and now here are some bookshop comments when I tried to place the book on their shiny shelves.

 "If over 50 literary agents have rejected it, doesn’t that tell you something?"

"I’ve got a shelf full of Self Published work by local authors, I don’t want any more."

"We don’t ‘do’ Science Fiction."

"Not interested."

Clearly there is some sort of metaphysical dichotomy there, perhaps it goes part way to explaining why there are a lot less bookshops around these days.

Anyway I digress; this blog is more about my life in Devon, my forays into the literary world are (mostly) kept on my sister site richarddeescifi.co.uk, here they just get a brief mention but I thought that you might be interested. 

And I hope that you go and have a look at the site, there is a new short story I have just posted there called "The Derelict House"  which has attracted some favourable comments. And also the suggestion that I turn it into a book.

The last word on the subject, there was a picture of a bookcase on facebook and I was slightly amazed to see my book on the middle shelf. (eighth from left)

There are some big changes coming up here, more on that in the new year when I have got my head around them all and can tell you properly.

If your not a meat eater then look away now but I just have to rave about these,

the flavour was incredible, we have got into the habit of popping into the farm shop for a browse and a coffee on our way to somewhere else and always manage to pick up something tasty. We had these with Lentils and a selection of roasted veg (onion,  pepper, mushrooms and sundried tomato) and they were gorgeous. Definitely a freezer filler.

Now is that a mince pie you can see there?

Well it is and it was my first this year! I came from Aldi and features Almonds in the pastry and a good dollop of Clotted Cream on top.

Now that I've broken my duck on Mince pies I want as many as possible to get me feeling festive, Clotted Cream is of course just one of the toppings that is appropriate, they can be a vehicle for Brandy Butter, or served warm with Custard. Ice Cream would also be an acceptable accompaniment but the best idea would be a combination of several (or all) of the above.

Tuesday sees the first Totnes Xmas market in the evening, all by candlelight and with stalls filing the High Street and Fore Street. I have more than a passing interest this year as my Sourdough Crackers feature on the Honest Foods stall, where they are used as a medium for sampling their excellent Pesto and Chutneys. If I can get some pictures of the event I will put them up next time. 
We didn't go last year but the year before it was fantastic. The park and ride drops you at the top of the hill and picks you up at the bottom after several glasses of warm cider and the odd pastry.