Dear network,

hope you’re all doing as ok as possible in these continually challenging times.
Apologies for this long silence – in part it’s been due to a slight lack of creative vibe and in part I wanted to wait until I had some actual news to share with you all.

The biggest piece of news this summer is that I have a new book out, just published this week in fact. Although it’s not 100% brand new, it is a new and expanded version of my collection of short stories that was published last summer, containing six additional stories, as well as the original twelve. This book is a special “anniversary edition”, with only 50 print copies available and can be ordered directly from my website:
https://amhellbergmoberg.co.uk/product/boldly-into-darkness-go/
A few more serious stories have made into this collection – quite possibly the lockdown effect – but there are some new, fun and frivolous ones as well. I’ve just prepared the very first orders this morning, all set to be posted to new homes tomorrow! On such days, it’s great fun to be a “one-woman-band” kind of writer.

But not all days are fun, of course and I’m sure I’m not the only person out there who’s been struggling with loneliness, lack of creativity and lack of motivation during lockdown. On the plus side, I’ve been feeling well and healthy, whereas several of my good friends and family have not all been as lucky.

Despite the state of the world at present, this “enforced homestay” has provided ample time to reflect, go through old writing and plan future books, so I have plenty of further news for you this time.

Some of you may remember that a few newsletters back, I was planning a children’s book in Swedish, where the two main characters were based on my mother and her older sister growing up in rural Sweden. If anyone’s wondering what’s happened to that book project, it’s not quite shelved, as such, but the stories are currently being published on a quarterly basis in a local Swedish magazine, rather than in book form. I may return to the potential book version in the future, alas this is not quite the time for such a “labour of love”, financially speaking.

Instead, I’ve been moving forward with a sequel to my first work of fiction, How Pat Got Her Five Cats. This sequel, How Pat Met the Curry-Cat, also an illustrated hardback, will hopefully be ready for publication late summer – more information on that to follow in my next newsletter.

I’ve even gone as far as tentatively starting to plot another book for the autumn/winter and this one will be a work of non-fiction. Call it “travel nostalgia” perhaps, but as a former travel writer and journalist I have found the lack of travel opportunities at the moment very trying, and consequently I’ve begun penning a book of travel tales. To date, the book has no working title, but I’m aiming to include 30 tales from 30 countries, spanning 30 years of roaming the globe. The book will also contain some travel photography.

In other news, I’d like to give a particular mention to my talented friend, poet and writer Caz Maughan, who’s recently published her first poetry collection, Unsung. It’s available from Troubador Publishing, do take a look:
https://www.troubador.co.uk/bookshop/poetry-short-stories-and-plays/unsung/?fbclid=IwAR2W4V7L3iGR6tUwHhLT5VoLh-soCAloUD9bOSE3Dc2La3FXGHhSxIqPFvQ#

It’s always fun to see what adventures my books have gone on to have without me, so if you’ve bought a copy, I’d love to have some “photographic evidence” (for my personal collection – not to publish except with your consent), either with yourself and one of my books, or just of the book in some scenic location/home environment. It cheers me up no end during these lockdown days.

All the best, wishing you well,

AM Hellberg Moberg