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The Grave Case of Ms. Pennywhistle
Dave Hodges • October 26, 2021
Or is it????
Hello from Cairns,
Yes it’s hot, but hell, that’s what air conditioners are for and I’m tucked up inside my little office busy as a roo on steroids.
Well, I still haven't come up with a name for this new book I’m writing, at the moment I’ve called it ‘The Grave Case of Ms Pennywhistle,’ but I don’t like it. It sounds like a lame imitation of ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Perfectly Fine’ which the book isn’t but the title sure as hell sounds like it. (By the way, if you haven’t read ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Perfectly Fine’, it’s a must read on my top five book list.)
So, back to my book. I’ve just finished Chapters 17 and 18, both of which I’m very proud of. It’s funeral time, they are burying poor Mrs Butterworth, but someone has hidden a kilo of high grade cocaine about her person - in her mouth, under her armpits, and just about anywhere you can think of - Yes, even there. The next day is burial day, between cocaine escaping from the open casket, it is almost catastrophic, and is only held together by glue, duct tape and, well, a feral cat and a red tailed black cockatoo. (If I say any more, I’ll ruin the story for you!) I can add that the policeman, Sgt. Ern White, will be run ragged with all the reports he’s going to get. That and a suspicious death.
Next stage of the story, I’m off to Sydney, where we’ll be meeting a very ugly, angry, pissed off drug lord who collects mens scrotums and hangs them around his neck. And that’s if he likes you! Actually I haven't defined the character yet, he’s in the fetal position ready to be born. I usually do that at night, or in the morning before I raise my heavy head off the pillow. So, with a bit of luck and a fair wind I’ll bounce out of bed tomorrow with the character fully formed. Well maybe...
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G’day from Cairns! During my last book launch I gave away some lucky door prizes, previous books I had written. One prize was ‘Miriam: Walking through Broken Glass’, a story of an English jew, living through the horrors of both the first and second world wars. It has a few twists and turns which I won’t go into, but suffice to say it was one of my favorite historical fiction books. Anyway, I had a message a few days later on my Facebook page from the reader. She said it was the best book she has read and asked me if it was a true story. It turned out that she usually only read non-fiction and this was the first fiction book she had read for many a year. She was up most of that night and the next reading it. We all know what it’s like because we’ve all done it. As an author, this is magic to my ears! Having someone who enjoys your book so much that they have to share their experience with you is truly heavenly. Writers, (except for a very few lucky ones), don’t write for money, it’s a compulsion, a thirst that only writing can quench. There is a saying amongst the writing community, “If you want to end up with $1,000,000 then start off with $2,000,000!” and believe me it is true. I’ve thought long and hard about why I write. Is it the prospect of fame? The satisfaction of having your book enjoyed by other people? Of touching people you have never met? Or the ever decreasing hope of money? Well, I think it’s all of these. Each time you publish a new book you get that buzz of excitement in the back of the head. Is this the one? Will this catapult me up the best sellers list? Unfortunately, the usual answer is no. Not this one. So what I always do is to start the next book whilst my previous book is being edited. Thus I have one with my editor called ‘Boom!’ and another under pen called ‘The Grave Case of Ms Pennywhistle’. Maybe these may be the ones. Who knows? DSH
Onward and upward!
It’s a balmy morning here, 30c with the possibility of rain. That will be nice, I like a drop of rain. Well I’m working on my latest book, another comedy, which has a working title of ‘The Grave Case of Ms Pennywhistle’ . I'm sure it won't end up with that title, but who knows what the future will bring? Elli Pennywhistle is a Paraplegic (waist down). She is a strong woman with a biting wit and loads of sarcasm. To cut a long story a bit shorter, she inherits an undertakers business in Wynton, Central West Queensland after poor Horace Underbridge is killed in a freak accident. At the same time, they are asked to forward a coffin to Sydney. The coffin is full of drugs, unfortunately they forward the wrong coffin. Old Horace , the previous owner, becomes a ghost and is introduced to the very strange world of the supernatural, including reincarnation. His mother and father have become animals - Girty is a red feral cat, and Norrie a red tailed black cockatoo. The cat spends its time trying to eat the cockatoo which in turn spends its time verbally sparring with the cat and avoiding being eaten for lunch. I’m 31,000 words in and it;s going along quite nicely. I’ve still got a long way to go, and I’ve no idea how many words it will end up with. A book tends to write its own length, all I do is write down words to fill in the story. Simples! Anyway, onward and upward. (Elli is having her first funeral today - I mean what could possibly go wrong? .
D.S. Hodges
Author
Tropical Writers Inc
