Dear Reader,
This week saw record-breaking sales for my Ann’s War Mystery Series with Betrayal placed at #1 for the seventh time. Many thanks to everyone who has supported this series.
Delighted to see that the Spanish edition of Saving Grace has entered the top ten of my personal bestseller chart 🙂
Eton, the source of all Britain’s problems…
“A characteristic of the schooling of many senior Tories (I should know, because I went through the system) is extreme competition. Your worth is constantly assessed by whether or not you come out on top. You can’t succeed unless others fail. It embeds a win-at-all-costs mentality.
Virtue is unrewarded, unless it is the kind that can be measured by tests and marks and athletic competitions. Kindness, empathy, attendance to the needs of others, count for nothing. In fact they count against you, as they might prevent you from elbowing your way to the top.
This encourages a ruthless disregard for anything but winning. Honesty, decency, other people’s lives: anything that might stand in your way is swept aside. You win or you have no self-worth. It’s a really toxic way to bring up children, and we see the results in public life.” – George Monbiot, author and journalist
Margam, my local park
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always felt that a smile or a handshake is sufficient…
Somewhere in Britain, in the near future…
Winter is approaching. Cold, frosty nights. Snow. I love the frost and snow. It feels good under my feet and it looks beautiful. However, the cold weather is an enemy for many people, especially the homeless within our society.
Four homeless people in Britain died last night. An estimated 726 homeless people have died over the past year. These deaths are the direct result of austerity. These deaths are the direct result of Tory policies. A report in the Independent newspaper called them murder by government.
So, while you sit snug and warm beside your fireplace with your family tonight, enjoy your surroundings. And spare a thought for the man who will lay his head on a park bench for the last time. Spare a thought for the man who will bid this world goodbye.
While writing chapter seventeen of Snow in August the subject of the Rorschach test cropped up. Named after Swiss psychologist Hermann Rorschach, the Rorschach test is a psychological test in which subjects’ perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analyzed using psychological interpretation. This card, nine of ten, produces the most varied answers. What do you see here?
As ever, thank you for your interest and support.
Hannah xxx
Hannah Howe 