I know from Calne in Photographs facebook messages – currently over 3.4k members – that many people have said how much they are looking forward to reading the book. Be patient. In normal times, it takes at least a year to write a book like this, and at least another year to be published after its submission.  Writers and publishers have obviously been affected by lockdown. It’ll be well worth the wait – I hope.

I have just sent off my book cover blurb of 150 words to the publishers – took me all weekend to write.  Much harder than writing 1500. It’s one of the  most important things that a writer has to do – apart from writing the book. It’s the cover that sells a book, they say – even on e-books. What is on the front and what synopsis or blurb is on the back, matters, as you browse online or pick up a book in Waterstones or even in a supermarket.

Bookshops display books with their covers facing the reader. It’s the first thing a reader sees. It is the reason a customer picks up the book, particularly in a supermarket setting where every book is front facing. Even the author can be recognised not only by the letters spelled out, but by the font, the style of cover, composition, the look of a series.        Writers & Artists

Things are definitely moving. The  wheels on my wagon are rolling along, as the song says, although I have the full number required for stablity and there are no Cherokees chasing me. The commissioning editor at Amberley Publishing says that with all the catching up they have to do, Everything but the squeak: an llustrated history of  C&T Harris (Calne) Ltd, may not be published until 2022.

It’s a long time to wait but something I look forward to: finishing the book, and no more Excel spreadsheets.