It’s Wednesday 27th December. A whole year to wait until Christmas Day, and Boxing Day a recent memory… and yet, there is still New Year to consider – decisions to make – whether to stay awake until the midnight hour or steal an early night so that when you awake you have arrived in 2024!
These in-between days can be fun – taking another look at any gifts you might have received, or surveying the fridge and thinking hard about how to use leftovers. Do Brussel sprouts and Camembert really go together? How about cranberry sauce and smoked salmon? Maybe not…?!
Of course, there will be some who are delighted when Christmas has passed by. Happy to say goodbye to busy shops, busy roads and hello to a return to comfortable routines.
However, you like to spend these in-between days, here’s a little something to enjoy while you put your feet up on the sofa, or laze in the bath, blocking out the hubbub for a while and escaping to another time and another place.
Whether you have already taken a peek at my short stories published during December, or whether the life and times of Michael Grey remain a mystery to you, then here’s your chance to immerse yourself in a little piece of history.
The Birdsong of Michael Grey is a compilation of ten short stories, all set in and around Hastings, Sussex, in December 1960. We follow Michael Grey as he realises that so many of the characteristics and habits of the birds he loves to watch are reflected in the people closest to him. As well as learning about Michael and his beloved birds, and enjoying a glimpse of everyday life in 1960, the stories are peppered with myths, legends and anecdotes about Hastings and the surrounding area.
Like Michael, we too have so much to learn from nature. Let’s hope that 2024 brings us closer to discovering how best we can live in harmony with all that’s around us…
Meanwhile, I wish you all a peaceful 2024 and, as always, happy reading!
Isabella Muir 
Leave a Reply