Here I am in Shetland and it's beautiful. There are sheep and views everywhere!
This amazing 'mirror image' beach is called a tombola and is reputedly one of the best examples anywhere. The sand bar links mainland Shetland to St Ninian's Isle, last inhabited in the 1700s and now used for, you can probably guess, grazing sheep.
It was quite a daunting trip from the bottom of the country to the very top, though Northlink Ferries took us the last leg from Aberdeen, a surprisingly calm twelve hour trip. But according to the lady in Lerwick Tesco, there are folk here who've travelled from New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Norway and the US to come to Shetland Wool Week. But did they drive, push their way to the woolly utmost north of the UK under their own steam, well, diesel, driven at a fuel saving 55mph?
My journey to Shetland is a bit like my publishing journey, a constant pushing forward, squeezing in between bigger and faster juggernaut publishers and finally the support from all you wonderful people cheering me on on this last leg of the journey.
It's less than a week until 4th October, the publication date I've set myself. Perhaps the 4th is only the beginning of the last leg? But fingers crossed it's going to start well...
I sent out press releases last week, though after talking to ex-journalist friend, Julie, I didn't expect much. I really should have waited and checked them out with her first!
But amazingly, BBC Radio Solent responded! Could I come down to the studio and chat about The Wonder Girls on publication day?
Normally that's a ten-minute walk from my house but not this coming Friday.
But hooray, we live in the 21st Century!
However 20th Century technology is still more reliable as anyone who's Skyped will know. So for the next few days, I'm on a landline hunt – one that's accessible at 7:30 am.
I really hope it's a phone box, it would be a Local Hero moment and I'd love that.
So far, I've found one. It doesn't work.
But as in all good stories, tension for Friday is building....
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