I missed September's newsletter because I've been involved in various writing projects while whirling this way and that to be ready for the Get Caught Reading at Sea Cruise. As part of the activities, I'm running a gaming hell. In practical terms that means I get part of the casino for an hour and some of the readers attending the cruise get to have fun.

Some modern gambling games are very similar to those used in the Georgian and Regency periods. One that's hardly changed at all is twenty-one, or vingt-et-un. Craps is an offspring of hazard. Poker had simpler variants back then, and we'll be playing the simplest -- three card brag. (You may remember that was the game Lady Anne's brother, Uffham, was playing in HAZARD.) In addition, people will be able to try their hand at Faro, Loo, and a simple family game called Matrimony. (Leander played that with his new family in CHRISTMAS ANGEL.)

If you are going to be on the cruise, please let me know. I'd love to make some special arrangement to get together with my "listers."

I'm also short of time because our grapes ripened then began to rot as the weather turned cooler. Hasty harvest and wine making time! We only have one vine, but we get a few gallons of wine from it. I know, I know. Someone wrote to me last time saying I should be writing, not gardening. But winemaking has been one of our amusements for decades, and we don't restrict ourselves to grapes. Apple and blackberry is very nice, and cherry is wonderful. Plum is good, too. Years ago we lived in a house with a mulberry tree. That made a magnificent red wine. We have also tried almost anything vaguely fruity including tomatoes. (I don't recommend that one!)

As I said, this is a quiet moment for publications, though we're about to hit some reissues in the run up to A MOST UNSUITABLE MAN in February. You can find out all about them here

If you haven't seen the splendid cover of AMUM, it's up there.

My offerings for this month are: a free short story from Carola Dunn in her Daisy Dalrymple 1920s mystery series. I really enjoy these books.

Check out this page. It's for people living in an old house, but it's full of interesting tid-bits about life back then.

For a more intellectual investigation, read all about the "bluestockings."

Enjoy the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness*,

Jo