Message from Leo
Hi everyone,
Those who are familiar with my messages
on this website will know that I sometimes use them to answer questions
raised by readers. I am sometimes asked how I came to write an annual
pre-Christmas gift short story for members of my mailing list. Like much
in my life, it happened by a kind of accident.
Some years ago a new Marnie Walker
novel was announced to be published in time for Christmas. Some weeks
before the due publication date, we were informed that for a technical
reason, the printers were unable to produce the novel before Christmas.
It would be ready in the spring. Enigma Publishing informed me of this,
knowing how unhappy I would be to disappoint readers. It seemed there
was nothing to be done; printers are booked up well in advance of
publication.
While mulling over the problem, I
recalled that I had drafted a short story to while away the time on a
TGV train journey on my way to a conference in southern France. This
gave me an idea. I contacted my publisher and told them I had a
suggestion: I could rewrite the short story using Marnie Walker as a
central character. I proposed sending the story as a kind of apology and
consolation as a gift to mailing list members. It was agreed to follow
this plan, which I believed was a one-off event.
I was forgetting that readers have
minds of their own!
As Christmas approached, a number of
readers sent messages of thanks for the story and added that they were
looking forward to receiving another one the following year. My editor
at Enigma Publishing asked me if I had a follow-up short story. My
answer: no.
‘Oh, that’s all right,’ said the
editor. ‘No problem.’
‘Fine by me,’ I replied, feeling greatly relieved;
one less challenge to face.
To my alarm, the editor added, ‘Well,
you’ve got a whole year to think of one.’
That was over ten years ago, and the
stories have become a kind of tradition. I can’t help thinking of the
expression, hoisted by my own petard.
Happy reading!
