The Rushford Times - A weekly newsletter from Jodi Taylor

Sent on Wednesdays to paid subscribers and Fridays to free subscribers

This week we have:

• Jodi Taylor gives an update on her writing

• A David Sands Writing Competition entry: The Turning of the Hourglass by Snezhina Gulubova

• This week in history: Sir Walter Raleigh goes on trial for treason

• The St Mary’s Short Stories Christmas Reading Challenge - Story Seven in the Read all the St Mary’s Christmas Short Stories before Christmas Day Challenge is Why Is Nothing Ever Simple?

• November - Book of the Month: The Nothing Girl and Little Donkey

  There’s plenty to read this week and you can see everything new on the blog too. CLICK HERE for the blog.

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I had a lovely chat with my editor last week, mapping out future storylines and talking about the direction the different series will take. And I came out of it with hardly anything to do which is always my criteria for a successful meeting.

The edits for A Family Affair will be arriving this week for me to get cracking on and I’ve seen the first draft of the cover design so there’s that to look forward to next year. And I’ve made a start on St Mary’s 15. The really good news is that Frankie quite liked Well That Could Have Gone Better as a title. I did point out that I’d mentioned the title to several people at the Murder Mystery Weekend and it had gone down quite well, so thanks very much for that. We spent a bit of time counting words and wondering whether they’d be readable on a thumbnail image and finally came to the conclusion we could live without Well. So the working title will be That Could Have Gone Better. And trust me, in this story, things could have gone very much better for Max.

We talked a little about the next Time Police book (number 7) and it’s very possible there might be enough material there for two books. So, a possible Time Police 8 to look forward to.

Oh – and next year’s Christmas story – yes, really. Already. I’m not saying anything at this stage but Headline wanted a few details so they could start briefing on the cover.

We even – and this really is planning ahead, spoke briefly about the next Smallhope and Pennyroyal story.

So – lots to come. And now I’d better drift off and make a start.

Jodi x

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The Turning of the Hourglass by Snezhina Gulubova

The hourglass kept spinning frantically.

It wasn’t supposed to do that.

It should have turned just a few times, settled on the right date and time, then stilled – beginning the countdown. Only then could I begin the journey. I pictured the sand slipping through the centre, grain by grain. That span – no longer, no less – was the time I had to complete the mission. If I failed, I would vanish into nothingness, like all the others.

I am the last of the time warriors – Aeon Veers – or so people call us. We are an order based on Titan, tasked with protecting life across distant worlds. The ancient hourglass, sealed with the sands of time, is known as Mór-Kala to the few across the universe who are aware of its existence. Created by ancient mystic-scientists, the hourglass is powered by a compressed black hole which bends space-time, allowing us to move across it. The sand which transports us is stardust – the tiniest ingredient of creation which makes up the entire universe. Ancient enchantments in a language long forgotten keep the black hole from swallowing us as we transport ourselves.

Four meters tall and almost two meters wide, Mór-Kala is hidden in deep underground chambers bellow Titan’s ice caps. It is the only device in the universe which allows us to move through space-time to carry out what the archives call “the great missions.” We save visionary leaders, rescue scientists, prevent the collapse of societies. Once, we were twelve – chosen from across the Virgo Supercluster, we were made immune to age, but not to death. And now, only I remain.

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This Week in History: Sir Walter Raleigh goes on trial for treason

Sir Walter Raleigh’s name still evokes the glamour of Elizabethan adventure. Still, when he faced trial for treason on 17 November 1603, his fortune had crumbled, his queen was dead, and his enemies were gathering. The celebrated explorer who had once stood at the centre of power now stood alone, accused of conspiring against the new king, James I.

The accusations were grave. Raleigh was charged with joining a plot to overthrow James and place Arabella Stuart on the throne. Evidence was thin, but Raleigh had never been a favourite of the new monarch. His closeness to Elizabeth, his sharp tongue, and his air of superiority provoked distrust. The trial at Winchester was long, theatrical and deeply political. Raleigh defended himself with wit and dignity, exposing contradictions in the prosecution. Even the spectators murmured in admiration. Yet admiration could not save him. The verdict was predetermined, and Raleigh was found guilty and sentenced to death. Raleigh, still remarkably composed, was led away.

Yet the story did not end on the scaffold. James I hesitated to execute a man as admired and as useful as Raleigh. The death sentence was suspended and Raleigh returned to the Tower of London, where he spent thirteen long years. He turned again to scholarship and wrote his vast History of the World. He studied alchemy, geography, and languages. Above all, he brooded over a grand idea that had haunted him for decades. Somewhere along the Orinoco River lay a land of untold riches, a place he had glimpsed in earlier travels, a golden country, Guiana (now known as Guyana, located in modern-day Venezuela).

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The St Mary’s Short Stories Christmas Reading Challenge

Story Seven in the Read all the St Mary’s Christmas Short Stories before Christmas Day Challenge

Who’s up for joining in the St Mary’s Christmas Reading Challenge? You simply need to read the 11 St Mary’s Christmas stories and leave a comment below each story as you finish them. We will feature one story a week up to Christmas

This week’s book is Why Is Nothing Ever Simple?

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October - Book of the Month: The Nothing Girl and Little Donkey

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