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 - news and reviews
Jodi Taylor Book Recommendation- The Terror of Tannery Lane by MRC Kasasian
Out of Time is out in paperback on 23rd April 2026
New! Time Police Writing Competition - Regulation 847.6 Has Been Breached
April audio clip competition - guess the book and characters speaking for your chance to win a signed copy of Out of Time
Short Story of the Month: The Great St Mary’s Day Out - a chance to discover some of the St Mary’s short stories
There’s plenty to read this week and you can see everything on the blog too. CLICK HERE for the blog.
I went to see Project Hail Mary last night (CLICK HERE to watch the trailer). Another staggeringly good book from Andy Weir made into another staggeringly good film. Nothing was as I’d imagined it in my head, especially Rocky and his spaceship. I’d imagined Rocky as more of a giant horseshoe crab, but his spaceship was a hundred times more beautiful than anything I’d imagined.
Even though I knew what would happen, the suspense was still there, and I was as emotionally invested as I was with Matt Damon and his potatoes. Ryan Gosling does a great job, but for me, Rocky was the star of the show
I’m not going to give the plot away just in case there are people who haven’t seen or read it, but I was encouraged to see Andy Weir’s involvement. I think author involvement really makes a difference. I still remember the dreadful attempt at Terry Pratchett’s Night Watch series. You have to admit it takes skill and dedication to make the worst adaptation ever out of some of the best books ever
And finally, something fairly dull but quite important to me. I’m a member of the Society of Authors and they, in conjunction with a few other organisations, have launched a Human Authored scheme. This is a register of books by human authors and is being compiled for those who want the choice of AI-free material.
The register will contain details of books that have no contribution by generative AI. The creativity is all human.
I’m currently in the middle of registering my own books. Even though it’s only for books published after 2020 at the moment, I have to register every ISBN for every format, and it’s taking me a while. Hence, only a short contribution this week.
The good news, however, is that I’ve nearly finished both the Halloween and Christmas short stories, and I’ve been able to pick up St Mary’s 15 again - Well That Could Have Gone Better.
Max is, rather like the author, literally all over the place in this one. Actually, just like the author. On finishing this, my next task is to dispose of the remains of the latest victim of the Kitchen Windowsill of Death. Yes – another formerly perfectly healthy plant has bitten the dust. I’m down to just the baby lettuce now. There were twelve – two are dead, and another one’s looking very dodgy. The casualty list will be updated next week.
Take care and probably best to stay away from my kitchen windowsill.
Jodi x
PS: Congratulations to Joy Wright, winner of the St Mary’s Incident Report Competition. I read all the entries and really enjoyed them. I hope you will have fun with our next competition - details below.
The Terror of Tannery Lane by MRC Kasasian
MRC Kasasian is on fine form with this latest murder mystery, featuring his latest heroine, Lady Violet Thorn.
Lady Violet is unwillingly involved when she overhears a young woman accuse a sinister married couple of murdering her parents and living in their house. When the police refused to believe this young lady, Lady Violet takes matters into her own hands. Her investigation includes breaking into the house at the dead of night – not standard behaviour for Victorian ladies – and stumbling across some unexpected bodies.
I’ve always enjoyed MRC Kasasian’s books. His first series featured the eccentric Gower Street detective – Sydney Grice – together with his assistant and biographer, March Middleton and are excellent murder mysteries.
“I was intrigued by this one, mostly because I thoroughly enjoyed the books in this series, but the Welsh setting was a clincher that gave me many laughs, as I live in Wales. The author managed to keep the stereotypical characters to a minimum, and the Welsh phrases were just enough detail. I find the ability to write different plot elements and characters and keep them engaging is awesome. If this is the last, then it certainly makes a superb ending.”
Five-star Amazon review
It’s time for another fun writing competition. This time we want you to invent the TIME POLICE Regulation 847.6, then write the incident that caused the rule to exist.
Tone: Deadpan bureaucratic logic meets total time-travel disaster.
How It Works
Write Regulation 847.6 (overly specific, official sounding).
Write the timeline incident that forced the Time Police to create it.
Show the chaos escalating logically but absurdly.
Style Guidelines
Formal report tone
Ridiculous problem treated seriously
Increasingly specific details
Bureaucracy making everything worse
Your Entry Should Include
A named officer or department
A time-travel mistake
Escalation into disaster
The creation of Regulation 847.6
Recommended length: 400–800 words
Minimum: 200 words
Maximum: 1,200 words
Example Regulation
Regulation 847.6: Officers are prohibited from scheduling overlapping historical revolutions without prior clearance from Administrative Chronology and a completed Form 847.6-C (Revolution Sequencing).
So get your thinking caps on, write your regulation and then a short report explaining why it was created.
The prize will be a £50 gift card from Bookshop.org
Closing date is 30th April and the winner will be chosen by reader poll from 1st - 12th of May with the winner announced in the May 13th newsletter.
CLICK HERE to enter
APRIL - GUESS THE BOOK COMPETITION
Guess the book and characters speaking for your chance to win a signed copy of Out of Time
Put your knowledge of Jodi’s books to the test with our audio clip competition. Listen carefully to a short extract and see if you can identify the book and the characters speaking for a chance to win a signed copy of Out of Time.
Audiobooks are hugely popular among Jodi Taylor fans, bringing her stories to life through distinctive voices, character-driven performances, and immersive narration. For many readers, audiobooks offer the perfect way to enjoy a favourite series while commuting, walking, or relaxing. They make stories more accessible, flexible, and engaging than ever.
Tune in, trust your ears, and see if you can name the book and the characters behind the voices.
The Great St Mary’s Day Out - available in Kindle and Audiobook formats - also included in The Long and Short of It anthology
Astonishingly, Dr Bairstow has declared a holiday. Even more astonishingly – he’s paying for it.
Needless to say, there are strings attached. They have to record the 1601 performance of Hamlet, with Shakespeare himself in the role of the Ghost.
It doesn’t go well, of course. With Dr Bairstow and Mrs Mack turning a simple visit to a street market into a public brawl, Professor Rapson inadvertently stowing away on a vessel bound for the New World, and Shakespeare himself going up in flames, it would seem that Max, of all people, is the only one actually completing the assignment.
Jodi Taylor says…
‘I challenged myself to get the words “Dr Bairstow” and “selfie” in the same
sentence. Challenge accepted!’
Buy now from Bookshop.org - UK USA
My 'humble opinion' (see Terry Pratchett) is that AI is rather like the monkey of 60 years ago. Eventually it might be able to produce a work of Shakespeare! Meanwhile, thank goodness we have you, Jodi, and other real people to keep us laughing, entertained and informed. I think you have taught me more history than I learned in school. Also glad that the movie didn't keep you away from your writing for too long.
OMG! So after years of working on my self-esteem, I Won't Go To the Gory details suffice it to say it's a hard habit to break, I have learned two things: I will never reach the cupboard over the refrigerator. Why is that important because it's just because I'm small there's nothing wrong with that I'm not a bad person I'm totally okay I'm just small so I'm always going to need help or stool. That means if I can lump everything else that I've always criticized myself over into that box I'm okay! Why am I telling you this because I've released a lot of negative self-talk. The one thing I couldn't find new verbiage 4 was when something went tits up. And I've been using well that could have gone better.