Meanwhile Sam Stone, Rosie’s curator, is oddly distracted as breadcrumb clues into what happened to his missing younger brother and other abducted boys from the past are poised to lead him and Rosie deep into a dark wood where there lurks something far scarier than Hansel and Gretel’s witch….
Well, hello there wonderful readers, welcome to my blog on my day of the Strange Tricks tour, it’s been super exciting to read the glorious reviews and posts. Strange Tricks was published in audiobook by Isis Audio on the 3rd of June, the sixth book in a series but also has that magical ability to be enjoyed independently of the previous books. You can grab yourself a copy here.
Today I have something different for you. I love getting to know the writer behind the books, their likes, loaths and lives, so here you go, a post of 10 surprising facts about The Essex Witch Museum Mystery writer, Syd Moore.
- I once was a Sunday School teacher at our local church. I taught for quite a while until I watched Grease. The film kicked off an identity crisis – should I be Sandy or Sandra Dee? Sandy seemed to have a better time of it, so I stopped with the Sundays and started reading Satre. As it turned out most people had me down as a bit of a Rizzo anyway.
- I attract strangeness. There have been a lot of coincidences that have occurred in my life. Of course they could be put down to our planet becoming increasingly global but some are harder to explain. Like this one: I used to live in flat in Hackney. As soon as I walked into the place, an old listed building, I immediately felt at home. Unfortunately it transpired it was already  under offer. However, when another flat in the former servants’ quarters became available we took it immediately and moved in three months later, spending several happy years there. About six months after we had moved to Essex my Mum bought over an ancient family bible which had recorded deaths, births and marriages. I googled the first person who had inscribed it in 1603, my great great great great great great grandfather, and found a deed for the place he had lived in. It was the house that we had just sold.
- I’ve been a go-go dancer, a backing singer, tambourine player and once, with a band, opened a club in Moscow. I also dabbled with the theremin (though it’s very difficult).
- In the 70s I featured in a public information film about safety at the beach. The final image of my floating ‘corpse’ made some school children cry.
- Thai curry is my signature dish. Twenty-five years ago I travelled through Asia and Australia and spent some time in an old, teak guesthouse in the outskirts of Chang Mai., Northern Thailand. Our landlady, Kim, although not fluent in English was able to teach me how to make up green curry paste and Pad Thai. She also kept telling me, weirdly, that I would really get on with her husband who was coming back to the village any day soon. I wasn’t sure if she was being serious as I couldn’t imagine what we would have in common. He turned up on the day I left. His name was Gary and he hailed from Southend, growing up two streets from my mum.
- Everyone used to think I was a boy when I was young. I had short hair and always wore trousers, played football, war etc. My family called me ‘Little Tony’ after my Dad.
- Once upon a time I did a stint as a performance poet. Â
- My Nan has inspired a lot of Adder’s Fork. She was an amazing woman, with a rich imagination. A committed Christian, she had no qualms about doing spells to heal/influence events.
- My sister and I look and sound very similar. Sometimes, to amuse, I answer her phone and have long conversations as her. She does the same for me. Be warned.
- I love open water swimming and manage dips in the estuary from March to November. I’m happiest on the beach.
The Reading Closet 