Today we have the first of our guest posts by authors with stories in the upcoming Hellcats Anthology, which releases tomorrow.

Penelope Cress is a Mystery writer whose third book, Pious Poison releases today.

You can find the first in her series, Holy Homicide, at Amazon here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B085298YK2/

Of herself, she says:

My name is Penelope Cress and I love a good murder. Don’t you?

In fact, there is nothing I like better than snuggling up with a nice cup of tea and some digestive biscuits and watching some Agatha Christie or Midsomer Murders on the television. Or even better reading the latest cosy mystery on the train at the end of a hard day.
I started to write my own stories a couple of years ago and the result is the exciting Isle of Wesberrey series featuring the sleuthing talents of Reverend Jessamy Ward. It had been such a joy creating this magical island and its quirky inhabitants.

I live with my children and elderly Jack Russell terrier on an island off the Kent coast and Wesberrey has been inspired by the history and attractions of the many amazing towns and villages dotted along the Kent coast.

In my head I imagined the nostalgic world of G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown with the modern day humour of the Vicar of Dibley. What if there was a place where there were no cars but cats roamed free? A place steeped in history, tradition and ritual that embraced the best things about living in the modern world. A charming English idyll where there just happens to be the odd murder, every other week!

In my research about the local history of my parish church I discovered the legend of the fertility well and the triple goddess. What if Reverend Jess Ward was descended from the original keepers of the well? Is there a way for ancient and modern traditions to peacefully coexist?

I have had great fun creating a world where all of these elements could find a home and I have had even more fun populating this island with some wonderful characters. I love them as my family and I hope that you will grow to love them too.

Treat people with kindness

by Penelope Cress

In the words of Harry Styles, ‘Treat people with Kindness’. How do I know these are his words? Well, the short answer is I have a teenage daughter. The long answer is that for several months before corona lockdown, I listened to his new CD in my car on my commute each day. Not through choice, I was also taking my daughter to college. It was her call. She was the only one out of the two of us who could get the Bluetooth stereo to work.  She is now off to university and I miss that time. 

I miss her. 

She is the youngest of four. As a result, I have come to the end of those milestone ‘firsts’ as a parent. Their first smile, their first words, their first steps, first day at school, etc. Now I have more ‘lasts’. The last day at nursery, school, college. She doesn’t need me as much anymore, and that means I did my job right, fingers crossed.

Looking back on my years as a parent, I realise it isn’t these landmark development stages that make a difference. Most children will pass these on their own. Their first word, steps, etc. were their challenges to meet.

No, the actual tests of successful parenting are the small day-to-day lessons I gave them. I hope I taught them well. All those occasions when I had the opportunity to treat people with kindness, did I take them? Did I model good behaviour for my children? Have they learnt to #bekind?

I am Gen X, only just, but I am. We are the ‘whatever’ generation. My children span both Millenials and Gen Z. These young people are passionate about fairness, the environment and making the world a better place. I remember wanting all that too, and in many ways our society has moved forward from when I was a teen. But right now it seems there is a lot of hatred everywhere. It’s hard to see what is good in the world. 

Do we really need a pop singer to remind us to ‘treat people with kindness’ or a hashtag to tell us to be kind? 

Sadly, it seems we do. 

However, when I step away from social media and the news and look to the people around me, when I talk to my children and their friends, I have renewed hope. 

In the past, I may have marched, or signed a petition or two, or voted one way or another. All of that was important, but what was more impactful was how I raised my kids. Did I give them the tools to make the world a better place? Did I enable them to go out and be the good in this world? 

I think so, I really do. 

Time will tell. They may or may not go on to lead lives that meet society’s definition of success. They may or may not be rich, or famous, or leading experts in their chosen fields. But my deepest wish is that they never forget to be ‘woke’. That they never forget to be respectful of others and, most importantly, they always treat people with kindness. 

Penelope Cress, mother of four and lover of tea and biscuits, writes quaint cosy mysteries set on the fictional Isle of Wesberrey, somewhere off the English coast. She loves nostalgia, and all things retro. Her taste in music is also very last century.

You find out more about Penelope and her books at http://www.penelopecress.com.

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JAC:

Please do check Penelope’s stuff out, people – how can you resist a Father Brown/ Vicar of Dibley crossover?! Best of luck to her with her new release, and there will be more from me tomorrow about the release of the Hellcats anthology, and how that came about.

Take care, and have a lovely week:

JAC.