CreativeLife update: Novel Summer Camp, painting, and organising my studio...again

 Hey there creative friend!

   With watercolourmonth and Novel Summer Camp in July, it was a bit of a juggle to get the paintings for The Deckle Edge competition done. The closing date is only at the end of the month, but I didn't want to wait until the last moment. Things invariably go wrong when it comes to time, if I do that. You can see my submissions on my Instagram. Although a like or comment would be welcome, it doesn't contribute to the outcome of the competition.

My writing badges at the end of Day 1

  I do have to start a large and complex job tomorrow, so that will be keeping me busy for the next few weeks. Hence the urgency to finish the paintings for the competition. It always happens: I have several jobs on my todo list at the lab, but have to wait for the information I need to start. At once one client replies, they all do within a day of each other. Murphy's law of the life of a certification engineer. LOL!

My writing badges at the end of Day 5

  The studio organising was only a tiny bit, but once July is over, I need to get stuck in and clear away the chaos of June and July's projects so that I can have a clean place for the next paintings.

The Smashwords Summer/Winter sale is still on and you will find a stack of bargains and new authors in many genres until the end of the month.

Not much else to mention right now, so I will see you next time!

Stay creative!

🇿🇦💜 Linzé

Book Review: Murder as a Working Hypothesis by RJ Beynon

Hey there creative friend!

It's been a while since I have read a book to review it, but I love my amateur sleuths so couldn't say no to this one. And having met the author, there was an added incentive 😉

And no, I don't get anything in return for the review. A short review will also be available on Goodreads.

Buy the book Amazon (Available from 15 July 2026)

Linzé's impressions   ★★★★

The story: James and Inky Clatterbridge live on a houseboat in Abbey Marina. A horror fiction writer, James becomes intrigued by the case when his wife discovers a dead man in their allotment.

Having a theory of his own, he starts to ask questions, but things don't turn out way he thought. Even narrowly missing a jail cell of his own in the process.

But persistence, and a following a few not so obvious clues, he might just identify the killer before he gets killed himself.

My thoughts: The characters are well developed and despite the number of suspects and neighbours, it was not difficult to keep track of where the story was going. Geese, ducks, and dogs, notwithstanding.

I liked James and Inky and the way the author handled James' mobility issues. The background story flowed around the characters as James and Inky went about their lives, and dealt with the police and their gathering of information.

The story in general reminded me of the old mysteries: the sleuth worked on the case, but also kept it low-key to gather the evidence to find the killer.

My only criticism of the story is that, unlike modern amateur sleuth stories, the main characters have no history. There is no background about who they are, and why they live on the houseboat or if they had any other living arrangements before that. Something else that took me a while to notice was the interaction between James and Inky: while you learn that they are married, their relationship feels more intellectual than a relationship between husband and wife. It is not a romance novel, but the relationship didn't feel like that of a married couple.

Overall impression: I liked the story and recommend it for lovers of the amateur sleuth genre.

CreativeLife update: shameless self-promo, and upcoming book review

Hey there creative friend!

It seems that I am back online again...the question is just for how long before it happens again? The whole long tirade is on my Substack, but I am not going to bore you again with that saga.

Just popping in to mention that I will have a book review coming soon. I don't review books very often, but thought to do that for one of my favourite genres, amateur sleuth mysteries. If this is a genre that you love, please keep any eye out for a new author (although an old hand in the world of writing) to keep us entertained.

Until then!

💜🇿🇦 Linzé

FROM 1 JULY 2026
Now is your best chance to find my
entire ebook collection for a
promotional price at @Smashwords
as part of their Annual Summer/Winter Sale!
You can find all my on-sale books at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/LinzeBrandon.