Writing To Make You Smile – The Bonkers English Village

September 18th 2025

With all the sadness across the world, strife and bullying, hate and division, stepping into my studio to continue writing my humorous title, The Bonkers English Village – The Adventures of Reverend Bloat, offers a refreshing release from the daily news brief. If you find yourself similarly in need of some cheer try changing up your day to include more stuff that makes you smile. Laughing is good therapy.

As most authors know writing humor is not easy. I fashioned this book in a Tom Sharpe type tribute, but without language that is quite as coarse. My tale follows the life of a man of the cloth after all, well at least he’s primarily a theologian for now.

Sometimes as I write my Reverend Bloat seems to go a bit off track and I question whether I have taken his character too far. But when I read it back next day it seems less radical. Do all writers feel this way? I don’t know. But it is so wonderful when things happen as you write with abandon and let the people on the page come to life. Bouncing along quite happily in their own world where you feel yourself being carried along with them. At times I feel myself more a voyeur than the director that is completely inside their heads.

In this story the quintessential English village serves as a backdrop to the mad events that transpire as part of daily British life, and my research is of course first hand. I am a Brit/American writer, with deep roots in the English countryside after all. I keep revising the title between Mad and Bonkers though eventually my publisher will likely decide the final title based on their marketing knowledge and the copyright notes etc.

I’m about 15000 words through right now. This title won’t be more than the standard paperback. Each day of Fall my routine must change. I need to accommodate some time not just writing rather than continued work on helping to market my book The Dutchess of Chadwick, but also to paint the cover for the book.

Like all writers I know I much prefer to leave marketing of my works to someone else. But the reality is the author has to champion their own books just as hard as their publisher. Or so I am learning.

My art easel currently holds another work in progress. It is a large canvas of an Iberian dressage horse in piaffe and as equine artists appreciate, the details required in the biomechanic accuracies of the horse’s legs always takes some keen attention. They are quite difficult to paint. But this masterpiece will have to share my activities with the paintbrush with the book cover for Bloat, because I am attempting to work to a deadline of November 15th for final cover production schedule.

Meantime in other parts of the authorship journey, my The Dutchess of Chadwick title will be showcased at the largest bookfair in the world, the Frankfurter Buchmesse. This event is a hub for the sale of foreign rights. I’d love to see it picked up especially in the U.K., though interestingly China is increasingly active in the historical romance fiction. That’s very exciting.

My dear Dutchess is also up for some Indie awards. Well, at least entered. Fingers crossed. And will be advertised across independent booksellers and library book acquisition folks this Fall  for the end of year buying tour.

I’ve also been asked to do the narration for the audio book of The Dutchess of Chadwick by its producers at The Horse Studio. I have always enjoyed reading out aloud but I am certain this will be more challenging than I imagine and will take some serious practice.

I offer my heartfelt gratitude to all the folks that have kept the sales of my first fiction work so brisk since its release. If you are one of them please don’t forget to post a review on Google or Facebook or wherever you live! Apparently that makes a difference SEO wise.

Well off to the winding lanes of rural England and my bicycling Bloat.

Please stay tuned for more news and pre-release and preorder options.

Red-Letter Days Begin With Red-Letter Friends

According to the Cambridge Dictionary a “Red-Letter Day”  is a,

 “Special, happy and important day you will always remember.”

And rather appropriately the Cambridge Dictionary use example given is:

“The day I set foot in America was a red-letter day for me.”  

Ironically that actually applies to me personally. Seemingly eons ago but then I guess it was in the last century, 1981 in fact!  When my first transatlantic flight, Pan Am 101 touched down at J.F.K. Airport from London, Heathrow, I truly believed I had indeed, arrived. And with me were my late father and my now husband, Paul.

Defining moments as a writer and being at a crossroads when navigating the journey of life as a human are noteworthy, and so I’m marking my inaugural blog here at NikkiAlvin-Smith.com as a red-letter day.

I am sincerely thankful for all that I have experienced to date in the U.S.A. and proud of the small things that I have contributed this great land and wonderful people. Whether that be working hard to get American exports across the seas; writing ‘How to’ works on horse care and training to try and help others; creating content as a professional PR/Marketing specialist to help others grow their businesses or proudly producing three kind-hearted, compassionate children now young adults that I know help others in the world. 

The significance of impact that the ripple effect  has on us all cannot be overstated. You never know what transpires when, where and to who in life as a result of your own existence.

But this particular red-letter day is the accomplishment of selling my first book under my own name as author, Nikki Alvin-Smith. And giving thanks to my first customers, Gary and Beth Lerner. Who are red-letter friends that go way back in my journey.

Gary and Beth bought the first book from the first print run of my First Edition of The Dutchess of Chadwick (yes, the ‘t’ in Dutchess is on purpose, it is the traditional language of the era in which the book is set, The Gilded Age).

As most of my fellow authors and aspiring writers know, first book sales are usually in your ‘soft circle’ of friends and family. And this is certainly true for me. Gary and Beth, who live on Long Island, NY, are truly red-letter friends.



Hubbie and I have known Gary since we all worked together back at J.F.K. all those years ago. Since 1982 in fact. Our working relationship included much laughter and fun times, mishaps and misadventures. There were notable expressions that developed to help us all through the hectic workdays.

“Another day, another dollar,” was usually heard around 5.30 p.m. (or more often later, days were long and arduous) as we closed the office.

A favorite adage bandied about was, “It works on paper”. This one was forged to address the frustrating experiences out in the warehouse. The utterance of this expression often charged with variant emotions and expletives depending on how things were going. It applied to the process of loading a 20’ or 40’ ocean container. Our job was to fill it with a myriad of freight of various dimensions and weights that sometimes wouldn’t quite fit. Though the paperwork mathematics said it should.

The is not the same as writing a novel, but in the literal sense I do hope that The Dutchess of Chadwick does, “Work on paper”.

Beth was always in the picture, and Gary and Beth were always meant to journey together on this temporal plane. That was immediately clear to both Paul and I. And like many good friendships that are woven together closely for a time, despite parting ways workwise and geographically, we kept in touch over the many years while we grew our families and we all diverged to follow our careers.

Beth is a kindred creative spirit with some seriously good talents in her TV career, being nominated twice for her editing skills for an Emmy award. Since then she has taken her creative flair to further heights with her renowned jewelry designs, Beth Lerner Jewelry. Please give it a look! You can buy online or if you are in the Long Island area,  you can find her showcase at the  Arts in the Plaza, Long Beach’s Weekly Arts Festival that runs May through October each year. I could see the Dutchess of Chadwick wearing some of her designs!



That Gary and Beth should be the first to hold a copy of my book in their hands is truly a full circle moment. And I am very happy to see them both living life to the fullest despite the struggles they have endured along the way.

Whatever creative path you walk, whether you are crafting jewelry or writing a book, or working on a team at a TV station, part of the great fun of being a creative spirit is letting our imaginations take hold of our minds and explore new dimensions, ideas and figure out a way to share them with others.

Whether that time is spent creating characters, divining works of fine art, studies from behind a lens, or working in ceramics, precious metals, stone or other mediums, the experiences are similar. There are moments of oblique frustration; moments of sincere happiness; moments of self-doubt and always humbling experiences.

Sharing a part of yourself with others and putting it out on full view is not easy. But for some of us it is our destiny. And one we thoroughly embrace.

Another part of being a creative spirit is the earnest collaboration and support that you can enjoy with others. Whether they be in your lane directly, indirectly or are aligned somewhere else entirely. Writers groups, reader groups, art groups or whatever - it doesn’t matter.

Mutual appreciation and respect for the process of producing something unique and personal is an exploratory challenge fellow creatives empathize with and often, like helps like through the voyage.

So as I celebrate this red-letter day, that I wish my late father and late younger brother were both here to witness, I give thanks to all that have played a part, big or small, known or unknown in getting me here. I cherish my family, friends, mentors, and all are red-letter parts of this day.

It’s been a fabulous adventure thus far, and despite ‘pink sister’ bumps in the road and other such  impediments, I hope it will continue for many years to come. 

So saddle up and tighten the girth if you want to come along for the ride. All are welcome to join up – The BookSmith Club is open not just to writers and readers, but to artists and all creatives too.