This month’s inspirational person goes by many names…Lesley, L M Krier, L M Kay, Carl Granger and Tottie Limejuice, These days most people call her Tottie or Tots. And just why is she so inspirational? Well, she went from writing an episode of a tv western at sixteen, to being an author of thirty books across crime, travel memoir and children’s books and still found time to move country, care for her mum and rescue several dogs.
“Words always came very easily to me and I was always writing something, but not numbers – at all. I now realise I’m dyscalculic, but that was not recognised back then, instead I was told I was stupid or lazy, despite being neither.
As my late father was a local newspaper editor, our house was always full of books, many of which he had been given to review for various papers. So, I had my nose in a book most of the time, and when English author Alan Garner wrote The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, my father gave me the review copy and asked for my opinion.
At sixteen I sold a storyline for an episode of a popular 1960’s TV western. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you the series as I signed an all rights contract, but I am allowed to say that it was a prime-time series on the BBC – not Bonanza! so that will narrow it down. I was paid the princely sum of $200 (the equivalent of $2100 now).
And while I would hate to tempt fate, I’ve always been able to sit down and the keyboard and bash out whatever was necessary. Just as well really, as I’ve been a both a journalist and a freelance copywriter, both professions that have crazy deadlines”.
Something that really resonated with me as a great believer in the power of dreams was Tots story of how Ted Darling came to be. “This is going to sound incredibly cheesy, but I promise it’s true! Most of the characters for my Ted Darling Crime Series came to me in a dream one Christmas some years ago. It was one of the most vivid dreams I can remember having. There was this detective, called Ted Darling, and he was telling me all about himself, his partner, his cats and his current case. There was so much detail! Amazingly I could still remember every detail when I woke up so having fed my dogs and put them out in the garden to play, sat at my computer and wrote down everything I could remember.
The first chapter went to a very blunt friend (she’s from Yorkshire), and I knew I would get honest feedback. She said simply ‘I want more’, which is about as high praise as she does. So, I kept on going and going there are now twenty-two books in the series”.
When I asked Tots about a major change in her life, she told me about her move to France in 2007. Which became the basis of her six volume travel memoir series, Sell the Pig, by Tottie Limejuice. (The origin of that name is explained in the books). Despite the funny books the move came about from a serious situation, “when our mother developed vascular dementia my brother and I were not happy with the care available to her. Neither with carers going into her house (disastrous!) or later with residential care. We both lived too far away to monitor things, luckily at the time I was working as a freelance copywriter/copy editor, which I could do anywhere with an internet connection, so we decided to move to France together and bring mother with us. I did need help getting her up and putting her to bed (due to some horse-related injuries I have collected), but other than that I could take care of her, so I did. And she had four very good years, enjoying the sun and the lifestyle, before she died”.
I love my inspirational people to share a pearl of wisdom and Tots one is something I completely agree with “You can do it… whatever it is, you probably can if you believe in yourself. Okay, I will never ‘get’ numbers now, but if someone had helped me, and taught me to believe I could do it when I was younger, I could probably have been better at it. And get a brutally honest friend to keep you grounded in reality. To say ‘that might be a bit of a stretch, but this? This you could do, so go for it!”
“The funniest about my author career is always people’s perceptions of what a crime writer should look like and their reactions when they meet me in the flesh for the first time. I make no secret of my age – I’m seventy-two – but fit as lop (which means very fit!). I do a lot of hill-walking with my dog, always clocking up more than 10k steps a day. I’m always in trousers, usually with walking boots, so the silver hair is the only thing ‘elderly’ about me. And I still get people who assume I must be a man because I write crime!”
“My inspiration is Alan Garner because he was always so polite to me, a star-struck young fan. He once wrote me a letter to let me know of a programme on the radio in which he was taking part. He writes in the most beautiful calligraphy, so that’s a much-treasured possession”. Whilst acknowledging that her father was the local newspaper editor and Alan often had good press from him, Tots said “he always remembered my name whenever he saw me, and that impressed me. So, for that reason, as far as possible, I do always try hard to reply personally to anyone who contacts me”.
Finally, we spoke about plans for the future, Tots shared that workwise The Dog with the Golden Eyes will shortly be coming out in parallel English/French text, for learners of either language, which is exciting. Personally, she is starting to get itchy feet! As she said she’s “mostly had rescue dogs, so going away can be problematic, as they need a live-in dog-sitter with special experience, and that costs. I have decided that Rosie my current rescue will be my last. And in my future dogless days I will go off travelling. France has excellent trains, as does much of Europe, I think it would be great fun to wake up in the morning and think ‘I fancy a trip to Berlin today’ and just be able to do it. Especially if that’s on sleeper trains, which I love”.
Happy Travels Tots!
If you want to see Tots library of books and find ways to follow her, find out more are below;
Crime Fiction: Ted Darling Crime Series – L M Krier
The first time ever
Babys got blue eyes
Two little boys
When I am old and grey
Shut up and drive
Only the lonely
Wild thing
Walk on by
Preacher man
Cry for the bad man
Every game you play
Where the girls are
Down down down
The cuckoo is a pretty bird
Dirty old town
The end of the line
Its oh so quiet
A woman’s heart
No way to say goodbye
Everybody hearts sometimes
Sweet little lies: somebody’s lying. Who? And why?
Looking for Lulu – Carl Granger
Travel Memoirs: Sell the Pig – Tottie Limejuice (6 books)
Sell the pig
Is that Billange lump?
Mother, was it worth it?
Biff the useless mention
Angling Bumateurs
Trot on
Totties Travel Series
Hobbit House In Italy
Two Jills and a Tots
Pride comes before a bedbug
Children’s
The Dog with the Golden Eyes – L M Kay
In Collaboration with Jill Pennington under the name Jilli Lime-Smith
Take three birds
No girls on the train
Ways to get in touch with Tots
https://www.teddarlingcrimeseries.uk/
We love Ted Darling Facebook group
Twitter/X is @tottielimejuice
