Hmmm, what shall I do now the girls are in school? I know, read an online serial novel!

Ooohhh, how fun! What better way to fill in my time, now that all the girls are all at school, than to be involved with an online serial novel. How cool!

Corduroy Mansions 2 — The Dog Who Came In From The Cold, by Alexander McCall Smith (best known for the Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency) starts Monday. Sign up, and every weekday over the next 13 weeks a new chapter will be sent to your laptop or iPhone. Did I mention this was free? (thank you The Telegraph).

McCall Smith, who got the idea for digital serial genre while talking to Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City), only writes the first 40 or so chapters and likes to get feedback from his readers before he gets on with the plot. So you really do become part of the story. How Web 2.0!

I wasn’t involved with the first Corduroy Mansions, but am told that doesn’t matter. The story is based on William French, a wine merchant in his early fifties who is bored and looking for love. Other characters you meet are his looser 28-year-old son, Eddie; his Pimlico Terrier, Freddie de la Hay; Marcia, a caterer who has the hots for William, and Angelica, a bespectacled beauty that has reappeared in William’s life. There’s also Caroline, who lives directly below William in Corduroy Mansions, and her friend James. Oh, and the Mi6. And tea.

I was sent the first five chapters … and am hooked. The chapter are short, readable and can be printed on a couple pages, or read directly on your laptop or iPhone. I feel like I am embarking on joint journey with the entire nation. And that is definitely more fun than doing the laundry!

In case you are wondering, this is not a sponsored post.