Added another thousand words to Woods WIP last night, and finished the poem I began last week. Quietly productive.

3 years ago today, I finished the first draft of How NOT To Kiss A Prince. 19 days from now, it will have been published for one whole year!

Had to do an about-turn in the workshop I delivered today as the teens seemed really apathetic about the poetry workshop I had planned. Used the Jabberwocky as a bridge to writing battles, which they loved. Got to be flexible!

Okay so I went on a total side quest and wrote a poem instead. I guess my WIP needed a little more time to percolate 😅

Aiming to write another 1500 words on Woods WIP. Wish me luck!

It’s been so long since I got a full request/personalised response to a query I’ve forgotten what it feels like 🫠

Made it to the 20K words milestone! A third of the way through my cosy gothic YA WIP 🥳

This week I grabbed a coffee with the lovely Morgan H Owen and we talked about self and trad publishing, agents, marketing, character art, bookish events, author friends… some was positive but I left feeling as if this author gig might never take off for me 😮‍💨

Celebrating our wedding anniversary today 💜🥂 Have spent the day so far looking around a college open day for our oldest offspring. That’s romantic, right? 😅

This is such a great story! I was lucky enough to work with the author on polishing this amazing piece. Go and read it now!

Last night I added another 1700 words to Woods WIP so now it’s up to 19,700 🥳 I know I’ll break the 20k mark this weekend!

Why is the Worcester Hive library hosting a HP event in 2026?

I hate querying. Hate it. Form rejections and CNRs. How am I supposed to know why I’m not getting anywhere without feedback? Yes, my query letter and opening pages have been critiqued and workshopped by other writers and even an agent who doesn’t rep my genre.

Blocking so many bots just recently. Jog on.

Yesterday I sent out 3 new queries and added around 2000 words to my WIP! 🥳

I sent out 12 queries in September. I’ve had 3 form rejections and no other replies so far. I’ll aim to send another 12 in October. Do I think I’ll land an agent? No. Will that stop me trying? Also no.

The last time I booked a trip abroad was a once-in-a-lifetime stay in Shanghai. In April 2020. Funnily enough it was cancelled 😷 Circumstances have changed a lot since then, and so I’m super excited that I finally booked another trip 🥳 I’ll be going to Athens in 2027!! 🇬🇷

Wrote 1000 words this morning of a short story (more of a scene snippet but it’s a standalone project anyway) and then edited 1K words for another writer. Not bad for a day when I wasn’t sure I’d sit down at my laptop.