Welcome to September’s Newsletter

Hi there

Look at this glorious view! It’s the River Wharfe, mere steps from my desk, and when I took this on Friday morning the water was perfectly still, reflecting the sky and the trees beautifully.

However, the river doesn’t always look like this. Earlier this week it was a raging brown torrent after heavy rain. Apparently, it’s the fastest rising and falling river in England which is why when we get a flood warning I take note. The water won’t rise as far as my house but if the river breaks its banks I can’t get into Ilkley without a boat!

Anyway, less geography and more books. I hope your autumn has started well. Mine has been busy so far (more below) but let’s start with . . .

Book News

I have some very exciting book news but unless I get an email before this goes out giving me permission to spill the beans then I can’t. Sorry! (How annoying of me is that?!)

I’m also waiting for the cover for my next release, Model Conduct but I don’t have that to share yet either so the Book News section of this Newsletter is looking pretty paltry.

What am I writing?

This month I’ve been writing Seven Days, the Imogen book for 2027. I’ve written almost a quarter so far and I am starting to get into my stride with it. I have six main characters and they all need to be crafted with their own personalities, desires, secrets and stories. One of the things I love about writing without a plan is how the characters come to life on the page. By the time I get halfway through the first draft I will know them well enough to know how they’ll respond in any situation I put them in, but at this stage they can still surprise me and regularly do.

Now, do you harbour writing ambitions of you own? If so then why not join me in November and take part in NovelNovember. This is the descendent of Nanowrimo which some of you may have heard of and is new for 2025.

The idea is that you join a community of writers, both new and experienced, to write 50,000 words in November. Whilst that isn’t quite enough for a whole novel it will get you almost to the finish line and is sometimes the kick you need to get started. You may even catch the writing bug.

Signing up is free. Through October, you will be sent tips on plotting your book and have the chance to meet lots of other writers. Then, in November, we write. You can join in writing sprints, attend Q&A sessions and webinars on writing craft with lots of wonderful guests authors. I’m not sure how connections will work as yet but I’ll be there as imogenclark so look out for me.

Where have I been?

This month I spend a wonderful week in the Trossachs in Scotland, walking and writing. I’ve never been to that part of Scotland before and was delighted by how easy it is to get to somewhere that feels so very remote.

As well as the walking and writing, I also went to a whisky tasting. I was the only one there who hadn’t had whisky before and I’m not sure I’m a convert but at least by the end I could taste the subtleties of each region’s produce and understood a lot more about the whisky making process which is always interesting.

I also spent a couple of days in London. The primary purpose was a celebration with my editor and her boss of my new three book publishing contract. Whilst I was there I also went to see The Great Gatsby at the theatre and also went to a couple of wonderful exhibitions. You can see some of my photos HERE.

Finally, I was in North Norfolk walking with a friend. We had mixed weather but got lots of miles under our belts. The contrast between the countryside in Scotland and Norfolk couldn’t have been more marked but they are both so beautiful in their own separate ways.

As you might remember, all this walking is a training of sorts for next month’s big adventure, the scaling of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. More of that next month but I am raising funds for Yorkshire Cancer Research so if you’d like to help then the link is HERE. Asking for sponsorship always feels a bit icky but it’s a really wonderful cause and every little helps.

What have I read?

First this month is The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer. Greer is a smart but shy college student whose life changes course when she meets forthright feminist Faith Frank. Encouraged by her childhood sweetheart Cory and best friend Zee, Greer creates a life working for a small but earnest magazine and then for Faith’s charity. However, can her ideals stand up to the rigours of real life? Interesting and touching.

Zelda’s Cut by Philippa Gregory is one of the most unusual books I’ve read in some time. It most definitely isn’t the usual historical fiction that you might expect from this author. Isobel is a serious writer, writing serious books that are well reviewed but make no money. However, with an ill husband to support, she needs cash and so, together with her literary agent, she embarks on creating a whole new personality, Zelda, who then writes what turn out to be bestselling blockbusters. However, the plot gets darker and the complications of being two people at once get more profound as the story goes along. The book stayed with me after I closed the cover.

Paper heart by Cecilia Ahern I enjoyed very much. Pip lives with her parents and the daughter she had as a teenager but her status in the household ranks somewhere below the hamster. She lives her quiet existence, not challenging anything and secretly creating poems and tiny origami girls in her room. Then an astronomer from the local observatory teaches her to look up and Pip’s life changes entirely. This book is classic Cecilia Ahern and is just lovely.

And it’s the season for the big hitters so I can’t finish without mentioning The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith, not least because it too me much of the month to finish it. The eighth in the Cormoran Strike series (and please don’t start with this one if you haven’t read the others – you have to begin at the beginning), the plot is as complicated, twisted and ultimately satisfying as the ones that come before. I have to say the ‘will they/won’t they’ storyline which consumes the two main characters is wearing very thin for me but I can forgive the author that because the rest of the books are so compelling.

And that’s it for September. Thank you, as ever, for reading to the end and for supporting me with all that I do. I am more grateful than you could ever realise. And do keep an eye open for my big news!

Until next month, happy reading.