Welcome to In the Margins for April 2026
Hi there
Many of the writers I follow seem to open their newsletters with ‘Hello from [insert hometown].’ Why is that? Well, I’m still here in Ilkley so hello from there!
This is a great year for bluebells according to the BBC. It’s something to do with the weather being wet and dry and sunny at the right times. All I can tell you is that they are looking and smelling gorgeous here at the moment. I’m liking this spring sunshine very much. In fact, in a moment of madness this afternoon I’m going to swap my clothes over from winter to summer . . . so expect snow imminently!
Book News
We are in that strange hiatus when there’s not much happening other than waiting for the next book to come out. Late in the Day will be published on 8th July so the next month or so will be spent trying to give it as good a start as I can. Anyone who signed up to be part of my early readers team should have received their ebook copy now so please check your Spam folder if yours hasn’t arrived.
I’m sure you’ll have heard writers going on about the importance of pre-orders before but that’s because it’s really important! So if you think you might want to read Late in the Day please can I urge you to pre-order either on Amazon if you read in ebook or audiobook or from any other book shop if you prefer to support your local independent bookshop.
And speaking of which, if you happen to be Ilkley on Thursday 16th July then you can pop along to my local independent bookshop, The Grove Bookshop, who will be hosting an evening with me to launch the book. They always put on a lovely event so please come along if you can.
Another date for your diary. If you’re anywhere near Norwich, I’ll be asking bestselling crime writer JM Dalgleish searching questions about the latest in his Hidden Norfolk Series. That’ll be in Norwich Waterstones on 28th October and is part of the Norwich Book Festival. You can find details of all my events on my website HERE.
Finally in News, we’ve also been trying to agree a title for the February 2027 book which has been called ‘Seven Days’ until now. After I asked all my followers on Facebook and Instagram which they preferred, we got a very clear winner. I’m still waiting to hear if that’s the one my publisher goes with. Watch this space!
What am I writing?
I’ve started writing the second book for 2027 (the way the timing works means that I should have two books out that year – February and October.) The working title is We Were Three and I am loving it so far. It’s about three women, lifelong friends until something unexpected happens and changes everything, and it opens in 1985 and follows the women through to the present day.
I love writing about the 1980s, partly because it was when I stepped from being a child to an adult and so is still very vivid for me but also because it’s so often misrepresented in the media. Despite what they’d have us believe, we didn’t all wear net ra-ra skirts and legwarmers!
As ever, I’m loving finding my way into the story through my characters. I hope you’re going to love them too.
Where have I been?
Almost everywhere I’ve been this month was wet – or at least when I was there. It was like a little cloud was following me around. Over Easter, I was in Wells-Next-the-Sea with my family. We tried out the new-ish beach sauna which was fun although I couldn’t be tempted into the sea afterwards. To be fair, it was low tide and there wasn’t much sea to be had but even so, I am, as we like to say up North, nesh!
It also rained in Wales when I was there with crime writer Sophie Hannah on her Dream Author Writing Retreat. Being able to go on any retreat is a huge privilege and I always come away buzzing with ideas. This time, I had a thought for the 2028 book which I’m now tossing around in the back of my mind. It’ll be a while before that idea needs to be front and centre though so I’ll just let it steep for a bit.
After that I was in Zagreb where, you guessed it, it rained. We were there to see my son in the Croatian National Ballet’s production of Sleeping Beauty which I very much enjoyed. It was our 11th trip so the city is starting to feel very familiar – although I still can’t speak any Croatian to my very great shame.
Back at home the sun has been making cameo appearances so I cleaned all my garden furniture in readiness for the summer and I had my first reading session in the garden yesterday. It’s not exactly balmy yet but it’s very pleasant in a sunny corner.
What have I read?
First this month is a classic which was recommended to me by a friend and which I very much enjoyed. Travels with my Aunt by Graham Greene. Henry, an unfulfilled and retired bank manager is reunited with his Aunt August at a funeral and she draws him into her surprisingly dodgy world. They travel from Istanbul through Paris to Paraguay, his aunt pulling the wool over the authorities at every turn. It’s a funny book that has a lot to say about the pomposity of the British and the ingenuity of women the world over.
It’s Not What you Think by Clare Mackintosh is the first in what I suspect will become a new series. Nadeeka is sure her new boyfriend is cheating on her just as her ex husband did before him but when she comes home to find her boyfriend fatally stabbed it sets off a trail of mystery. Who killed Jamie and why and why is it not what you think? (Did you see what I did there?!)
Dandelion is Dead by Rosie Storey is a love story. Poppy’s sister Dandelion dies young and in her grief Poppy ends up on a date with a man who linked with her sister on a dating app after her death. There is just enough confusion about this and then follows a touching story of trust and betrayal.
In The Ending Writes Itself, an extremely successful novelist inconveniently dies before writing the final chapter of the final book in his biggest series. The publishers decide to get a bunch of mid-list authors on the author’s remote Scottish island to see who can do the best job. Unsurprisingly, most of the authors come to a sticky end. It’s a fun mystery in its own right but it also pokes fun at the publishing world in general and crime writers in particular. Very silly.
And that’s your lot for this month. As ever, please track me down on Instagram and Facebook if you like that kind of thing and please pre-order Late in the Day if the mood takes you. I’ll be eternally grateful!
Until May, keep reading.
Imogen.
