Welcome to In the Margins for March 2026
Is it just me or has March raced by at a most ungainly speed? And why was March so speedy when January literally crawled along, and yet they both have thirty-one days? Time. It’s a mystery to me!
Anyway, here we are at the last weekend in March regardless. Ilkley is looking lovely with all the blossom out on its main boulevard (although don’t let the blue sky fool you – we had snow flurries here yesterday!) And this picture features my local independent bookshop which is interesting because . . . (and it’s almost as if I think about this)
Book News!
. . . I will be having a launch evening for my new novel Late in the Day at The Grove Bookshop in Ilkley on Thursday 16th July.
I really enjoy these evenings. Mike, the shop manager asks me searching questions about the book which I do my best to answer, a read a bit of it and then answer questions from the audience too. Then we raise a glass, I sign some books and we set my book off on its journey.
If you would like to come then tickets will be available online a bit nearer the time but please stick the date in your diary.
I will also be speaking at Filey Literature Festival on Sunday 10th May and at Telling Tales in Chorley on Wednesday 17th June. Tickets for both are available online.
What am I writing?
This month I’ve been editing the Imogen book for 2027, currently titled Seven Days. It’s set in the South of France and so it’s been odd reading about heat and swimming pools and cicadas while the temperatures are close to freezing outside. True escapism.
I went to France to research the book last summer and over the coming months I’ll share some of my photos of places that went on to become locations in the story. Here’s one, just to give you a taste.
At the same time, I’ve been thinking about my characters for the next book which I will be starting to write shortly. This one will open in 1985 and the characters will be a similar age to me. I had so much fun writing Impossible to Forget along a similar time line so I’m very much looking forward to writing this one too.
The next Izzy book. The House Sitter will go to my editor next month. I don’t have a publication date for that one yet but when I do you’ll be the first to hear.
Finally in this section, thank you to the members of The Margins Clubs and my Book Café who took the time to answer my Covers Questionnaire. The responses have been invaluable and I will be sharing them with my publisher as we work on my future covers.
Where have I been?
After my epic trip last month, I’ve been a little closer to home in March. I spent some time in Wells-Next-the-Sea editing and was treated to a couple of spectacular sunrises. However, they’re getting a bit early even for me so I suspect I won’t see many more for a while!
I went to the theatre a couple of times. I saw magician, psychological illusionist and all round genius Derren Brown in his new show Only Human which left me slack-jawed as I tried to explain what I’d seen. Amazing. Even if you can work out what he did, the ‘how’ of it remains a mystery.
I also saw Cynthia Erivo in a one woman production of Dracula. That was very clever as well but not quite as scary or menacing as Dracula should be – which actually suited me as I’m such a wuss.
Coming up in April I have a trip to Croatia to see my son dance in Sleeping Beauty and then a Writers’ Retreat in Wales with the wonderful crime writer, Sophie Hannah. More of both of those next month.
What have I read?
Lots to choose from this month as I had a bumper reading month but here are my four recommendations.
First is A Sociopath’s Guide to a Successful Marriage by MK Oliver. Lalla has stabbed an intruder who she found in her house. This inconveniently clashes with her young son’s birthday party but that’s okay. She’ll just keep the sitting room door closed, tell the children they can’t go in there and clear up later! This sets the tone for the whole book, an hilarious romp around middle class suburbia, with plenty of twists and turns and a protagonist in Lalla who you just can’t help but love.
Look What you made me Do by John Lanchester takes another pop at the middle classes but again is very cleverly done. Recently widowed Kate stumbles back to her book group only to hear them discussing a new hit TV show which seems to be based on her marriage. She is devastated, assuming that her newly dead husband must have been having an affair and shared all their intimate secrets. But the solution to the mystery is far more complicated that than. I loved the deliciously dark characters who you hate but have to admire.
In Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven we do indeed meet the Newmans, a real live all American family who have starred in a popular sitcom for two decades. However, this is the 1960s and the world is changing but the show is not. When the family’s patriarch and the scriptwriter Del, is indisposed his wife Dinah takes on the formidable task of trying to get the show to its end-of-series finale. They have no script, no sponsor and no support from the studio but Dinah is determined to show what she can do. This is such a heart-warming book with a great cast of characters and I particularly enjoyed that none of its messages are laid on with a trowel.
Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash is about the super-disfunctional Flynn family. Mother, father and three teenage daughters are wonderfully drawn but I particularly enjoyed the girls; one is dating a former soldier, one is being groomed into extremism and one is a genius who doesn’t really think like those around her. They all get caught up in a sinister criminal conspiracy and uncover the truth with great humour. The book opens with a reference to there being too many gnats and then any word containing ‘nat’ is spelled with a ‘g’ throughout. I reported the first one as a spelling error in the ebook . . . and then I realised!
And that’s your lot for this month. If you can’t wait until next month then why not follow me on social media. You’ll find me on both Insta and Facebook as Imogen Clark Author.
I hope you have a lovely Easter and I’ll be here again at the end of April. Until then, happy reading.
Best wishes,
Imogen.
