Welcome to In the Margins for May 2026
We’re having a heatwave in the UK! Or at least, we are as I write but maybe by the time you receive this it will all be over – such are the vagaries of the British weather. A moment ago there was a clap of thunder above my head so loud that literally shook the house – all very exciting!
This picture is of the newly painted beach huts in Wells-next-the -Sea where I’ve been this month but more of my travels later. My hut is also sporting fresh paint but it’s not quite as cheerful as this lot.
GIVEAWAY COMING UP!
Just a quick heads up that I’ll be giving away a signed copy (or maybe more) of my forthcoming book, Late in the Day, in this newsletter so keep reading if you’d like to win one!
Book news!
This month began with the edit of the next Izzy Bromley book, The House-Sitter, which will be out in the autumn and the edit brought with it an odd decision. To hyphen or not to hyphen – that was the question. I had hyphenated the word house-sitter throughout the book but hadn’t added a hyphen to the title because it looked a bit odd to me.
My editor told me, quite rightly, that I could spell the word either one way or the other. But not both, sadly.
So we decided on using the hyphen, which is probably more grammatically correct – but then I had to include a hyphen in the title. Despite my best efforts, I can’t always have everything my own way it seems.
Next, the manuscript will go to the inimitiable Imogen Church for her to create the audiobook and to Emma who does the cover designs. And as soon as it’s available to pre-order I’ll let you know.
What I’m writing.
I’m now about halfway through my book about a trio of young women – We Were Three. The story is now moving into the early 2000s, a period which is a bit of a cultural void for me as I was chin-deep in children at that point and didn’t have much time to look around. Also, how is 2001 a quarter of a century ago?!
Anyway, I’m very much enjoying it and will be using my recent trip to Cambodia in the next section so that will be very interesting to write.
Where have I been?
As ever, all over. The month began with a trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. I’m not at all sure how I hadn’t been before but I very much enjoyed it. There’s such a wide range of art there from Henry Moore to Damian Hirst and much between. I know next to nothing about sculpture but I could marvel at the construction of the pieces even if their message was sometimes lost on me. ( I loved this little guy though! Just look at his energy!)
Then I had a week walking in Northumberland. The forecast was unpromising but actually the sun shone and the wind blew and the rain kept away. We had a wonderful day walking St Abb’s Head and a very chilly boat trip out to the Farne Islands to see the puffins – they’re so comical! Life has been really hectic recently and it’s not always easy to make time to get outside but it’s always worth the effort when you do.
I’m just back from a trip to Zagreb to see my son dance. We all went which was lovely. My other perfoming child has a contract singing and dancing on a cruise ship for nine months so it was the last time we’ll all be together until she gets back in 2027. The sun shone, the ballet was lovely and we had a fabulous time. Here we are in a rare family shot.
I also spoke at the Filey Literature Festival which I very much enjoyed. The audience was wonderful and we had lots of questions including one from my husband which made me smile – he could just have asked me over breakfast one day!
If you want to hear me speak then there are a couple of options currently. Check out my website for details.
What have I read?
First up this month, The Things we Never Say by Elizabeth Strout. This is a standalone novel but with all the amazing observation and poignancy of her Lucy Barton series. Artie Dam is a family man, an exceptional school teacher and lives a life that should be admired by all. But Artie wonders – about pretty much everything, including whether he should remain alive. Then he discovers a secret which he has to deal with. It’s a book about how well we know people and yet how little we actually understand about them.
Give me Everything you’ve Got by Imogen Crimp is one of those books about someone stepping into an unfamiliar way of life. Ruby is a wannabe director just looking for her first big break and is noticed by Ellen, an acclaimed feminist film maker and invited to spend some time at Ellen’s rambling house in the Cotswolds with her and her daughter Lara. Excited and a little in awe, Ruby goes but all is not as it seems. I found myself drawn to all three women and wanted to be a fly on the wall to observe their claustrophic tension at first hand.
Honey by Imani Thompson is another slightly dark coming of age story. Yrsa is a PhD student at Cambridge University struggling against unconscious bias both in her research and in her life as a junior lecturer. Then she encourages a bee to sting a professor who has mistreated her friend. He has a severe allergic reaction and dies and Yrsa gets a taste for killing men who have mistreated her, her friends, or womankind in general. Darkly humourous but also thought-provoking.
Finally, I very much enjoyed Murder at the Spirit Lounge by Jess Kidd. You may recall that I recommended the first in this series (and indeed anything by Jess Kidd) and whilst this is in series, it would standalone if you want to just read this one. An unconnected group of people are invitied to a seance at which the medium dies dramatically. Someone then begins to pick off all the other attendees and Nora and her policaman sidekick, Inspector Rideout, have to work out what is going on before he is murdered as he was also at the seance. It’s fun and a little bit silly but with a great mystery to solve.
Giveaway!
I promised you a Giveaway and here it is. I’m giving away a signed copy (or maybe more if I can’t chose a winner) of Late in the Day, my forthcoming book which will be out on 7th July.
In the story, Harriet makes a decision on her sixtieth birthday which upends her life and runs her straight into conflict with both her adult children and her friends. Harriet is certain that her judgement is sound and that she’s not making the biggest mistake of her life but her kids think she has lead a sheltered life, having been married to their father for almost forty years, and has no idea how the outside world works. However, there’s something that they don’t know about Harriet . . .
So, if you’d like to win a copy please email me on imogen@imogenclark.com and tell me what you have done late in the day. It doesn’t have to be as radical as Harriet, just something that you first tried later than everybody else. For example, I didn’t publish my first book until I was fifty!
I’m afraid due to postage costs I can only post books within the UK but if you live abroad and have someone here who could take delivery then that would work!
And if the book sounds intriguing then don’t forget you can pre-order it on Amazon or in any bookshop. I’m sure you’re tired of hearing authors say this, but it makes such a big difference to a book’s success to have plenty of pre-orders, and if the price changes on publication, I believe Amazon will recredit you the difference.
And that’s your lot for this month. Next month Summer proper begins and I have trips planned to London, Chorley and Norfolk so watch this space to see how they turn out. Don’t forget to let me know what you did Late in the Day (did you see what I did there?!) to win a signed paperback and visit me on Instagram and Facebook.
And until then, keep reading.
Imogen.
