November’s Newsletter

Hi there and welcome to November’s newsletter.

I went to a wonderful Bonfire Night celebration this year. The fire was huge as you can see and the fireworks were spectacular. Here in the UK, we celebrate the foiling of a plot by Guy Fawkes to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill the king on 5th November each year. The plot was hatched in 1604 and here we still are, burning effigies of Guy Fawkes over four hundred years later. Weird.

Anyway, I hope you’re well and that you are sailing into the festive season feeling calm, or excited or with whichever emotion you prefer. I’m building up to the Big Day slowly but right now things feel kind of under control. I’ve order my tree and made my cake. I’ve even bought the odd present. Remember books make great gifts (especially mine 😉. )Read on for bargain alerts and some top wrapping tips.

What am I writing?

This month I’ve been deep in the weeds with the 2026 novel It’s set both in the present day and 1974 and I’ve been mainly working in 1974 recently which takes a little bit of research. I remember the 70s quite well but as I was only eight in 1974 I need to check my details. I also have to make sure I don’t include anything that hadn’t happened yet – songs that hadn’t been released for example, or films that hadn’t yet been made. I included a reference to Blue Jeans magazine but it turns out that Blue Jeans didn’t come out until 1977 so I had to fall back on good old Jackie instead.

As well as that, I have finished the copy edit process for In Another Life which will be out on 10th June 2025. The next stage will be the cover design and proof reading so watch this space for sneak peeks.

Where have I been?

I’ve been away twice this month – once to Las Vegas, USA for a Writers’ Conference and once to Zagreb, Croatia to watch my son dancing in The Nutcracker. That happens pretty much every year and it’s a nice way to kick start Christmas.

Las Vegas was eye-opening! I’ve been before but I’d forgotten what it’s like. I find it fascinating and shocking in almost equal measure.

If you’ve never been to Vegas then it’s quite hard to describe. It reminds me a bit of Disneyland because nothing, not even the air you breathe, is real. It’s all about dreams though, much like Disney – kind of!

Las Vegas

This time, I abandoned trying to change my body clock and ended up keeping very odd hours but as I was on my own it really didn’t matter. The conference was excellent – which is good as it would have been a long way to go for a duff one! I learned a lot and came back with a long To Do list for 2025. I’m already thinking what I can do in the new year. It’s too soon to share any details but if I can make it work you’ll be the first to hear.

Then Zagreb was also fun. Sadly they turned the Christmas lights on the day after I left so I missed all the sparkle but the ballet was fab and I was very proud of my boy. He had made this ash tray for when his friends visit. (Yes, sadly it’s still true that some dancers smoke.) I thought it was ingenious

What have I read?

There’s been some rereading and lots of non-fiction in my reading this month but here are some new books that I’ve read and enjoyed.

In The Examiner by Janice Hallett a group of mature students embark on a year long masters’ course but by the end of it the external examiner is convinced that one of the group has been murdered by the others. Is he right? It’s a story filled with twists and turns which is told through emails and group messages so it looks a bit like a play on the page. It took me a while to get used to the format but it’s very compelling.

What a Way to Go by Bella Mackie is also about a mysterious death. Anthony Wistern is more wealthy than you can imagine. Unfortunately for him he is also dead, having failed to make it out of his lavish 60th birthday party alive. Furthermore, he can’t leave purgatory until he can explain how he died and he hasn’t a clue. By watching his family from above he has to piece together all the clues and work it out and in doing so learns all kinds of things he might have rather not known. Lighthearted and funny.

The Lost past of Billy McQueen by Neil Alexander is a coming of age story set in Northern Ireland in the 1980s. Billy’s closest friend Connor with whom he was secretly in love, disappears without trace when they are schoolboys. It’s only when Billy returns to his hometown thirty years later and finds a tape that Connor made for him on the day he disappeared that he starts to piece the mystery together. It’s a touching and nostalgic tale with lots of nods to the 80s.

The Third Wife by Lisa Jewell isn’t a new book but it was new to me. Adrian Wolfe has married three times and thinks he has created the perfect blended family. His children all get along, his wives babysit for one another and they even go on holiday together. But then the third wife, Maya dies in mysterious circumstances and Adrian discovers that she was the victim of hate mail so bad that it appears to have caused her to take her own life. As he tries to work out why Maya died, Adrian lifts stones he has never dared look beneath before and we learn that his family is not at all as he thought.

And that’s everything for this month. Don’t forget that books make GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFTS! Two of my paperbacks are on deals at the moment – Reluctantly Home and In a Single Moment – so not only are they a thoughtful present which wraps beautifully (check this wrapping video out! How cool is that?!) but they’re great value too!

Have a fabulous December. I’ll be trying to cajole my builders into putting my lovely little cottage in Wells-next-the-Sea back together. I started a small renovation last month. It’s no longer that small! I’m also going to London for my publisher’s Winter Party which will be a rare opportunity to get together with all my fellow authors. I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll also be talking strategies and books with my editor Victoria which is always fun.

Don’t forget to check me out on Instagram for more photos and pop into the very popular Book Café on Facebook which should be your ‘go to’ place for book recommendations. I know it’s mine.

And so, until next time, happy reading.