October Newsletter
Hi there
There I am – on top of the world! Well, on top of the world’s highest freestanding mountain to be more accurate, but more of that later.
How are you? I hope your Autumn is going well and that you’re enjoying all the wonderful colours. It’s all pretty spectacular here in Yorkshire.
Book News!
It’s been a quiet month for news. I didn’t win the Kindle Storyteller Award for which I was one of five shortlisted authors, and I was away for the ceremony too, so I sent my lovely daughters in my stead and they had a wonderful evening chatting to my author friends on my behalf. I was super-proud of them.
The next Izzy Bromley book, The Glamp Site is now being edited and the cover designed. Early comments about the book are positive so that’s encouraging. I’m not sure when it will be out yet but as soon as I have a date I will let you know.
I am also waiting for the cover design for Model Conduct, the next Imogen Clark book. We have a publication date for this one – 12th May 2026 – and it’s available to pre-order HERE.
Here is the book description to give you a taster of what it’s about.
When Harriet Carmichael leaves her husband, she is determined to begin again: new home, new life, a chance to live on her own terms.
A life drawing class seems harmless enough, until she finds herself drawn to Mac, the charming but elusive model.
Her adult children disapprove of her every move, and when Mac—significantly younger and apparently homeless—moves in with her, their suspicions reach fever pitch. Yet there is an undeniable spark between Harriet and Mac, one that makes Harriet question what she truly wants from this new chapter.
While her family is convinced she’s being manipulated by a conman, Harriet longs to believe in his genuine affection. But she has secrets of her own, shaped by experiences she has never dared to share.
As buried memories rise to the surface—along with a friend she thought lost forever—Harriet must weigh her heart against her judgement. Is she finally ready to reveal who she really is, or is she making the biggest mistake of her life?
This is the book set in Cirencester which I was busy researching this time last year. It’s amazing how quickly time flies.
What I’m writing.
I’m about a third of the way through writing Seven Days, a family drama set in the south of France. At the moment all the characters have something they aren’t telling the others and so I’m really enjoying the intrigue of it all. Now that I’m back from my big adventure I plan to crack back on with this and hope to have most of it written by the time we get to Christmas although it isn’t actually due to be delivered to my publisher until 1st February so I have a little bit of wriggle room.
After that, I have an idea for another Izzy book but it’s very vague at the moment. When I get some time, I’ll think about it a bit more but it’s always good to have something simmering away on the back boiler whilst I focus on more immediate projects.
Where have I been?
This month I have been to Africa – to Tanzania specifically to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and what an adventure that turned out to be. I don’t think I had the first clue how hard it was going to be when I first talked my friends Alex and Sarah into coming with me but I think that has to be a good thing because otherwise we would never have done it.
Most of the walking was challenging but beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed the ever-changing landscape. It was very cold a lot of the time. It was -10 (14º Fahrenheit) one morning when we got up, with ice on the inside of our tents and I spent a lot of time taking refuge with my kindle in my sleeping bag where it was warm, but it was only really the last day that nearly did for me.
We set out for the eight hour trek to the summit at midnight and so climbed for the first six hours in the dark. Then we slogged our way to the top with available oxygen at less than 50% of that at sea level. It took all the energy you could muster literally to put one foot in front of the other. I have never had to work so hard.
But we made it and we are very proud of our achievement. I have been raising money for cancer research after my brother-in-law, Neil, died last Christmas so if you feel you can donate the link is HERE.
Here’s a snapshot of the trip.
What have I read?
Well, not much to be honest. A lack of time and some huge novels have meant that my reading has been very slow this month but here are a couple of suggestions.
The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman is the fifth book in the Thursday Murder Club series and I very much enjoyed it. The characters feel like old friends and this one has Osman’s trademark humour and lightness of touch in spades. It’s a great mystery too.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir really isn’t my usual genre. A manned spaceship is sent into the darkest universe to find a solution to a problem that will destroy earth but only one man survives the trip and when he gets to his destination he finds an alien life form also trying to solve the same issue. The relationship that grows between the two is as touching as any story you’ll read and the science part was fascinating.
Circle of Days by Ken Follett is about how Stonehenge might have been built. Obviously we can’t know the truth but the book envisages a group of characters who have the vision and the determination to make it happen. I found the story compelling and wonder how close Follett really was to the way ancient man lived. It all seemed highly plausible to me.
Finally some non-fiction. You Didn’t Hear this From Me by Kelsey McKinney is about the art of gossip, why and how we do it and what it tells us about who we are. From Picasso to the playground, from Hollywood to The Traitors, I found this an interesting insight into one of the things that makes humans human.
And that’s it for this month. In November I will be working on my website so hopefully we’ll be ready for the big reveal in the next newsletter and hopefully I’ll have a new cover or two to share as well.
Until then, keep reading.
