October’s Newsletter
Well, would you look at that. Back in 2017, I travelled to the Arctic Circle to see the Northern Lights. Nada. Zilch. I had a great time but the lights did not appear for me. And yet here they are in all their glory, visible to the naked eye and captured on my phone not five minutes walk from my own front door. Amazing!
Welcome to this month’s newsletter. I hope this finds you well and enjoying all the beautiful autumn colours (or spring ones depending where you live.) Did you see the Lights where you are? I’d love to know.
I’ve had a quiet month. Sadly, my mum has passed away since I last wrote to you. It was after a short illness and she just slipped away at home with her nearest and dearest nearby. It’s been a strange few weeks. She died the day after A Borrowed Path, my book about mother/daughter relationships was published and it’s been odd for me promoting it in the light of that. Most of my books feature strong mothers in some guise or other. As you probably know, I don’t put real people in my books so none of those characters are my mum but I will certainly think about her if I write another strong maternal figure.
What am I writing?
Well, as of yesterday I started on the book for 2026 which currently has the working title, Trust Me. I’m really excited about my ideas for this book and I have quite clear (for me) thoughts about where I’m going with it. But time will tell. My books rarely end up quite where I expect.
I want to have it finished by the end of February so I’ll be writing pretty much every day until then.
At the same time, I’ve been editing the book for 2025. It now has a definite title, In Another Life, and my editor and I are working on cover ideas right now. I’ve finished the main edit (which is why I can start writing Trust Me) but there are still several more editorial stages before it’s ready to go. It’ll be out in June next year and I’ll let you know when it’s available to pre-order in case you’d like to.
Where have I been?
I was back in Cirencester this month as the main setting for Trust Me. I was looking for houses where my characters can live as well as local sites and places that I can weave into the story to make the locations come alive. It’s not difficult. It really is a beautiful town. Here are a few glimpses of things that caught my eye so it’ll be interesting to see what makes it into the story.
Also this month I had the launch do for A Borrowed Path which was fun and I also went to a life drawing class as research for the new book. Despite the six week drawing course I’ve just completed, I’m still not showing any inherent talent with a pencil but I’ll keep practising!
What have I read?
There are so many new books out at this time of year. It’s very exciting but now I’m almost at the end of the list of books I was eagerly anticipating and so feeling a bit bereft. Anyway, here are four that I particularly enjoyed in October.
In Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty a woman on a plane suddenly starts throwing out predictions of how and when her fellow passengers will die. There is no stopping her and people receive the information whether they want to or not. And then the predictions start coming true. As with all her books, Moriarty’s writing is witty and her characters leap off the page but also there are clear philosophical questions that kept me thinking all the way through. The family stories of the passengers are all woven together cleverly and the mystery is well wrapped up at the end. Fun!
Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst is the story of Dave Win, who wins a scholarship and is catapulted into a strange new world far away from his single mother. (He never meets his Burmese father.) At school, he meets Giles, who goes onto to be the Brexit Minister with aspirations to be PM. Dave becomes a famous actor and the two boys and then men couldn’t be more different but somehow their lives seem to track one another’s. Told mainly from Dave’s point of view, it is a dark yet witty account of life in England over the last fifty or so years. The prose is beautifully and moves gently through the decades but it was the characters that kept me turning the page.
The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins is a tense thriller set in the world of art. Reclusive artist Vanessa dies young and mysteriously leaves her creative estate to a man she hated. When one of the pieces goes on display in the Tate, a passing scientist writes in to say that part of one of her sculptures is a human bone. This sends curator, James Becker scuttling off to investigate Vanessa’s studio for clues. But the studio is on a remote Scottish island with only one house and which is only accessible twice a day because of the tides. It’s super-creepy and is a tale fuelled by numerous obsessions. A slow burner but I really enjoyed it.
Finally, Wife By Charlotte Mendelson. This is a book about coercive control, gaslighting and toxic relationships, but unusually the behaviour is coming from a woman. Zoe Stamper, a junior university researcher is seduced by an older woman, Dr Penelope Cartwright. Zoe, young and naive, is drawn to Penny and falls under her spell but as Zoe matures and the marriage starts to turn sour she has her eyes opened. The question is, can she get anyone else to believe what has been going on now that the stakes are as high as they come. It’s not an easy read. Penny is vile and my growing frustration with her had me tutting and then shouting at the book but it is compelling. How can anyone be so very awful and yet pass unnoticed? It’s great writing.
And that’s it for this month. As ever, if you have any questions please comment below. If you want to see more of my photos then head to my Instagram page and there’s also Facebook and the Book Café. I’d love to chat with you about your favourite books over a virtual coffee.
Next month I’m going to Vegas, baby, so watch this space!
Until then, happy reading.
