Welcome to In the Margins for January 2026

Happy New Year to you!

I hope 2026 has kicked off well for you and is heading in the right direction. I seem to chasing my tail a bit but then I’d be bored if my tail stayed still so I’m not complaining. I took this beautifully tranquil image in Wells-next-the-Sea when I was there this week. And breathe . . .

I have news of something new and exciting that you might want to get involved with this month but first let’s have my

Book News!

I hope you noticed that Izzy Bromley’s fourth book, The Glamp Site, came out last weekend. Readers seem to be enjoying it – it’s review average is 4.4 out of 5. ‘Michael’, a reader on Amazon, said.

“I read this new book in a few hours. I thoroughly enjoyed the learning and growing of the characters. I very much enjoyed the story.”

which I really like because, despite the book having a pink cover and people constantly trying to tell me that I write ‘Women’s Fiction’, anyone can enjoy my books. It’s out now in paperback and ebook from Amazon. It’s also coming in audiobook but rgw audiobook people are a law until themselves and so we have to wait for that. However, if audiobook is your thing, as it is mine, then it’ll be well worth the wait as Imogen Church narrates and brings the characters to life in her own inimitable style.

Turning now to Imogen books, I had a meeting with the publishers this week about the cover for Late in the Day which is proving to be particularly troublesome! You can preorder but the cover remains a tightly-guarded secret!

I have now delivered the book for 2027, working title Seven Days so we will begin editing that very soon.

What I’m writing.

Hot on the heels of The Glamp Site, I am currently writing another Izzy book, The House Sitter. I’m about halfway through the first draft and as with all the Izzy books I’m having a great time. I can’t tell you too much so far but it’s about Lucy, Gerald and a motley crew of pets.

I’m hoping to finish writing that in March and then it will go off to the editors whilst I get on with editing Seven Days. And after that it’s onto the next Imogen Clark. I’m still doing a lot of pondering about that but the current working title is We Were Three and it’s very loosely based on something that happened to me about a quarter of a century ago.

The Margins Club

Here is something new for In the Margins (the newish name for this newsletter). Those of you who have been here a while will remember that I used to ask for early readers of my books. I stopped asking when so many of the early reviews were rejected by Amazon. It seemed like a big ask to get you to read and then not have the review appear.

However, I gather this is something that no longer is an issue and so . . .

I am looking to build a small group of dedicated fans of my books who would be able to read an early copy of each book and, if they felt they could, post a review on Amazon and Goodreads on publication day. There may also be other tasks, such as responding to cover ideas and title suggestions.

If you would be interested in being part of this team then please reply to this email. I am thinking of doing this via a Facebook group so if you don’t use Facebook please say so in your email.

Where have I been?

Well, 2026 has got off to a great start. I have already been to Zagreb to watch my son dance in The Nutcracker. They had a huge dump of snow the day we left so I was sad that we missed that but at least our travel wasn’t disrupted.

Then last week I was in Wells-Next-the-Sea writing and plotting (although not too much plotting as you know I’m not very good at that!) It rained all week so I didn’t get out walking as much as I’d have liked but here are a few snaps of each trip.

What have I read?

First, Notes on your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach. I very much enjoyed and recommended here her first book, The Wedding People and so expected something similar for her second but it is very different – much darker and without the humour. I enjoyed this one too but give due warning not to expect more of the same. This is the story of Sally, growing up very much in the shadow of her elder sister Kathy. When tragedy hits, Sally finds herself thrown together with Kathy’s super-cool boyfriend in ways that her family finds hard to understand. An interesting and sad coming of age story.

Wreck by Catherine Newman is the sequel to Sandwich which I recommended last year. Rocky is still juggling the demands of her young adult children and her elderly father but she also becomes obsessed with a horrible accident which befalls her son’s classmate and has a perplexing medical issue that no one seems able to solve. Newman is able to capture the trials and tribulations of the mid-life woman in ways that made me laugh out loud whilst also being so very poignant.

Magpie by Elizabeth Day is a twisty turny tale about relationships. Marisa and Jake are happy and expecting their first baby and then Kate moves in and life changes. Marisa knows that something isn’t right but she can’t quite work out what. But then we hear the story from Kate’s point of view and everything changes. And there’s the most toxic mother-in-law you’re ever likely to meet. Delicious.

Finally, The Family Holiday by Elizabeth Noble. Charlie rents a big house in the Cotswolds so that his family can join him to celebrate his 80th birthday. His children and their spouses, children and step-children all arrive bringing food and secrets with them and we get to watch them unravel as the holiday goes on. It’s a lovely gentle read.

And that’s it for this month. Next month I’ll be travelling across the last weekend so the newsletter will be late. I hope you don’t mind.

Don’t forget that you can follow me on Instagram HERE and Facebook HERE and if you’re interested in joining THE MARGINS CLUB then reply to subscribe here.

Have a fabulous February,

Imogen.