Happy New Year
Me and my favourite bear in Edinburgh
Sorry. I was trying to think of something original to say as a heading and failed. Also, this is newsletter is number 13 which is not a great omen for the next year, so let’s just crack on, which probably should be the headline…
A quick update on my writing. I expect to put Halloween Lanterns out to potential agents next week. I also don’t expect to hear anything back from most of them. When I first started submitting work a few years ago you always heard back but now it’s often tumbleweed as I suspect they are even more inundated and get some push back about how great someone believes their novel really is. (Not me)
I’ve already got some ideas for another book, HL2, with the same three women in the first Halloween Lanterns. To help get a first draft underway I’ve enrolled on a coaching programme with my friend Cat who runs The Write Catalyst. I aim to have it done by April. Updates to follow and no doubt loads of apologies about why it hasn’t happened!
Sometimes I think I’m totally daft as I do random things which are tricky, then a friend said ‘Well, you just like a challenge’. So, with that in mind, I’ve enrolled on a stand-up writing course with an award-winning female comic Nicola Mantalios, who I saw do one of her first- ever gigs 15 years ago. I’m doing some talks about The Stand-Up Mam over the next few months and thought it would help. It will also be useful for my general writing I’m sure.
THERE IS NO WAY I’M DOING ACTUAL STAND-UP COMEDY AGAIN in case any friends reading this are wondering and ready to sign forms getting me locked up for my own safety.
If I manage to get HL2 sorted I hope to pick back up on a political thriller which I stopped writing at 60k words as I’d lost faith in it but still feel the urge to write. It gave me the chance to rage about things that are happening in the country/world right now.
One of the things I love about having published The Stand-Up Mam is the opportunity it gives me to connect with people and have lovely conversations. I was at a Christmas fair at Faustos, my favourite coffee shop, right near the beach in Sunderland and met some brilliant people. It also gave me a chance to plug the book’s main aim – to encourage women, in particular, to take time for themselves and not shelve their dreams.
Going Out and Staying In
I had a great trip down memory lane when I saw the musician and producer Trevor Horn at Newcastle City Hall. He was born in Hetton le Hole, a North East former pit village and has gone on to create hits for Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Seal, Grace Jones, 10CC and countless others.
On TV I’ve not watched The Traitors or the end of Stranger Things yet but excited about both of them.
I did subscribe to Netflix to get Stranger Things and ended up watching an Edinburgh-based version of a Scandi thriller, called Department Q. It was nearly too much threat for me but really good. I jump all the time at scary things on TV but a moment on this made me scream out loud.
A selection of my Sara Paretsky loved books…
Being bunkered in at Christmas is good for my reading habits. I enjoyed two books by my favourite author, the American writer, Sara Paretsky. The first one was her most recent novel, Pay Dirt and I’ve just finished the second last one, Overboard. They’re all about a female Chicago PI VI Warshawski and there are over 20 in the series. I’ve read every one and started following her stories 30 years ago.
As I read Overboard I was so gripped I thought I just want to read all night, to find out what happens here. It was such a lesson in storytelling. Imagine the skill to make someone so invested they literally can’t put it down.
That’s the bar. Now I’m off to type something – travel in hope comes to mind!
I hope you all have a great 2026 and dreams come true. In the meantime, we do all really need to crack on.