Thanks so much, Emma, for having me on! The hero in my new book, New Beginnings at Christmas Tree Cottage, is a glass artist. A portable skill was a necessity so he could up and leave London and relocate in the sunny Dorset town of Lullbury Bay and begin his new life. First, I had to do the research! There are lots of videos on YouTube for research into making glass art and they are useful but nothing beats doing the thing for gathering research on smells, textures and the total experience of

So, last month I signed a new publishing contract with my amazing publisher, Joffe Books, who are now the largest independent publishers in the UK by title count! My new contract is for four romances, including my previously published book, Her Sister’s Baby. The book I wrote during my first NaNoWriMo last November, Centre Stage, has also been signed, as well as two Christmas romances! For more details, check out this video over on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/dgHDVa38NX4 I’m so thrilled to be able to continue working with such an incredible publishing team!

Today is publication day for my new contemporary romance Falling in Love at Nightingale Farm which is available in ebook and paperback formats from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3XBdcwp ‘Polly Pressman is a London girl through and through. So when she’s asked to help save an old family friend’s struggling farm, she’s way out of her depth. She arrives at Nightingale Farm trying to impress John and his gruff-but-hunky son Mark with her business know-how. But it’s clear from her sky-high stilettos that she is woefully unprepared. Polly knows how much the farm means to John,

Happy NaNoWriMo! I can't believe it's actually here! October seemed to fly by as I prepared as much as I could for starting my new manuscript! For anyone who doesn't know, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. It takes place in November every year. Writers can set their own challenges for the month, but traditionally they attempt to write 50,000 words of a new project in 30 days. It was definitely strange to sit down this morning and finally begin writing the book I've been plotting away at, and typing the first

I’ve never been someone who properly journals, I’ve tried but I’ve never stuck with it, partly because it felt a bit awkward, but mainly because of the amount of time it takes. What I have been able to maintain for the last couple of years though is a gratitude journal. This is because it only takes about 2 minutes to write before I go to bed. I just jot down 3 things that I’m grateful for that day, some people do more or less. Sometimes they’re big things, like having a

I get it, as much as you enjoy reading a particular author’s books, you can’t always afford to buy them all new and in hardback, and pick up a few more to gift to friends and family. And that’s fine! But there are ways you can support your favourite authors without it costing you a penny, and none of them will take up a lot of your time.   1: Borrow books from the library - every time you borrow a book from a library the author of that book gets a

A book blurb is the writing on the back of a book telling you what the book is about.   It can also be called a back cover blurb or a book description. It’s a short description of the book’s main character and conflict and is usually between 100 and 200 words long. It’s usually found on the back of a book or the inside cover.   The blurb is the second thing, the first being the front cover, that a reader will look at before deciding whether or not to buy your book.

Is there anything worse in this world than having to write a synopsis? Because I can’t think of anything and there’s a reason why this task is seen as the absolute bane of an author’s life.   If you’ve never heard of a synopsis, it’s a brief summary or general survey of something. As a writer talking about writing, the type of synopsis I’m referencing here is a synopsis of a book manuscript, which is basically an outline of what happens in your book.    Publishers and agents may ask you to send them

Thank you so much for inviting me onto your blog today, Emma. I am delighted to have a chance to tell you and your readers about Hunter’s Rules, the new novel in my series of The Edinburgh Crime Thrillers.     I have been writing and telling stories all my life. When I was a child, I was inspired to make up stories for my little sister after our mum put the light out and told us to go to sleep. Later, I wrote documents, contracts, and courses as part of my job,

My writing journey began when I was about eight year old. I began writing little stories and turning them into little books for which I would stitch covers.  I have pretty much been writing ever since.  At  post-primary school I would write my school pals' English essays in return for them doing my maths homework. I do words not numbers! I went on to have a number of short stories and poetry published in various magazines, but my dream was always to have a book published. That dream came true in 2017

I love words. I love the way I can have a day-dream or nightmare, or imagine an exciting story, then with carefully placed symbols I create the same feelings in you.      My love affair started young, I loved stories being read to me when I was little. So much so, that I hid that I could read for myself because I wanted the stories to continue. When I was seven, my primary school teacher read us a poem about dragonflies, and I was enthralled by how minimal words painted such a

Is there anything lovelier than visiting a really special bookshop?   It’s #LoveMyIndieBookshopWeek so I thought I’d take the opportunity to give a shoutout to my favourite independent bookshops.     I live in Wales, so how could I not start with a shop from the town of books itself, Hay-on-Wye? If you haven’t visited this sweet little town before and you get the opportunity to go, make sure you do. There aren’t as many bookshops in Hay as there used to be, but the original Booth Books is still going strong. Founded by the