welcome…
…to all my secrets on life as a published author
(I’m 7 traditionally published books in and I’ve learnt some stuff 😉)
I blog weekly about author websites, newsletters and life as a writer…
New posts published every Monday 😊
Want to learn more about me and my own publishing journey first?
(includes info on how I landed one of those mythical six-figure book deals!)
Read all about my own journey to publication →
Or scroll down to read all my other posts!
most popular posts
most recent posts
My three words for 2025
Allow me to share this Instagram post with you that freaked me out recently…
2024: my work year in review
Ahhh! It’s nearly the end of 2024 and this is my most favourite of all my blog posts to write so I may be a little bit overexcited.
Competition: The Oxford/42 New Writing Prize
A bit of a different post than usual from me today, but I know how important competitions like this can be for aspiring writers, and so I wanted to spread the word.
Some honest thoughts about writing fiction as a career
My dad wanted me to be a lawyer. Like many (most?) writers, I was academic. I did well at school, I was pretty quick at most subjects and I was very good at English and assimilating a lot of information and then, well… writing about it in an accurate and relatively concise way.
How I deal with professional jealousy as a writer
I just want to put something out there, in the full knowledge that it might make me seem like a spoilt brat. But being a writer is hard. Really. It is.
What to do when you hate your book's cover
I can’t remember who told me that most authors hate their covers. Perhaps hate is too strong (I have a tendency towards hyperbole - hey I’m a storyteller! 😆).
Some honest thoughts on author blurbs
Another post that might get me into hot water but here we go anyway. The somewhat controversial topic of author blurbs. What do we think of them?
5 mistakes I made after getting a book deal
Like many authors, when I first got my book deal, I was completely overwhelmed. It’s such a huge goal - to get a book published - and for many writers, it takes so long to achieve that we often don’t look much past it.
Some honest thoughts on book publication days
My seventh novel, After The Fire, was recently published in both the UK and the US, by a division of Bloomsbury (of Harry Potter fame). Even when I type that now, it amazes me that it’s true.
The most nerve-wracking thing I've EVER done? 😱
I think writing this post might be even more nervewracking than launching a book. Maybe. Maybe not. Even so, I am super nervous to share something very exciting today, that I’ve secretly been working on for months!
My top tips for attending writing festivals
Gosh. Not really sure how to start this piece but maybe thank you is a good place! So thank you so much everyone who read or shared my previous piece about Harrogate - I had 8,000 hits on it in one day, which was sort of awe-inspiring and terrifying but also left me feeling very warm inside at the knowledge that our community is more aligned than we might think.
Some honest thoughts about the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival
I’m back from Harrogate - my fifth trip to the annual Crime Writing Festival (not ‘Crime Festival’ as I have a habit of calling it and thus confusing/alarming my non-writing friends).
Behind the scenes: a mid-year studio update
I guess it’s a bit late for a spring update technically, as it’s already June (WHAT!) but I thought it would be nice (for me) and possibly interesting (for anyone reading) to do a little mid-year round-up of 2024 so far.
My most popular blog posts in 2023
I’m easing myself into the new year very gently (as you can probably tell from this post!). Although, that’s not strictly true as I seem to have a ton on my plate this January - including copyedits for my second Rixon book landing at the exact same time as even more edits on my new thriller, plus I have a big website project booked in this month too.
My three words for 2024
2023 was a real milestone year for me, and I think I learnt A LOT. I’ve covered all the ups and downs in a previous post, but in this post, I’m going to be looking ahead to next year - and hopefully being a bit more positive! Let’s see… 😆
2023: my work year in review
Gosh what a rollercoaster this year has been. I touched on it briefly with my post on why I hated writing full-time, but I think it’ll be useful (for me!) and perhaps interesting (for you!) to go into more depth about exactly what happened to me work-wise this year
My number one tip for coping with life as a published author
Life as a published author is weird. It’s brilliant, exhilarating, satisfying, exhausting, nerve-shredding, anxiety-inducing and both satisfying and frustrating all at once. In my opinion, it’s quite unlike any other job out there, and no one really prepares you for it.
Why I hated writing full-time
For many aspiring authors, the thought of ditching the day job to concentrate on writing is one of the things that keeps them motivated and plugging away. It makes sense - writing is hard work. Mentally draining and often physically uncomfortable too. Trying to cram it around a day job is incredibly tough.
My current favourite podcasts for authors
Ah podcasts! What did we do without them? How did I ever motivate myself to clean the house before they existed? It feels as though they came out of nowhere and now there are tons of them and not enough time in the day (or cleaning chores) to get me through them all. I love them, and so I thought it might be interesting to share my current favourites today.
What happened when I blogged every day for a month
As you may already know, I celebrated my five-year anniversary of being a published author on September 6 2023. I remember that day so well - and now I look back and think how sweet and wide-eyed I was about the whole process.
✨ 30 things I’ve learnt from 5 years being published ✨
September 6 2023 marked 5 years since my first book was released 😲
To celebrate, I shared a new post about what I’ve learnt from being published EVERY DAY throughout the month.
Enjoy!
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