Here we are again: new year goals…

This year seems to have gone both quickly and slowly. Somehow, the whole family has managed to stay Covid-free (I ought to cross my fingers but it’s quite hard to type at the same time). The kids are back in school, I’m back tutoring (in just one school this time), but my husband is still

It’s that time again: new year goals…

Well, 2020 has been interesting, to say the least. What’s that saying about ‘may you live in interesting times’?  I reread last year’s ‘life goals’ post, and either I was unusually prescient, or I may be partly responsible for the mess that has been 2020. If so, I apologise. That said, I’m conscious that I’m

On finding a new writing routine when your old one collapses

It’s been an interesting few weeks, hasn’t it? We’re all coping with something which, frankly, I could never have imagined. First of all, I’m not complaining. So far, my family’s doing OK. The grown-ups are still working, the kids have been studying (as far as I can tell!). Most importantly, we’re all well. Of course

New year, same goals…

At least I’m getting in with the new year’s goals post quicker than I did last year! I won’t get into whether it’s a new decade or not because people will start squabbling, so let’s move along. Here’s a recap of last year’s goals: Work smarter, not harder  Try some new things  Get fitter  2019

Caster & Fleet: not goodbye, but au revoir

This morning I wrote a chapter. A last chapter. Not of a book (well OK yes, it was of a book), but a series. And given the title of this post, you can probably guess which one. Oh gosh, it was hard. Starting it was bad enough. How do you write a chapter to finish

It’s my 3-year self-publiversary today! 12 reflections…

I noticed about halfway through this morning, in the midst of running errands and nothing much to do with writing, that today is my 3-year self-publiversary. My first self-pubbed book launched on 1 April 2016 (I picked that date for a reason, honest!), and hey, here I still am. I published a post for my

Danger: Co-writers at work!

Or rather, we have been! It seems to have happened in the blink of an eye, but Paula Harmon and I have written another book together. Caster & Fleet 5, to be precise. Book 4, The Case of the Masquerade Mob, felt like a BIG book. Lots of characters and things going on, often unexpected; we were

How do I measure success as a writer?

This is something which has been on my mind lately, probably as a sort of hangover from all those goal-setting New Year posts. What’s the best way to measure success as a writer? Or do I mean as a publisher? Ooh, now that’s a different question entirely. There are so many things you could focus

Going the other way round

I am currently on a walk, and dictating into my phone. (Well, not now, I’m at a computer turning my ramblings into something vaguely coherent, but anyway). What is special about this walk, you might ask. Nothing particular. It’s a walk I often take, which involves going down a back road onto a track between

Yes, it’s that new year post…

I bet you’ve read loads of these New Year posts already in 2019, but this is probably as much for me as it is for you, so here goes! You’ll notice that this post is a bit later than the majority of goal-setting posts. That’s partly because I’ve been surrounded by family until today. It’s