It’s always exciting to write a blog post about where I am with my writing, which novels are in the bag, which are in the pipeline and which are yet to be hatched. I’m having a reading and research week currently, creating new characters and fresh ideas for a second spooky novel, which I intend to start writing next month. In between writing that, there will be several more edits for the 2022 novels I’ve written already. I also have another germ of an idea for the one I’ll write after I’ve written the next one. (Does that make sense?)

So, on December 7^th, The Golden Girls’ Getaway is published. It’s my eighth novel, the sixth one with Boldwood Books, and it’s the tale of three women who borrow a motor home to go off on adventures around the UK. Lockdown is a thing of the past and neighbours Vivienne, Mary and Gwen are desperate to start enjoying themselves. They drive south west from London through Wiltshire, Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and eventually South Wales before a change of plans sends them heading north to Yorkshire. Vivienne is a 72-year-old soap actor who has managed to work throughout the restrictions but Gwen, a retired opera singer, has hardly stepped outside the front door and is lonely, while Mary, a retired nurse, has so much joie de vivre that she’d enjoy herself anywhere. The three women are very different characters, but they all have personal issues to resolve and their journey is not just one of laughter and fun, but also one of tears and self-discovery. I hope that readers will welcome Mary, Gwen and Vivienne into their hearts.

I’ve written two more novels about women in their golden years who have interesting choices to make. One story is set in the Highlands of Scotland and features Mimi, a woman with a chequered life and three handsome sons. At eighty-eight, Mimi is desperate to cling to memories, but her desire to live in the past affects everyone around her. The other novel is set on a farm in a village in Somerset, and deals with changes that happen as the seasons come and go: the protagonist is Jeanie, a woman in her early seventies who is exhausted by work and responsibility: her life is dictated by the needs of others and a sense of responsibility. Her mother Violet, who has a wicked sense of humour, her friends and a mystery man she meets on holiday breathe new life and new fun into her humdrum existence.

I’ve also started novels in a new genre, and I’m very excited about the first one, which is now written. It’s a spooky dual timeline story. The plot moves from Selena in the present time to Grace in the late 1600s, and parallels the lives of two different women and the challenges they face. The past merges with the present as Selena seeks to lay ghosts to rest. This one will be out under another name next year. More to come…

I’m researching the second novel in this genre, as I mentioned before, exploring Scotland as a location, (see the picture below.) I have various ghostly ideas to play with, which will certainly keep me awake at night the more the story progresses. More about that and the titles and covers as they become available. It’s so lovely to watch a story enfold from the germ of an idea, to typing it on a laptop, to edits, a gorgeous cover and then a real book. From that point, there is the thrill of a book launch, a fabulous audio book which is brought to life by a talented reader, and then the reception from readers, which is always so important.

So, watch this space as new titles and gorgeous covers arrive. And thanks so much for your interest and your kindness. I’ll keep writing and I hope you’ll keep reading and enjoying. Sending warm wishes. xx

The setting for my second spooky novel…?