2017 — Only the Good Stuff

A year is a big ol’ chunk of time. While 2017 easily wins the title of Worst Year of My Life So Far, these past twelve months have also been peppered with positives. Between the sobbing fits and long tearful walks and whole evenings spent pouring my heart out on Reddit, I did so much. IContinue reading “2017 — Only the Good Stuff”

Daily Mail First Crime Novel Competition 2017

I’m thrilled to announce I’ve been selected as a runner-up in this year’s Daily Mail First Crime Novel Competition for my psychological thriller THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND! [Cue confetti, champagne, and a whole bakery of cake.] The novel, which is set over a single day, tells the story of a troubled young woman takenContinue reading “Daily Mail First Crime Novel Competition 2017”

Holiday Healing

Despite being a heartbroken wreck who cries all the time and sometimes can’t pluck up the courage to leave the house, I made myself a promise in my last post. A promise that I’d try to enjoy my upcoming family holiday as much as possible. That I’d smile. Wear bikinis. Eat too many desserts. AndContinue reading “Holiday Healing”

The Dangers of Imagination

In a way, my imagination and ability to daydream is a gift. It lets me think up complex stories, work out plots and characters and settings, and fills me with joy when I get lost in a wonderful vision for a minute, an hour, an afternoon. It makes me a great storyteller. But it’s notContinue reading “The Dangers of Imagination”

Writing Through Heartbreak

I met up with an old friend a few weeks ago. We chatted about a lot of things, reminiscing and swapping stories, and she mentioned she hadn’t seen any blog posts from me in a while. “Have you been too busy being happy?” she asked, smiling. And I cried. Because for seven months, that was the case. After yearsContinue reading “Writing Through Heartbreak”

Pitch Wars: The Walking Wounded

  I fought in Pitch Wars 2015. And I lost. I mean, I got in. My name was on that list. I saw it at silly o’clock in the morning UK time, after feverishly refreshing my phone’s Twitter app in the darkness of my bedroom, and I thought, ‘This is when it all begins.’ I’dContinue reading “Pitch Wars: The Walking Wounded”

Social Media Anxiety

I rarely make it all the way through writing a blog post. I’m in the zone, spilling my secrets, loving it, enjoying it, reveling in it — and then suddenly, I hit the wall. Or rather, I hit the question: Why would anyone be interested in this? As soon as that question pops up inContinue reading “Social Media Anxiety”

Back to Square One

A few months into querying BEYOND THE CALL OF BEAUTY — my beautician-turned-sleuth mystery MS — I could tell it wasn’t going to work out. I didn’t fully believe or accept it at the time, but deep-down I knew that I wouldn’t win over a literary agent with it, I wouldn’t tempt a publishing house, andContinue reading “Back to Square One”

10 Tips From a Flash Fiction Judge

I’m a judge for the wonderful Mash Stories, a keyword-based flash fiction competition that focuses on showcasing new talent, and I love it. The ideas, the language, the brilliant pieces — I’m honoured to read our submissions, let alone help decide the winner. But it’s not all good news and happy faces. I’m a judge, and thatContinue reading “10 Tips From a Flash Fiction Judge”

The Other Side of Rejection

Being on the receiving end of rejection sucks. It really, really sucks. I’m a wannabe novelist and I’ve had my mystery MS — my baby, my pride and joy, my masterpiece — rejected by over sixty agencies and countless more competition judges. I’ve been overlooked in Twitter contests. I barely scraped through the Pitch Wars agent round.Continue reading “The Other Side of Rejection”