Hi everyone! Thank you to everyone who has followed me on here. It's so appreciated! I'm so excited that I finally managed to get into Goodreads Author Programme after being rejected through the form so many times (I think that's a rite of passage for any author, right? lol)

I thought I would use my first blog post on here to do a little round-up of my writing and reading in July. I've started recording little videos of this for my Tiktok and Instagram reels but I still cringe listening to and looking at myself, so I thought I would use this writing format too haha

My main update for this month is that I have sent Leeward's sequel off to the publisher, Canelo, for a round of edits! There were times when I thought I would not get to this stage as I struggled so much with this manuscript. I had plots which went nowhere, gaps in the narrative, and issues with character voice. It took me a fair few drafts to finally think... hey, okay, I can see where this is going. I fell into the character voice midway through about draft 3 (?) and I'm finally at a point where I am really happy with it and can't wait for people to read it!

So while that's off, I have been working on another project, another queer historical piece. It is super fun, and a bit more socially based than Leeward. Full of a lot of juicy drama and character tension! I'm always a fan of working on a few projects at once because I find if I struggle with one, I can hop to the other, and then back again – and usually, that helps to resolve any plot issues!

In terms of reading, I'm sorry but I'm not very good at reading glamorous and viral new books. (I'm a bit boring lol). I finished Tom Nancollas's Ship Asunder, about bits of ship utilised in Britain's landscape and architecture, and you can find my review here:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I've also been delving into my little (or not so little) historical obsession, the lost Franklin expedition. I finished reading Michael Smith's WONDERFUL Icebound in the Arctic (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) and have recently started John Wilson's North with Franklin. I'm immensely enjoying that one, even if...I know what happens at the end 😅

Thanks for reading, if you made it this far haha. I plan to use this blog as an alternative to my little reels and videos, talking about my writing process, books, and snippets of history related to the period I write in.

Bye for now xx