I so admire indie authors. It’s hard publishing independently. You have to be the creative director of your own books, whereas if an author is with a publisher, the editing, producing, distributing and marketing is taken care of. Jessie Cahalin is a kind, generous and hardworking lady, supporting so many authors, especially in her time as blogger of the now extinct Books in your Handbag, where she interviewed scores of authors new and established, young and old.

I may be a little biased but Jessie was my first reviewer and and blogger ever. I was a fairly new indie author and in 2017 had recently self-published my second #histfic, set in Italy. It was called Now and Then in Tuscany at that time, but is now published by Bookouture and the title is A Tuscan Memory 

Honestly, it meant the world to me when I read her encouraging words. She had understood what I wanted to convey. Her one review was sufficient to me.  Thank you so much, Jessie.

We met in 2019 at the RNA conference in Leeds and I wish we’d been filmed: two women running towards each other, arms outstretched to end in a hug of friendship.

Our first meeting

Anyway, it is my turn today to support Jessie and I do so from the heart. Over to Jessie Cahalin, who published A Gift for Maisie Bloom on March 4th 2025

She’s busy with a sequel and I asked her about her writing process.

I am writing the first draft of a romantic cosy mystery which involved a lot of planning, but the characters have other plans.  A Surprise for Bethan Lovejoy (working title) is the second book in a series set in Yorkshire, and it is proving rather tricky. This is how my writing day looks at the moment…

After twenty minutes of catchup on social media and book promotions, I write from 9am, ensuring I spill out those words for a couple of hours. Often the characters take over, but there are times when there is a radio silence because they have gone on holiday. If this happens, I find a million jobs that do not need to be done, take a break from the screen and meet the character when we are all ready to chat again.

When my characters misbehave, it is usually because I need to understand what makes them tick. So, I explore the significant moments in their live and their secrets, allowing them to bleed into the story.

I always set aside time for lunch and a walk, allowing time to reflect what I have achieved in the morning. In the afternoon I edit my words, adding colour and getting the story into shape. However, it is common for me to shout at the screen when I reread what I have written. If I cannot solve the issues immediately, I markup questions in the comment boxes on the manuscript. It is always useful to return to the blurb and pitch line I have prepared to test if the narrative is digressing.

There is a magical quality to the silence in the evening, and I will often work on sections of the story. At the very end of a writing day, I leave myself with notes and thinking points for the next time I write.

My brain often fixes plot holes when I am not at my laptop, so I have to grab my pen and capture those ideas before they are forgotten. My A3 notepad is my go-to place for sketching out my ideas in thought bubbles. When I am in a real pickle, I find it useful to chat about my plot with my husband. He listens and I usually hear the problems during my plot monologue.

When writing the first draft, I must keep going and try to put aside a clear run of time.  However, life will often get in the way. Marketing my debut romance mystery – A Gift for Maisie Bloom – has been fun but very distracting. I know who has committed the crime in my new cosy mystery and I won’t be happy until they are found out.

I am looking forward to Jessie’s new book when it is ready.

Sometimes, the only reason an author is not taken on by a publishing house is because their story is too diverse to fit into a genre “of the moment”. But I like an original story. The list of popular authors who kept banging at doors to eventually get their work published is long and includes many well-known writers: J K Rowling springs to mind immediately with her twelve rejections. But there are many other surprising names including Agatha Christie, James Joyce, Kenneth Grahame, Lousa May Alcott, Marcel Proust, Beatrix Potter, Rudyard Kipling, amongst others.

So, Jessie, keep writing your own work. Make sure it is seen by a reputable editor and hold your head up high and don’t give up! and many thanks for chatting with me today, my lovely friend. xx

Bio

Jessie is a northern writer who has lived in Wales for over half of her life. She writes romance books with an enthralling mystery to hook the reader.

From an early age, Jessie spun elaborate stories to explain why her father wore cowboy boots and owned many rusty cars. Writing has always been her perfect escape destination, and she was thrilled to encourage her pupils to love the power of words and follow their dreams.

Contacts:

Website:    https://jessiecahalin.com/

Twitter/X:  https://twitter.com/@BooksInHandbag

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessiecahalinwrites

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/JessieCahalinAuthor/

Book Link: https://tinyurl.com/myjndpz

Blurb

You’re not supposed to fall in love when investigating your aunt’s disappearance.

When Maisie Bloom inherits her aunt’s cottage in Yorkshire, life is perfect, including her two love interests. But when mysterious mail and blog posts arrive, she discovers Aunt Ada was investigating the disappearance of a prolific author in Paris. Was it murder? Soon Maisie is hot on the trail.

But can you sleuth in Paris without falling in love?

Here is my 5-star review of A Gift for Maisie Bloom:

“A mystery treasure hunt that takes us to romantic Paris”

I enjoyed this fun, mystery-romance, starring a likeable and identifiable Yorkshire lass: Maisie Bloom. At the start of the story, our Maisie is mourning the disappearance of her lovely Aunt Ada who has bequeathed her a chocolate-box cottage in a picturesque village.
But is her aunt really dead?
A series of clues and red herrings in blogs that are sent to Maisie, supposedly from her aunt, lead us through the narrative and as delightful as the Yorkshire countryside is, I was pleased to be lured to Paris to see Maisie solve this delightful “treasure hunt”. The Parisian section is my favourite and where it really comes alive.

There is romance a-plenty for the reader in the form of two young men. Who will win the day? Will it be Felix (“As always he’d been ironed from head to toe”) or Danny (“calm, business like”)?
I particularly loved Maisie’s personality: no-nonsense but wanting nonsense, a little clumsy like Bridget Jones, “always the last one to be picked for netball at school”, not very good at receiving compliments, embarrassed, unaware of her beauty, a thoroughly caring young woman. A heroine you want to win through.
The story has a Quality Street assortment of characters, all of whom are great fun: Camelia, (possibly named after a plant used to make tea!), Grant, her adorable friend who was gifted a Savoy cabbage by his new boyfriend and is highly offended until Maisie kindly explains it might be an invitation to spend time with him at the same-named swish hotel!!!

The author had me chuckling but at the same time there are plenty of pearls of wisdom scattered throughout. I highlighted several: “We often forget that the people in our lives were young once.”; “Parisiennes wear their confidence like a cloak…”
Maisie is an aspiring author and part of the book holds precious advice: like a letter to another author searching for his or her way through the publishing world. She wants to “…let my fingers feel for the words”. She finds advice in a note from her aunt: “You are about to feel the pain of the writing journey and maybe suffer the slings and arrows of readers comments. You will need to develop a tough outer shell: “Follow your own dreams … always look around you and don’t miss the obvious details in life.”

Wise counsel indeed. Jessie Cahalin has written her “own” book and has certainly given us plenty of delicious detail in her first Maisie novel. More please!