Keep It Pinteresting

Reaching the 40,000 words milestone for Book 12 a couple of weeks ago was amazing as it meant I was around the halfway mark. But it also comes with a hint of trepidation; reaching the halfway point is a reminder that the book is no longer shiny and new, yet you've still got a huge chunk to write before you can type those glorious words: The End. 

This part of the writing process can have me feeling a bit bogged down with it all and in The Slump. Sometimes this is full-on writer's block, where the words simply won't come. Or sometimes there's an idea or two for new books floating around my head, jumping around and calling for my attention - and these ideas are shiny and new. I need to somehow keep myself in this book and one way I've found is to keep myself 'pinterested' in the story.

It's a really simple idea of highlighting the important plot points of your book in Pinterest by pinning relevant images. I did this for The 12 Christmases of You & Me, and it was fun picking out the images and seeing the story build up visually rather than just seeing a Word document. You can see my Pinterest board for the book here.

When I started to write Book 12, I set up a new Pinterest board and started to build the story up in images. It's only the first draft, so some of the pins may change or get removed later on, but I love seeing my book in a different medium. I'm writing a romantic comedy, but this would work for any genre, and it doesn't matter if you're writing your first novel or you're got a few books under your belt - we all need a bit of motivation and focus sometimes!

Home Schooling For Dummies*: Still Home Schooling

*Me the parent, not the kid

Some schools have started to take some of their pupils back in. My daughter's school decided to only take their Year 1 classes back in, but as we're in the North West and the R rate is still high here, they postponed this (though they may be in now, I'm not sure). Isobel's in Year 6 and they're looking at bringing them in from 29th June for the last three weeks - but only if the parents are happy to do this. As things stands, we're going to continue with the home schooling.

Our timetable has had another tweak over the past couple of weeks. Because some pupils were due to go back into the school, the online classes Isobel had about three times a week have stopped because the teachers are needed for the classroom 'bubbles' at school, and I've also decided we're having a little break from basketball in the garden after my washing line came down three times in one week.

As well as the schoolwork provided by school and the worksheets I downloaded from Twinkl, Isobel has been watching BBC Bitesize every day, which has been a godsend over these past few months. It's twenty blissful minutes where somebody else takes over. I'm not sure if they'll stop too now kids are starting to go back into school or if they'll carry on until the end of term, but I'm grateful for every episode that's been made!

There are four weeks of term left, so we're on the home stretch now. We can do this.

Cover Reveal: The 12 Christmases of You & Me

I'm so excited to be able to share the cover for The 12 Christmases of You & Me. I absolutely love it and I hope you do too!

What if you could go back in time and fix the biggest mistake of your life?

Two years ago, Maisie’s best friend walked out of her life and she hasn’t heard from him since. When she wakes up in 1994, she naturally assumes she’s dreaming. But when she finds herself in the past again the next night and her actions in the dream alter her present-day life, she begins to wonder if she’s somehow hopping back in time. And if she is time-travelling, can she save her friendship with Jonas?

When Maisie is forced to relive Christmases of the past, will she face up to her mistakes, or make them all over again?

The 12 Christmases of You & Me is a magical tale of friendship, first loves, and learning to live in the present.

The 12 Christmases of You & Me is out on 20th October, but is available to pre-order right now for just 99p/99c!

Amazon UK | Amazon US

Reaching The Halfway Point

I've been recording my writing milestones on post-it notes and sharing them on social media in a bid to keep myself motivated while writing Book 12, and last week I was able to share my 40,000 words post-it note.

That's a lot of words, but more than that, it represents the halfway point of the book as I'm aiming for 80,000 words. This is a massive morale boost, especially as I was worried about finding the time to write during lockdown. I'm home-schooling my youngest daughter so I was nervous about starting a new book during this time - would I be able to write and home-school? Would I be too stressed to concentrate (I definitely don't have the skills and patience to teach!) But I'm getting there, word by word, and each post-it note feels like an achievement.

I've loved writing the first half of Cleo's story, and I'm looking forward to the next half and seeing where she takes me!

Want To Have YOUR Name Used In My Book?

I've been busy writing Book 12 over the past few weeks, but one of my characters doesn't have a name yet. With The Accidental Life Swap and The 12 Christmases of You & Me, I asked my newsletter subscribers if they would like their name used for a character and I thought I'd do the same with this book.

My next newsletter will be going out next week and I'll be asking for names to go in the hat. If you haven't subscribed and would like to, it's quick, easy and free. Plus, every subscriber receives a free ebook quick read, Six Dates, which is exclusive to my newsletter subscribers AND there'll be a sneaky peek at the cover for The Twelve Christmases of You & Me in the newsletter, which you'll get to see before anybody else!

Click here for more information or to subscribe.