Living the #amwriting life - June

Hello my loves and welcome to yet another #amwriting Round-Up written under the trial of #lockdown. I'm not going to make it all doom and gloom, but I'm not going to put a gloss on it either - June has been tough. Personally, I've found this the most difficult month so far. Don't get me wrong, great things have been happening but some pretty crappy stuff has too, and that's given me a bit of a mental battering. I've soldiered on even when I haven't felt like it, but if you happen to be feeling the same way, then know you are definitely not alone.

However, all that aside, let me tell you what went on in my Writing Life this month...

On the first of the month, there was a publication day to celebrate, as COMING HOME TO CUCKOO COTTAGE was released in Germany. Isn't the cover beautiful? It matches THE CHERRY TREE CAFE which came out there a while ago, perfectly.

I think Lottie and her friends would be very happy with this pretty re-imagining! 

Next up were the Book Birthdays and the end of May and beginning of June has a whole rash of them. Usually, I let these dates sail by with little more than a fond remembrance and a flick through the camera roll on my phone, but this year I shared pics and celebrated the lot online.

They came thick and fast, starting -in June - with The Cherry Tree Cafe paperback release, then the Skylark Farm E-book, both hot on the heels of Poppy's Recipe for Life and Sunshine and Sweet Peas which came out at the very end of May.

I've had two fabulous visitors to the blog and been off on my blogging travels too. Suffolk based author, lovely Victoria Connelly popped by as did RNA chum and debut author Kirsten Hesketh. You can find both of their fabulous posts further down the blog.

My blogging travels offered a rare night out - all be it a virtual one - as I had FRIDAY NIGHT DRINKS with Julie who runs the gorgeous A LITTLE BOOK PROBLEM blog. We had a great time - even Freddie Mercury put in an appearance.

https://alittlebookproblem.co.uk/category/friday-night-drinks/

Thankfully, even though June has been demanding and difficult, and some days far too hot, I have managed to keep writing. The final tweaks to THE WINTER GARDEN have been made and I'm already looking forward to sharing the story with you. I thoroughly enjoyed writing about the festive season in Nightingale Square and describing some of the city delights was a real treat.

With The Winter Garden put to bed, I was able to turn my attention to Book 12, and just as well given that the first draft deadline is in September. EEK! 

As you can see from the above pic, I have a notebook for every novel, and usually that's a real help, however, getting going on this particular story was very, very tough. I had a whole week fumbling about and not really making any progress at all. It might not sound like long and, in the grand scheme of things, I don't suppose it was but at the time, I never thought the story was going to start.

Rather than panic, I instigated a change of routine and that really helped. The draft is going great guns now and last week I wrote over 19,500 words. Just don't tell my editor because she'll want it extra early! 

I haven't got a title yet and I'm not allowed to tell you where it's set, but I think you're going to love it. It's the Summer 2021 release and it's warming up a treat!

So, there you have it. Definitely not all doom and gloom but a tricky few weeks nonetheless. I'm sending lots of love and a big squishy hug your way, just in case you're starting to feel the strain too. Hang on in there my loves and if you want to chat, leave a comment or look me up on social media and we'll set the world to rights.

Lots of love

H x