Writing, reading & other stuff..
This is my first newsletter and will give you some updates on my writing, what I’m reading and enjoying watching at the cinema and TV. As it’s just started feel free to ask me questions or suggest other things you’d be interested to hear about!
Let’s start with a bit of life…
I’m lucky to live near the sea and have seen some amazing sunrises, mainly as they are not too early at this time of year. The ritual is to see the sun come up and then get a delicious Greggs bacon sarnie. What could go wrong? Hmm. Tomato sauce all over a white jumper maybe?!
My writing was good fun last year and I self-published my first novel The Stand-Up Mam, based on my own experience of comedy. It had some positive reviews and I’m looking forward to doing some more marketing about it this year to get it into more people’s hands.
It has opened up so many doors and started lovely conversation which I wouldn’t have otherwise had. For example, I have done a talk about it at my local library and had a launch at the Bound bookshop in Whitley Bay, which was a dream come true. This month I’m speaking at Blyth Library on 24th at 1.30, so looking forward to that.
I’m also working on my next book which all about women and allotments so research into that whole world is underway.
In the last few weeks I’ve managed to read a few books and they’re a right mixture – Nina Stibbe, Went to London took the Dog, which I loved, all about a woman getting older and rediscovering herself. The autobiography of Lisa Marie Presley with her daughter Riley Keough, From Here to the Great Unknown. I went to Graceland last year and found the whole story so sad but what an interesting peep behind the Elvis curtain, made even more vivid as I could picture the house so well. Last week I read an advance copy of North East writer Lucy Nichol’s new book, a thriller written under Lucy Roth, When Sally Killed Harry – thoroughly enjoyed it, gripping and bit of fun.
I saw very few films last year as not much caught my eye but I saw A Real Pain written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg and staring Kieran Culkin a couple of days ago. It was fantastic and totally recommend it. Moving, funny and very thought-provoking.
On TV I’m only really watching The Traitors, which I had never seen until this season and so far, it is a good watch and interesting to see how group dynamics work.
That’s it, hope this has hit the spot and you’ve enjoyed it.
I’ve just realised the photo looks quite sinister but it was a beautiful sunrise…. really….