How To Get A Literary Agent

Posted on September 16, 2026 by blogaboutwriting

As I was leaving my Pilates class this morning, someone asked me how I got my agent (I know, bit random but this person has told me before that she’s started to write and the subtext was, of course, ‘And how can I do the same?’)

It felt a little glib to say ‘I won a competition on Twitter!’ but that’s the truth.

Some of you may remember that back in 2020 (during that awful first covid lockdown), Kate Nash Literary Agency ran a ‘bookcamp’ competition, offering mentorships to unpublished novelists.

You had to submit 20,000 words of your unfinished novel and they picked 17 people to mentor, including yours truly, (most of that 17 have, by the way, gone on to be published).

So, that’s how I got my agent. Which was very jammy and very ‘easy’ compared to the struggle that a lot of people have when they approach agents, I know.

(Kate Nash Agency has run a similar competition – at least once – since then, by the way).

What happened next was that “my” agent within the agency left to set up on his own and took some of “his” writers with him, so I changed agent at that point.

Which is apparently not that unusual. Many writers swap agents and publishers throughout their career.

And now that agent has closed shop, so I am currently agent-less! And I may – or may not – try to get another agent at some point.

But here’s the thing: you don’t actually need an agent to get published.

The woman who wanted to know how I found my agent, said she wanted ‘a bit of help’ and I get that. But it’s worth noting that some agents are more helpful than others…!

I’m convinced I wouldn’t have got my first publishing deal without my agent. He encouraged me and worked with me to get the unfinished book not only finished but as polished as it could be, before going out on submission. He also had contacts in publishing houses – and in particular, an editor who was looking for exactly the kind of book I was writing.

And for that, I will always be grateful.

What else might an agent do for you?

In essence, an agent should manage your writing career. But they’ll usually have lots of clients and it’s worth bearing in mind that, unless you are a Big Name, you’re unlikely to get a huge amount of their time.

When I had my agent, for example, I was very conscious that most of his time was taken up trying to get publishing deals for the as-yet unpublished writers on his books. And therefore, I didn’t pester him or expect him to read my work-in-progress.

We actually had very little contact although when I started to write a new book or had to produce a synopsis for the publisher, he was great for brainstorming ideas (over Zoom!).

An agent is also invaluable when it comes to sending your work out “on submission” (ie: to editors who might be interested in buying it). They’ll also handle all the feedback and responses from those editors.

They’ll also handle foreign sales and film rights, if your book gets to those dizzy heights! (mine haven’t – so far!!)

And when you do get a ‘yes’ from a publisher (or more than one, if you’re lucky), an agent will negotiate the bids and the eventual contract, which might involve asking for more time and/or more money.

They’ll also have ‘the talk’ if you’re not happy about something, so they can act as the go-between between you and your editor.

Perhaps the most valuable part of having an agent is that they give you access to the big publishing houses, most (all?) of which won’t consider un-agented work, at least not in the UK.

So, in theory at least, an agent can be worth his/her weight in gold.

Remember, though, that they work on commission and will take 15% of everything you earn.

And it’s not easy to get an agent. They will only take you on if they think they can work with you and sell your book(s) and, like any relationship, you won’t be a ‘match’ for every agent (and vice versa). You may have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.

The best place to start – as I will advise my Pilates friend, if she wants to know more – is with The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook which comes out every July (obviously you need the most up-to-date one – it’s quite a hefty tome and expensive but you might find it in bigger libraries) which, among other things, has a directory of hundreds of agents, with details of what they’re looking for and how to approach them (you can also subscribe to the on-line listings, which has more.

Another way of narrowing down the agents to target – if that is your goal – is to read the acknowledgements in the books of writers that you admire and who perhaps write in the same genre as you. They will usually thank their agent somewhere at the start or end of the book and then you can look the agency up and see if they look like a good ‘fit’ for you (and, importantly, if they are currently open for submissions).

Don’t despair if you don’t have an agent – or prefer to work without one – here’s a list of publishers who accept submissions directly from writers without an agent.

This isn’t an exhaustive list, I’m sure. And some imprints of Harper Collins, for example (which is one of the Big Five and doesn’t usually accept un-agented work), occasionally have open calls for submissions, or run competitions or have windows when you can submit to them directly).

It’s definitely worth following all the publishers (and agents) you’re interested in on social media and keep an eye on what they’re up to!

And of the publishers on the list, I personally know people who are published by Joffe Books, Bookouture and Storm Publishing, so it can be done!

One More Thing…

I forgot to say – but I’m sure you know this already – unless you are someone incredibly famous and newsworthy, no agent will take you on, on the basis of the first 3 chapters of your book (which is what they will usually ask to see when you initially approach them – but do check, because each agent’s requirements differ) – but if they like what they see, they will ask to see The Rest Of The Book.

Don’t be like Lisa Jewell – who tells all here – (although it all worked out for her in the end!) and merrily send off your first 3 chapters, not having written the rest of the book!

You’ll look a bit of a ninny and you may well have scuppered your chances with that agent when you have to meekly tell them that – as yet – there IS no rest of the book.

Posted in Books, Competitions, Kate Nash Agency | 5 Comments

Market Yourself & Your Books: Get Out There!

Posted on September 7, 2026 by blogaboutwriting

Look at me, back again so quickly!

Guest Post on Morton Gray’s Blog

I’m on Morton Gray’s blog today, with a post about my research – mistakes I’ve made and other times when it’s all come together beautifully! Have a look here if you’d like to read it.

Morton is a fellow member of the Birmingham Chapter of the RNA (Romantic Novelists’ Association) and she very kindly hosts a post from another writer each week on her blog. She writes ‘romance with a mystery to solve’ and is published by Choc-Lit, an imprint of Joffe Books.

She is also – I have just discovered, from reading her bio, a qualified Clinical Hypnotherapist and Reiki Master. She has diplomas in Tuina Acupressure Massage and Energy Field Therapy!

I will definitely have to ask her more about that next time I see her.

Marketing Your Books: Get Out There!

Back in June, I wrote a post here about How to Market Your Novel – and it was really only ‘part one’ because there’s so much to say on the subject.

Another way of marketing yourself and your books, is to take part in some live events.

It’s also rather nice to get away from one’s desk (which is lonely!) and meet some real people and – dare I say it – some actual readers?

Sadly, at my level of fame/authorship, slots at Cheltenham Literary Festival or the like, are out of the question and perhaps for you, too? But there are always other, smaller opportunities floating about if you keep your eyes peeled, don’t expect to be paid a fortune (or even, paid at all) and you are prepared to be just a little bit brave.

Libraries

Your local library may welcome a talk and may also allow you to sell books at the end. Check them out.

Warwickshire libraries are very active and seem to host an author at least every month in one of their venues, so I contacted them and asked if I could be added to the list.

The answer was YES! But they don’t have a free slot until December 2027! But I agreed to that anyway and also offered to be a replacement, should anyone else drop out.

Book Festivals

It may not be Cheltenham but my local town, Shipston-on-Stour has recently started to host a Book Fest every year and I answered their call for ‘local authors’.

I didn’t make it to one of the prime slots (6 authors will be interviewed on stage in front of an audience) but they are giving me a table (free of charge) at the event, which takes place later this month and I will see if I can better the 8 books that I sold there last year!

It’s all good experience (I’m already thinking about what I can do to make my stall stand out) and you never know where putting yourself out like that might lead.

Book Clubs

There are more and more book clubs popping up, these days – look at all these ‘Book and Pudding Clubs‘ for example – and I’ve noticed another trend: book clubs run by pubs.

This one – at The Bell in Alderminster (near Stratford) started up recently, for example.

If you google your local towns and ‘pub’ and ‘book club’ you may well find some local to you. See if they’d like you to come along as a guest author! (this is the bit about being brave).

Look out for adverts like this on social media:

A friend alerted me to this the other day (which had popped up on her Facebook feed).

It’s from a coffee shop/community space local to me – and of course, I have offered myself. It’s early days, so we’ll see what happens. I think I’m the only person who’s responded so far.

And they are looking for more writers to take part, so if you’re local to Evesham, drop them a line on Facebook and say you’d like to do it too!

Also – and I must admit, I haven’t done this one myself yet (lack of time but also lack of confidence!!) – approach your local book shops and ask if you can do an event and/or a signing.

What’s the worst that can happen? They say no? And you say, OK, thanks (and when you’re a bestselling author in a couple of years’ time they’ll be kicking themselves…!)

Have you got any other ideas for marketing yourself and your books ‘in the flesh’? If so, please comment and share them with us all!

Posted in Books | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Too Hot For Words – I’m finally back!

Posted on September 3, 2026 by blogaboutwriting

It might have been over 30 degrees, but I was still determined to get into the hot tub (which was 36 degrees!)

Goodness me, I seem to have been away for The Whole Summer! Not away, away (the furthest I’ve been is tropical Shropshire, during one of the heatwaves – and there I am taking advantage of the hot tub!), I mean away from this blog.

And now it’s autumn! I apologise for neglecting you! If, indeed, you, have noticed! I’m sure you’ve been busy too. I hope you had a great summer, however you spent it.

I have been mostly indoors! Beavering away on the structural edits for my novel, which was 81,500 words when I submitted the first draft in April.

I’ve just sent the latest version back to the publishers, having spent another 200 hours on it, deleted passages, rearranged chapters and written more words and it’s now 98,000 words, so we’re getting there…!

Next stage is the copy edits. This isn’t proof-reading. That comes later, when there are no more changes to the text.

Harper Collins describes the copy editing stage as follows: “Copy-editors verify factual accuracy, flag potential legal issues, ensure consistency in style and formatting throughout the manuscript, and check that references, citations, and footnotes are properly formatted. They might query unclear passages, suggest improvements to awkward phrasing, and ensure that chapter headings, subheadings, and other structural elements follow a logical hierarchy. This comprehensive review helps eliminate confusion for readers and creates a more professional final product.”

Now we know!

So, when the manuscript has gone through the copy edit stage, it will be returned to me to work on again. But hopefully there won’t be too much more to do.

Audiobooks

The three audiobooks that have kept me sane over the past couple of months (I only listen when I’m in my car, so it takes me ages to get through one!) are:

1) the Kathy Burke memoir, ‘A Mind Of My Own’

2) Marian Keyes’ finest ‘Rachel’s Holiday’, which I have read at least twice before but listening to it (narrated by the author, as was the Kathy Burke story), brought it to life and I thoroughly enjoyed it (again!)

3) Kathryn Stockett’s new novel ‘The Calamity Club’ which I adored (having also loved her debut, ‘The Help’). It’s a chunky book though, at 650 pages (and 28 hours on audio!)

I can highly recommend them all.

AI = Awful Imitation

There’s recently been shocking – and desperately sad – news from the camp of Take a Break Fiction Feast, one of the few British magazines that still publishes short stories.

They’re cutting costs by including stories ‘written’ by AI, rather than by human writers (who, naturally, they have to pay).

In fact, the September issue of TAB Fiction Feast doesn’t credit any writers of the 20 (‘brand new’) stories, which can only mean one thing: they are all AI-generated.

Nicola Martin’s written an excellent post about it here, if you’re interested in finding out more.

Even AI agrees that AI stories are stealing from real writers. I asked it and this is what it said: “Yes, AI-generated short stories are built on what many writers, legal experts, and ethicists consider stolen work” (because the ideas, turns of phrase, vocabulary, plots, etc etc etc are all ‘learned’ – ie: taken – from creative work already in existence, without permission or payment to those original writers).

Boo, hiss!

Evesham Festival Of Words – A J Pearce

Here we are – note I am clutching the ONE microphone in my hot sticky hand!

More cheery news now: back in sweltering June, I interviewed the lovely AJ Pearce, author of the Emmy Lake WW2 series (which starts with ‘Dear Mrs Bird’ – you may well have heard of it), at Evesham Festival of Words.

As I’ve come to expect now, these things never run *exactly* to plan (in fact, my motto is ‘there’s always a surprise and it’s not usually a good one’).

The surprise this time was that one of the two microphones we were due to use DIED about five minutes before we started the event.

Which meant that we had to share the one remaining microphone, passing it between us, across the table, like a baton. It wasn’t too terrible (you have to laugh, I suppose..!) but it did mean that some of the spontaneity was lost!

When I asked a question, there was a pause while I passed AJ the microphone and if her answer prompted another question from me, I had to wait until she’d finished speaking and passed me the … well, you get the idea!

I also made something of a faux pas at the beginning of the interview as I explained to the audience that I was a big fan of AJ’s writing and that I had – no hardship, this – re-read all 4 of the Emmy Lake books, in advance of the interview (which was true).

‘In fact,’ I said, ‘I just finished the last one – ‘Dear Miss Lake’ – in the car on the way here.’ Remembering how my stomach had lurched as we’d gone around roundabouts, I added, ‘Ugh, I was almost sick!’

There was a terrible silence for a couple of seconds and then the whole audience (and, luckily, AJ), laughed and I had to explain that I meant car-sick not because the book was so terrible. Oh, dear. Anyway, it seemed to set the tone and we had quite a jolly chat, so all was well.

AJ was very honest about her writing journey/process and explained how she’d had to delete 87,000 words of ‘Dear Miss Lake’ and basically start the novel all over again. (Aagh!) which gave hope to the rest of us, I think, that even Sunday Times bestselling writers can find the whole process tough!

Posted in Books, Magazines | 6 Comments

How Do You Market Your Novel…?

Posted on June 11, 2026 by blogaboutwriting

Och aye the noo! Guess where I am?!

Look at that title! As if I have all the answers!

It’s a question I’ve been asking myself recently though, because although I am ‘traditionally published’ (ie: not self-published) and therefore one would assume my publisher would do all the promotion and advertising of my books, that’s, sadly (*sighs*) not the way it works.

At least, not for most of us. (It’s different if you’re a big name or a Sunday Times bestseller and you get a big marketing budget and an allocated publicist and all that. No, I’m not bitter!).

Some authors have book launches and book tours, meetings with their publicist/editor/agent and marketing team, maybe even over lunch! In London town!

And then… there’s the rest of us.

Of course, my publisher does *some* stuff – naturally they want the book to sell because that’s how they make their money – but I still feel a certain obligation to reach readers, build an audience, do ‘events’, tout my wares at local bookshops – in a nutshell, SELL my books – and with that comes guilt because I don’t have the time or, let’s face it, the expertise.

So, I have been researching what I’m supposed to be doing and here’s the first thing – which I thought I’d pass on because you might find it useful if you’re in a similar situation – and perhaps this will become a series of posts (but let’s see how it goes!).

The first thing – and this is so obvious that you’ll probably laugh but I honestly had not done this up to now – is to try to define your reader.

Because not everyone will like what you write and that’s fair enough. It helps to pinpoint what readers like about your book(s) (or, if you haven’t yet had a book published, what they like about books that are similar to the one you’ve written or are in the process of writing).

How do you do that? Simples!

Read your good reviews on Goodreads and Amazon (other review sites are available). DON’T, I beg, you, read the rubbish ones. They will bring you down and in any case, those people are not your readers. If they read one of your books and hated it, they won’t be back for more so forget them!

So, read the good reviews and jot down what the readers say they especially enjoy.

I did this for my WW2 books and this is what I found. I make no apologies for the boasty-boasty nature of this but there’s no time for false modesty when you do this exercise!

There were 2 main themes:

1. My readers think I conjure up the 1940s era very well and with a light touch. They love the historical detail and some feel as though they are there, in WW2 as they read (thank God because I do a lot of research, most of which doesn’t make it into the books, of course).

2. They love my characters (good because that’s probably the part of writing a book that I enjoy the most), they’re rooting for them, feel like they’re ‘old friends’ (when they pop up later in the series) – Seffy in particular, goes from irritating to heroine and they enjoy seeing her grow and change.

Other words that cropped up often in the good reviews – ‘heartwarming’, ‘exciting’ ‘touches of humour’ ‘I couldn’t put it down’.

Interestingly, although there is an element of romance in all my books, that’s NOT the aspect that most readers pick up on. They like the female friendships and camaraderie as much – if not more – than the romance and although they want the characters to have a happy ending, it doesn’t all hinge on the love interest. Which was interesting! Because I wouldn’t describe my books as ‘romances’ either. So there, I’ve learned something from that exercise!

And once you know what aspect of your books your readers enjoy, it a) helps you to give them more of what they want (don’t miss out those elements in future books!) – and b) when you’re promoting your books, whether that’s on social media or when you’re talking to an audience or potential reader, those are the areas to concentrate on.

Right, end of lecture! There are more steps to be taken and I may well blog about them next time.

Edinburgh Castle (view from our hotel window, to be precise!) Looking dark and moody.

In other news, I have been to fabulous Edinburgh since I last wrote, as you may have guessed from the photos.

As well as visiting the usual tourist spots while I was there (Holyrood Palace, the Castle, the Royal Yacht Britannia), I did two writerly things:

1. I visited the ‘Writers’ Museum’ (thanks to Jane Bettany for the recommendation) which is free and open seven days a week and which focuses on 3 famous Scottish writers: Rabbie Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson and is well worth a visit! (nice gift shop in there too!).

2. I popped into ‘The Elephant House’ café, where single-parent and down-at-heel would-be author J K Rowling famous wrote the first in the Harry Potter series (little guessing, I suppose, that one day she’d be a billionaire!)

There is a LOT of Harry Potter stuff in Edinburgh, by the way. Shops full of merchandise! Great if, like me, you’re a fan!

Oh and not at all writing-related but we also went to the Leith distillery (and specifically to the whisky bar at the top of the tower, recommended by someone in the comments of my last post (thank you!) which was much enjoyed by the OH in particular. It’s a short walk from the Royal Yacht Britannia,by the way (which was the best thing we saw in Edinburgh. I loved it!).

Cheers from the Royal Yacht Britannia

Maggie O’Farrell

Tomorrow I am going to see author Maggie O’Farrell in Stratford-on-Avon! Yes, she of ‘Hamnet’ fame (and other novels, of course. I think she’ll be mostly talking about her new novel ‘Land‘).

Exciting! The tickets were all sold out but a friend got on the waiting list and managed to snaffle us a couple, just yesterday. I’m looking forward to that! Will report back! (Can you tell my edits haven’t come back yet? Once they do, this gadding about will have to stop!)

Victoria Street, Old Town, Edinburgh.

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Posted in Blogging, Books | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Egg-citing Times!

Posted on May 19, 2026 by blogaboutwriting

A big fat strawberry tart and why not? (It didn’t last long)

Hello!

I have a couple of free writing competitions to tell you about but first… news of an encounter I had last weekend. (And I know – because people have told me – that sometimes these odd tales inspire a story or two and if this one does, please feel free to go ahead and ‘use’ it!)

Last Saturday evening – because this is how exciting my life is – I went to the launderette to dry my mum’s towels.

There are usually tourists in the launderette. Americans mostly, or Australians, on a month or six-week long tour of the UK/the Cotswolds and desperate to get their clothes clean.

Bless them, they never have any change and don’t realise that we are still in the dark ages in this neck of the woods and the launderette does not have a change machine.

So, I usually help them out (because I have a big fat purse full of pounds and fifty pence pieces).

That evening, there was a young Australian couple in the launderette, sans coins and I gave them some change and they were very grateful and then started muttering to each other and eventually, the chap asked me, ‘Would you like some bacon and eggs?’

Strange. To be honest, I didn’t, really (I had lots of eggs at home) but they were clearly keen to repay me and off-load the food and they didn’t want to throw it in the bin.

Turns out, their AirBnB didn’t have the promised cooker so they had no way of cooking the food, which they’d only bought an hour earlier so… OK, thank you… (I did offer to pay for them but they said no), so I went home with bacon and eggs and a funny story to tell.

And the next day, when our dog sitter delivered our dog back, after a few days away, she handed me a box of 6 eggs, from her chickens (first time she’s done that in 13 years! New chickens, perhaps?) and I didn’t like to turn them down… so then I had even more eggs to get through! We have been eating a lot of egg mayonnaise sandwiches…!

Landmarks Flash Fiction Competition – closing 15th June 2026

If you’re “unpublished and un-agented, aged 18 or over and residing in the UK or Ireland and writing in English” you might be interested in this free-to-enter competition which is being run by Curtis Brown Literary Agency.

Here are the details:
• Theme: Landmarks
• Length: Up to 300 words
• Opens: Friday 15 May, 10.00am
• Closes: Monday 15 June, 11.59pm
• Winner: £300 Curtis Brown Creative gift voucher + a yearlong membership to the Writing Studio (worth £240)
• Runners-up: Two writers will receive six months’ access to the Writing Studio (worth £150)

All the details are here – make sure you read the rules carefully – and good luck if you decide to enter!

Best Magazine ‘Summer Sizzler’ Short Story Competition – closing 28th June 2026

And here’s another free competition, which is open to all UK residents, aged 18 and over but “unpublished writers are especially encouraged to enter.”

In addition to publication – for the winner and two runners-up – there is some tasty cash to be won (£500 for the winner, £200 for the runners-up) which is not to be sniffed at!

They’re looking for a story of up to 1200 words on the theme of ‘summer love’ and suitable (obviously) for publication in Best magazine. If you don’t read Best, it might be worth buying a copy and/or flicking through one in the newsagents.

I’ve taken the details from the Best Instagram post but in case you can’t read it (click on the photo and it should get bigger), you need to email your entry, along with your name, email address and phone number to bestfiction@hearst.co.uk with ‘Summer Sizzler Fiction 2026’ in the subject line by 28th June. Good luck!

Edinburgh-Bound

I’m off to Edinburgh for a couple of days very soon so if anyone has any tips for places to see/things to do (apart from the Royal Yacht Britannia which is already on my list!), do let me know!

Posted in Competitions, Cotswolds | Tagged , | 5 Comments

After The Deadline…

Posted on May 10, 2026 by blogaboutwriting

Tinto de Verano, my drink of choice in sunny(ish) Spain

Hello!

Remember me?! I am a bit rusty in the blogging department, so please ‘bear with’ if this post is all over the place! Normal service will, hopefully, soon be resumed!

I’ve been beavering away on the new book (which is set in the 1950s, have I told you that?), with no time for blogging, or very much else, since the beginning of the year. But…phew, stage one is now done!

I sent off the first draft on the evening of 21st April (it was due in on 22nd) and got up at 4.15am the next morning (aaagh, torture!) to catch a flight to Spain for a few days away with the girls.

It was the first time I’d been on a plane for a looong time (before Covid, for sure) so it was all a bit strange, especially as we were all flying in from different airports (get us!) so I was all on my tod but I managed it. Hurrah!

Anyway, I will pepper this post with a few photos of the trip (brightens the page up a bit, doesn’t it?).

We were in Malaga and I can highly recommend it for a mini break! (although we did have rain on one of the three days – boo!). But there’s lots to see and do (eg: Picasso museum, flamenco dancing, tapas, a walking tour, cathedral, Roman theatre, fortress!) and it’s not overly expensive, like some places.

Malaga’s cathedral is nicknamed La Manquita (“The One-Armed Lady”), because it’s missing one tower.

The Novel

So, to the book.

I did my usual and took absolutely forever to write it (and even now the first draft has holes in it) and this is not laziness on my part, I have come to realise, or even incompetence, it is FEAR (fear of it being rubbish and so I put myself under immense pressure to get it right! I overthink, re-read what I’ve already written, do too much research and edit when I should be moving forward…!) but it seems to be the only way I can do it.

And I know I’m not alone. For example, author Lissa Evans (who wrote, amongst other things, ‘Their Finest Hour and a Half’, later made into a film – both fabulous) says, “ I write incredibly slowly and I re-write ruthlessly as I go along…”

Yes, this!!

I much prefer the editing/tweaking/rewriting/fine-tuning stage, which is what I’ll be doing next, once I get the feedback from my editor next month.

Concentrate!

It’s hard to concentrate, isn’t it? There are too many distractions and screens and calls on our time.

Two friends have told me, separately, over the past couple of weeks that they hardly read any more because they find it hard to focus. Their attention spans seem to have shrunk!

If that’s the same for you, you might find this article interesting, which serendipitously popped up on my screen a couple of days ago: Seven Small Habits To Help You Read More.

The Lumberjills On VE Day

I was delighted to see that, to mark VE Day, The Sun ran this article this week about one of the last surviving Lumberjills – Hannah Potter (103 years old!) – one of the “jolly good fellers” as they were also known!

What I’m watching:

If you have Netflix, may I recommend a light-hearted and rather silly series called ‘Younger’ (it’s been out for a while so I’m probably late to the party..!) which I am thoroughly enjoying.

Younger is about a 40-year old American (recent) divorcee, who’s trying to re-enter the world of publishing. Because of ageism, she can’t get an entry-level job, so she lies about her age and pretends to be 26 (and gets the job and a new lease of life…!)

It’s funny and a bit rude (so perhaps don’t watch it with your mum/nana/maiden aunt unless she’s broadminded!).

Here I am with Picasso, who was born in Malaga (so was Antonio Banderas but sadly there’s no statue of him… yet!)

Posted in Blogging, Books, novel writing | 1 Comment

I’m Back! (Briefly!)

Posted on March 24, 2026 by blogaboutwriting

Ooh apologies, I have been away a long time but I am deep into the first draft of the new book, deadline looming next month and, to add to all the other things I feel guilty about, I have been feeling v. guilty about my lack of blogging, so here I am!

I am writing this while my mum’s chips are cooking (she’s also having a cheese omelette and peas, I hasten to add. I am very good at omelettes these days, a bit like Gwen in ‘Gavin & Stacey’). Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, as the dinner cooks, I’ve just got time to write a few quick lines.

Killantringan Lighthouse, designed by David A. Stevenson (ancestor of my husband!)

I have been in Scotland since I last wrote. Just a flying visit to Portpatrick in Dumfries and Galloway which is beautiful and we were lucky to have fab weather (at the end of Feb! In Scotland!) so I’ll be dotting a few photos around (excuse the higgeldy-piggeldy-ness) to show you how lovely it was.

“The MeetCute Storyteller Prize” 🩷 (£12 Entry Fee)

Here’s a great opportunity from the Kate Nash Literary Agency, which has launched: “The MeetCute Storyteller Prize.”

If you write romance – or think you might like to – this could be the competition for you! They want you to send the opening chapter of any kind of romance novel. The comp closes on 5th June and all the details are here but in a nutshell:

* The Prize is open to writers aged 18 or over who are unrepresented by a literary agency.
* Entries must be wholly original work written by the entrant. AI generated or enhanced work will be ineligible for entry.
* Entries may have been previously published or self-published.
* The winners will be announced on Saturday 4th July at the MeetCute Festival (which is being held in Hertfordshire but I’m sure there’s no obligation to actually be there – unless you want to be! And if you’re on Instagram, the MeetCute organisers are running a competition to win 2 tickets to the festival which closes on 17th April. Details here).

* First Prize:
• The first prize winner will receive £500 and an offer of literary agency representation from Kate Nash Literary Agency Ltd.
Runners-Up Prizes:
• Three runners-up will each receive a one hour one-to-one (1:1) mentoring and editorial meeting with a literary agent.

(As someone’s pointed out to me and therefore I’m adding to the original post, there’s an entry fee of £12. No mention of that until you get to the submission page, which is a little bit naughty…!)

Theatre
I’ve also been to see Henry V at the RSC in the past couple of weeks and..ahem, the least said about that, the better. I love that play – I did it at school (for ‘O’ level – remember them?) and I know great swathes of it (good word, swathes) off by heart, especially the first chorus.

Anyway, they messed around with it, which did not impress me! But other people have loved it so what do I know?!

Dunskey Castle (ruins thereof, at least!)

TV
Ooh, but what about ‘The Other Bennet Sister’ currently on BBC? It’s the story of Mary Bennet, (very much a ‘lesser sister’ in P&P) and based on the novel by Janice Hadlow.

Anyone else watching and ADORING it? I’m getting 1995 BBC Pride & Prejudice vibes and I love the fact that Hill, the lovely maid in ‘The Other Bennet Sister’ actually played Mary Bennet in the BBC production, all those years ago. Love it when they do things like that.

And, if I may be permitted to make my own little ‘link’, Mrs Bennet is played by Ruth Jones, who, as I’m sure you know, plays ‘Nessa in Gavin & Stacey!

Anyway, I can highly recommend it if you like Jane Austen stuff even just the tiniest bit. It is funny and poignant, brilliantly acted and a balm for the soul, I feel.

Right, must dash. I will be back, hopefully calmer and with more time to spare, anon. Farewell!

Dunskey Castle – me and the Bonnie Bonster (on the lead because there were cliffs!)

Posted in Blogging, Books, Competitions, Kate Nash Agency, Television | 2 Comments

Not A Dry January!

Posted on January 22, 2026 by blogaboutwriting

I am trying to make this my writing motto for 2026!

Hello, how are you?! Isn’t the weather AWFUL!

I know it’s a bit of a first world problem but yesterday it didn’t stop raining here and it was freezing cold too and it was a tiny bit depressing.

But today was a bit better so.. hopefully better days are coming! (and on the subject of ‘Dry January’, no I have NEVER done that and do not intend to!)

Honestly, the only thing that’s kept me going through January has been The Traitors on the TV, which, despite – or perhaps because of – featuring a couple of mad women, has been brilliant!

As you may know, crime writer Harriet Tyce is one of the contestants and apparently her book sales and popularity have soared as a result.

And I can confirm that I was in the library today, collecting a book from the shelf of reserved books and someone had reserved ALL FOUR Harriet Tyce novels (a fifth is out next month), so, from my limited findings (ie: one shelf of a library) I can confirm that it’s TRUE.

Re. Traitors, I had a very definite ‘what am I going to do once it finishes on Friday?’ feeling. But then – joy! I discovered that the Irish edition of The Traitors starts on BBC 1 on Saturday! And I am IN!

Still on a cheery note, we have put up our new solar-panel-powered bird box with a camera, full of optimism and hoping that the great tits that usually nest in a (different) birdbox on that same site, will be back again in the spring and this time we’ll be able to watch their antics and hopefully their babies!

I will keep you posted.

(Please don’t anyone tell me that we’ve left it too late for this year. I need only good news at this time).

Short Story Competitions

A couple of short story competitions here, if that’s your thing:

Writers and Artists Short Story Competition c/d 13th Feb 2026

This one is free to enter, as always and you can win a place on an Arvon course, worth almost £1000 (eek! How did they get so expensive?!) and publication on the Writers & Artists website. Details here.

The Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition c/d 31st March 2026

If you fancy writing a crime short story (with a protagonist from Scotland) and the chance to win 1,000, publication of your story on the Bloody Scotland website and a guest appearance at the Bloody Scotland Festival in September 2026 (or a runner’s up prize of £500), then read more here.

You’ve got until the end of March to submit your max 2000 words (not previously published) story, so plenty of time to start working on it! It’s one entry per person and it appears to be free to enter and open worldwide! Hurrah.

And if you want an idea of the kind of story they might be looking for, you can read some of the previous winners here.

Slush Pile Day – Saturday 9th May 2026 10am – 6pm

Novelists and all-round brilliant writing tutors, Alison May and Janet Gover are running a ‘Slush Pile Day’ in London in May.

This sounds like a great opportunity for anyone who has a book ready (or almost ready) for submission, whether you’re currently unpublished, or are a published author seeking to lift your career to a new level.

Price – £89.50 but book before Feb 9th and get a 20% early booking discount, making the day £71.60. (There is also a bursary available to one person who couldn’t otherwise afford it).

All the details are here.

Right, fellow Faithfuls, I must love you and leave you as I have to get ready (ie: pour wine, find slippers, sit on the sofa) for you-know-what!

Posted in Competitions, Short Stories, Television | 1 Comment

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 5, 2026 by blogaboutwriting

Helloooo! And Happy New Year to you (ah, the relief of not having to think of a fancy title for this blog post. ‘Happy New Year’ does the job very nicely).

I hope you had a good Christmas (seems like ages ago now, don’t you think?) and let’s hope 2026 is a great year for all of us.

NY’s Resolutions – Yay or Nay?

My New Year’s resolution is to learn how to use Canva to make fancy (or even not that fancy) pictures and stuff for my social media accounts.(Or anything! Do you use something that’s better than Canva? Let me know!)

I am sadly lacking in the ability to do even basic things, purely because I haven’t taken the time to learn.

Don’t laugh, but you’ll notice, for example, that the ‘99p’ on the book cover below (and yes, the book really is on offer at the moment for that bargain price), was printed off the computer, placed on the book and then I took a photo of it! I know, how old-person-ish is that?!

The last in the Highland Girls/lumberjills series is on a Kindle deal at the moment (“for a limited time”!) for just 99p, just in case that should be of interest…!

But honestly, given my lack of skills in that department, it was quicker for me to do that than faff around trying – and probably failing – to do it digitally.

Have you made any New Year’s resolutions? Good luck with them, if so!

National Year of Reading

2026, as you may know, has been designated by the government as the ‘National Year of Reading’ – which can only be a good thing, imo. Children – and adults – are reading less and less (booo!) and the ‘National Year of Reading’ aims to “(re)connect people of all ages with reading as a meaningful, modern, and social activity.”

There are going to be lots of events and activities throughout the year to support the National Year of Reading (in libraries as well as in schools and elsewhere). Here’s the website if it’s of interest. Not much in the way of ‘events’ on there yet but I’m sure it’ll get populated as the year gets going!

40 Books in 2025

Talking of reading, I managed to hit my challenge (which I set on Goodreads) of 40 books read this year. I know it’s not *amazing* compared to the number that some people get through but I don’t have a lot of time to read (I usually manage about 2 pages in bed before I fall asleep and in addition, I always have an audiobook on the go in the car), so I was pretty happy with that.

My top 3 reads of the year were, in no particular order:

The Wedding People – Alison Espach (on a Kindle deal NOW for just 99p if you want to give it a go!)

A Ladder To The Sky – John Boyne (similar theme to ‘Yellowface’, if you’ve read that, but, imo, about ten times better!)

In The Blink of An Eye – Jo Callaghan (first in a series and I devoured the next 2 books and I’m looking forward to the fourth – and final book – coming out in May).

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton and American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins – both thrillers that I read for my book club in 2025 – were also good and memorable reads.

So, what have I got in store for 2026?

Last year, I had a book out but I didn’t write anything new (well, I started a new Lumberjills book as you may remember but the publisher decided they didn’t want any more WW2 books from me. Fair enough).

However, I did get a new contract for a stand-alone historical novel (not 1940s this time but a bit later in the century!) So that’s what I’m working on now, with a deadline of 22nd April to deliver the first draft, so I have to really start working hard and I’ll be a bit of a hermit between now and then. And I know that seems like a long time to write 85-95k but I am S.L.O.W and I need a lot of thinking time. I can’t just sit down and bash words out (my bad!). 😦

At the end of 2025 I – sadly – gave up the class (‘Sunny Side Up’) that I’ve been teaching on a voluntary basis in Stratford-on-Avon for nine years and that means I’m not doing any teaching, for the first time in a couple of decades! Feels a bit weird. But hopefully I will still take the odd workshop and who knows, I may well start teaching again at some point but for now, I just don’t have time.

At the Evesham Festival of Words in the summer, I’ll be running the quiz night with my friend Chris (Friday 26th June) and on Sunday 28th June, I’ll be interviewing a bookish hero of mine – AJ Pearce, who wrote the Emmy Lake (‘Dear Mrs Bird’ et al) series – and who is also now writing something in a different era – will be interesting to find out more!

I know it seems a long way off (and let’s not wish the year away!), but you can book tickets now, should you so wish!

See you there?! And Happy New Year! (again)

Posted in Books, West Midlands | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Christmas Is A-Coming…!

Posted on December 17, 2025 by blogaboutwriting

Is it wrong to get excited about a water butt?

I recently mentioned (in passing!) to my husband that we really need one (the last one rotted, probably because it was wooden and currently there’s an ineffective washing-up bowl catching the water and as it’s been raining a lot, I am emptying the water onto the garden every half hour).

Anyway, he sprung into action and researched water butts on t’internet and yesterday he asked me what colour I wanted (green marble is the answer) and gradually, it has dawned on me that this water butt, dear reader is My Christmas Present! (Hopefully not the only one!).

Other women are showered with perfume and diamonds (perhaps you are one of them?) and I get.. a water butt! Ah well, serves me right for mentioning something I wanted when he was clearly in a ‘what-the-heck-can-I-get-her’ frame of mind!

I am sure it will be lovely and I may even post a photo of it when it arrives, so stand by for that.

Sad News

On a bit of a sad note, for a second…

Lots of writerly people have died in the last couple of weeks, as you may know.

Firstly, the lovely, funny Sophie Kinsella, whose books never failed to cheer and make me laugh. A particular favourite of mine is ‘The Undomestic Goddess‘ which is so good. If you want to ‘escape’ over Christmas, that’s a good ‘un.

Then, Joanna Trollope, she of the ‘Aga Sagas’ (a name she detested, apparently). I read – and loved – all her books in my younger days and went to see her interviewed in Birmingham, many moons ago. She seemed like a nice person and was an early inspiration to me.

And finally, Jonathan Telfer, former editor of Writing magazine, who phoned me once when I’d pitched several articles to him (I thought he was going to tell me to STOP! But actually he was phoning to accept them and ask for more).

I’d never spoken to an editor before and I was in awe and barely able to speak. But he was lovely and very encouraging.

Ah, all very sad and it seems especially poignant when it’s just before Christmas.

The sky this morning at 8am was rather amazing

Room 204

If you’re a West Midlands based writer, applications are open for Writing West Midlands’ writerly support programme ‘Room 204′ so if you qualify (in the first instance, by living, working or studying in the West Midlands), then have a look at the requirements and see if it’s something you might like to apply for. It’s free and the deadline for applications is midday on 7th January. Good luck!

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

If you can remember that far back, you may recall that when I wrote my last post, I was listening to the audiobook of ‘The Wedding People’ and despite all the recommendations it had had, I wasn’t overly struck…

Well, I stand corrected. It got better. I laughed out loud and by the end (at which point I shed a little tear), I LOVED it. So I can highly recommend it BUT be prepared for quirkiness and a bit of a slow start (in my humble opinion).

Happy Christmas

I am already half-person half-turkey, as I’ve been out for three Christmas meals and (stupidly!) chose the traditional meal each time. (Because last year I deliberately chose something different and had menu envy when everyone else’s turkey dinner looked so delicious).

Anyway, I’m sure I’ll manage to eat some more on Christmas Day!

It only remains for me to wish you a very Happy Christmas! I hope you have a good one, whatever form that takes and that you get some nice books to read, if that is your thing (and also, that you get time to read them!)

And if you want to do some writing over the Christmas holiday, The People’s Friend have come up with a ‘seven day writing challenge’ – ie: 7 prompts, one for each day of the week.

See you on the other side!

Posted in Books, The People's Friend, West Midlands | Tagged | 14 Comments