Hi lovely reader!

It’s been a few months since my last post and I apologise. It’s really been one thing after another, leaving me spinning and trying to split my attention.

I think I’ll start with a brief recap of what’s been happening in the last few months:

• I went to the National Maritime Museum in May to a pirate exhibition which was pretty cool. I expected it to be larger though, and it mostly put a spotlight on pirates in media forums. Nonetheless, I had a nice time and got myself some pirate merch from the gift shop after!

• After the museum, I took a stroll through my university campus (my old haunting ground), which has seen many film crews and featured in loads of movies and shows (Bridgerton, Enola Holmes, Tomb Raider, Pirates of the Caribbean – ironically). It was lovely reunion and a great time of reflection for me.

• My bookworm venture has not gotten as far as I’d liked. I’m not sure why I’ve been struggling to commit to reading just one book (I currently have 4 different ones at the moment). One has been quite heavy to process (The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk) so I put a pin in it and moved onto 3 different romance books (steampunk, monster and dark). I will get through them slowly but surely, but maybe I’ll give myself a more realistic goal of reading 10 books this year instead of 20!

News and Updates:

• I joined a writing server in June which has been a nice, safe space for me to connect with other writers across the world. I have found a friend in a fellow UK romance writer who wonderfully accepted to be an alpha reader for my current WIP. It took a lot of courage to have another pair of eyes on my work other than my critique partner, and I’m beyond happy with my choice!. It’s so important for writers to have a couple of like-minded friends/writers who can help build us as a person and strengthen our writing skills!

• I will be taking part in the Advent Calendar Story Train again this year (it’s becoming my new favourite writing event of the year). I’ve decided this one will be another short story featuring one of my characters from my Jackson J Tales series. It will be posted in December and I will be dropping the date nearer the time.

• I found a new writing space that I will be making more of an effort to go to on the weekend! It’s a gorgeous working space with loads of plants and barely any people (a win! lol)

This time last year my depression had hit me hard, and I put all my energy into completing book 2 in order to feel some form of control and achievement after a not-so-great-year. After a lot of reflection, I have it in me to end this year still feeling a sense of achivement without the pressure of launching a book.

This leads me on to talk a bit about some decisions I have made regarding the next two books in the JJ Tales series. I already knew the events of book 3 would be long and intense therefore just like book 1’s ending, book 3 will too end on a cliffhanger. Book 4 will pick up where book 3 ends. My plan is to finish writing both books and have them release in the same year (this way readers won’t have to wait so long to find out what happens next).

Even though the autumn and winter months are the hardest for me mentally and physically, I’m feeling some optimism and excitement at what’s to come. I’ve started book 3 and have some surprises I’m keeping close to my chest for the time being, and I can’t wait to put things in motion!

Well that’s it from me for now. I will try not to leave it so long between posts!

Until next time, dear friend – stay safe, keep warm, embrace change (no matter how terrifying it may be), and look after yourself!

With love,

Sab Xx