During the course of the summer I received the wonderful news that my debut novel is to be published by Ringwood Publishing next year.

I’ve shared a bit over the years about the progress of this novel. I began working on it years ago, alongside my freelance writing and heritage career, and it has been through many drafts! There were some really encouraging early moments, including being highly commended in the Bridge Awards Emerging Writer Award and longlisted for the Mslexia Novel Award, but there have been so many disappointments too.

The decision I took 18 months ago to move to a different part-time job, giving myself time to focus properly on my fiction, has proved to be really important, as was my second visit to Moniack Mhor in June 2019.

After a drastic rewrite, which included removing an entire storyline (around half the manuscript!), What You Call Free (yes, new title too) has at last found its perfect home.

Much more to follow!