Culture House Sunderland, mental health and mini books

April 24, 2026

This week I've made more steady progress writing the first draft of The Bakery Girls and aim to be finished by end of May. It's a long process that can't be rushed as each day requires considerable concentration and hard work. I'm loving it a lot! I've also seen the cover but can't reveal it yet. It's incredible, and could be my favourite yet.

Out of working hours, I went to the wonderful city of Durham for a tour of Redhills. This is the Durham Miners Association building known as the Pitmen's Parliament. Researching The Bakery Girls means eating cake. A tough job but someone's got to do it. In a cafe in Durham I ate Empire Biscuit, known as German Biscuit before WW1. It could be the inspiration for Sunderland's pink slice, layered shortbread, jam, (white) icing, jelly tot!

I went on a tour of Sunderland's new Culture House, set to open this summer. I was overjoyed to see my books on the shelves of the library part of the building. It's going to be an incredible asset to the city and I hope will change the lives of many aspiring creative young people.

I also celebrated one month to go before the release of Celebrations at the Toffee Factory. Order yours now at bit.ly/ToffeeCelebrations.

I donated a bouquet of books to the Fans' Museum at Sunderland AFC to help raise funds for their men's mental health football team. Love to support a good cause.

An extra tour was added to the walking tour of Ryhope on Saturday 23 May. If you're interested in seeing my book locations, please join the Facebook group here.