Flaming Nora: The Guardian, The Word, Plotting and a return to Scarborough (in my head)

Friday, April 22, 2022

The Guardian, The Word, Plotting and a return to Scarborough (in my head) - my writing week

This week I've been finalising the plotting and planning of my third cosy crime set in Scarborough. I can't reveal the title or the cover yet, but I will do as soon as I can. Now that I've finished researching over the last few weeks, and the plotting and planning are done, all I have to do now is... (takes a deep breath!) .... start writing it. And that's what I'll be doing next week. All being well, I'll write on three mornings a week every week, although it's usually more as I tend to get carried away by the story. My first draft therefore, should be ready before the end of August. Then it's editing and tweaking and polishing and refining it before it goes to the publisher before the end of November, which is when the deadline is. Wish me luck!

Speaking of Scarborough, I received a wonderful comment from a reader about my first cosy crime - Murder at the Seaview Hotel. My books are inspiring readers to visit the locations in my books, whether it's my sagas and people are visiting Ryhope to see the locations, or to Scarborough to see the magical seaside town. Makes my heart swell with pride.

I had a wonderful chat with Gemma of Scarborough's South Cliff Gardens about arranging a book launch in Scarborough for my second cosy crime - Curtain Call at the Seaview Hotel. It'll be on Saturday 6 August from 11-1 and I'll give you all the details very soon! All welcome!

I'm also working on a fantastic competition prize for the August paperback launch of CURTAIN CALL AT THE SEAVIEW HOTEL, set in Scarborough. You'll be able to win overnight B&B in Scarborough, dinner for two at Eatme cafe plus two tickets to see Brief Encounter at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. Stay tuned. Better still, sign up for my monthly newsletter to ensure you don't miss out!

Also this week I had a letter printed in the Guardian. Flaming Nora! Read all about it, here.

The Word at South Shields is one of my favourite buildings in the northeast. So I'm doubly over the moon to be invited to give two sessions there on Writing for Magazines this June. Sign up now

And I was delighted to discover that I'm included in a new book of 120 most notable people in Sunderland. As my surname begins with the letter Y and the book is arranged in alphabetical order, I'm last but by no means least! Find out about the book here.

I crafted another episode of my weekly soap opera Riverside for The People's Friend magazine. I've been writing Riverside weekly since 2016 and you can find out all about it here.