Learn how to slow down, refocus, and find joy in writing again - without the burnout.

It's not every day that world renowned cyclists pass so close to my home town, and it's not every day that the Tour of Britain races up one of the most famous routes in Wales! The Tumble (aka The Blorenge) involves around 1,300 feet of climbing over a distance of four miles – a challenge not to be taken lightly, according to my husband who has cycled this route many times, although not reaching the summit in the impressively quick times the professionals achieve.   Unable to

If you've read the acknowledgements at the back of Summer Escapes on the Scottish Isle , you might r emember me mentioning my old art teacher and a certain vase? This is what I wrote: "I need to thank someone else: Mr Nicklin, my art teacher when I was in school (so many years ago) for introducing me to clay and not laughing at the result, even if my vase looked weirdly like a bottom. My mother pointed that out when I proudly brought it home. She still has it, but I’m not su

Do you enjoy finding out more about the authors of your favourite books? Morton S. Gray, author of gorgeous romances with a mystery to solve, asked me 'Who is the real Lilac Mills'. ​ If you want to know the answer to that question, take a look at her blog. ​ https://mortonsgray.com/2024/06/17/who-is-the-real-lilac-mills/   And she's asking other authors the very same thing! All Lilac Mills books Want to be notified whenever I write a new blog post? About the Author Lilac Mil

Earlier this month I attended a party in London which was hosted by my wonderful publisher, Canelo (plus Hera, who is now part of the Canelo group). Going to London is always a big deal for me, because it's not my natural habitat. Plus there's huge potential for me to get lost, or for things to go wrong! Thankfully, everything went without a hitch and I had a fantastic time. Not only did I get to meet all the brilliant pixies and elves who bring my stories to life (aka, the l

OK, I might be over-egging it here, but for someone who's not travelled more than twenty miles from home in the past two years or more, this was a big deal for me, because last weekend I went to the Romantic Novelists' Association Conference held at Harper Adams University - and had an absolute blast! Meeting up with old friends, discovering new ones, learning more about the craft of writing, publishing and romantic fiction, it was hard work but so very rewarding. And so much

I gave up the day job nearly a year ago to write full time (it was a scary decision and it still frightens me now!) and I must admit that it took me a while to get into a routine. I had been so used to getting up ridiculously early to write for a couple of hours, then coming home from work and trying to fit in editing and the rest of the admin type things that writers have to do that the change was a bit of a culture shock. I bumped into a colleague yesterday who wanted to kn

Have you got a favourite Christmas jumper?

I’m an only child. My mother is an only child. My father is an only child. And my grandparents lived with us when I was growing up.

You’d think, as an author, your writing commitments would stop at writing the story, wouldn’t you? I certainly did, when I was young and naïve (okay, maybe not that young!). My idea of being an author, before I joined the real world, was that you wrote a novel, sent it off somewhere, someone would jump up and down with glee when they clapped eyes on it, and you’d merrily dance off into the sunset to write the next one, your job done.

Finding the time to write has become a bit of a challenge.