My 2024 in Pictures
A look back at my 2024. What a year it’s been!
We started the year with the best of intentions - as always. We decided we were going to visit the coast or countryside at least once a month and possibly once a week. Well, that didn’t last long, but we began 2024 with trips to Flamborough and Bridlington, and to the Holderness coast - which proved to be far more inspiring than I’d imagined.
I got my first ever Mac - a pink iMac, no less, which I quickly fell in love with. I sorted out my office (again!) and bagged up lots of rubbish, as well as taking some of the good stuff to the charity shop. The Husband, bless him, decorated the room for me (again!) and I’ve managed to keep it neat and tidy all year. I know! I can’t believe it myself. My first publication of the year came in March, when I released the Moorland Heroes Collection, containing Resisting Mr Rochester and Saving Mr Scrooge in one volume.
Jessica Redland and I attended a literary event in Scarborough, where we met Jennie Godfrey who kindly signed my copy of The List of Suspicious Things, addressing me as “gorgeous best friend”. If you read the book, you’ll understand!
The Husband and I had a week’s holiday on the Lincolnshire coast with our daughter, daughter-in-law, and two youngest grandchildren, and then I headed off to Harrogate with Jessica for a few days at the Harrogate Crime Writers’ Festival, where we caught up with lots of our writer friends and attended events with some amazing authors, including Elly Griffiths, Dorothy Koomson, and Richard Osman no less!
Somehow, The Husband and I managed to fit in trips to Whitby and Thornton-le-Dale in North Yorkshire, which are two of our favourite places to visit. I was also busy reading up on the Cotswolds (research!) and planning a new witchy venture with lovely Helen Phifer, after we met up in Harrogate…
The second half of the year brought a new release. Coming Home to Tuppenny Bridge was published in July, and did very well, much to my relief. Helen and I began work on our Witchy Wednesday Book Chat podcast, and I took all my courage in both hands and began my very own YouTube channel! What a test of nerve that was, but I’m enjoying it and getting a bit more used to it now.
In September, the Husband and I headed off on a research trip to North Devon and Somerset. I’d had the idea to set a series in the region and wanted to visit some of the places I thought would make good locations. In the event, I realised the area just wasn’t right for the series. But it was far from a wasted trip! It gave me the idea for a brand new series, and I found the perfect place to set it in. After leaving North Devon, we spent a night in Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds, and the following day we visited a couple of locations that I’d tentatively earmarked for another series. They were perfect, much to my relief!
The day after we got back from our research trip, I met up with Jessica and Eliza J Scott and we headed off to York Marina, where we had afternoon tea with several lovely writers and blogger Anne Williams. The event was organised by Jennifer Page, who I’d met in person for the first time in Harrogate. The food was delicious, and the venue was in a truly stunning location. The sun shone and there was a lot of laughter and chatter. It was hard not to share my big news with the other authors…
Which was… I signed a contract for twelve books with Boldwood Books! I had to keep the news quiet for three months or so, but at last the announcement was made and I was so touched by all the lovely messages and gifts and cards I received when the news broke. Book 1 in my new Boldwood series is called Kindred Spirits at Harling Hall, and will be out on March 28th - exactly ten years to the day since my first book, There Must Be an Angel was published. Spooky, eh? And talking of spooky - yes, the book does feature ghosts. But don’t worry. They’re not scary or dangerous at all, and there’s lots of humour and romance in the series, as well as the most beautiful setting.
In October the fifth and final book in my Tuppenny Bridge series with Storm Publishing was released. Hope Blooms in Tuppenny Bridge got some amazing reviews, and I was so glad to end the series on such a positive note. It was a bittersweet moment for me, because I really do love Tuppenny Bridge and all the characters who live there. It was hard to say goodbye.
In November, Jessica and I visited Castle Howard and toured the Alice in Wonderland Christmas installation, which was stunning. Then, a few days later, we headed off to Stratford-upon-Avon where we spent three days with our Write Romantics friends, Jo Bartlett and Jackie Ladbury. We had a wander round the town, which we all agreed was beautiful, had a look in the shops, ate some lovely food, and visited Shakespeare’s birthplace, which was amazing.
My final “event” of the year was Christmas lunch with some of the members of the Beverley Novelists group. We had a great time and it really ended the writing year on a high.
So that was my 2024! And now I’m looking ahead to what promises to be a very busy 2025. I won’t be out and about as much this year (at least, I’m not planning to be!) but I have four books to write for Boldwood and I’m also hoping to write a little something extra if I can fit it in.
I hope your 2024 was a good one, and I hope 2025 is even better.
Have a great week!
