I’m not normally one for New Year resolutions and the like. Maybe I know myself too well and understand that I won’t keep to them so it all just feels like a waste of time. When it comes to writing goals though, well, that’s something else entirely.

Early in January I saw a tweet (or should I say an X) from Curtis Brown Creative inviting us to share our writing goals #WriteCBC. Having finished the first draft of my new novel over Xmas, it was actually quite easy to identify mine; edit, edit, edit  until that first draft becomes a polished manuscript that is ready to pitch. It’s quite exciting actually, and I’ve already started. It will involve a trip to Berwick upon Tweed, (where the novel is set), probably in the spring, which I’m really looking forward to. I love this town – goes without saying I guess since I’ve chosen to set a novel there – and I can’t wait to walk those ancient ramparts again and let my imagination run riot, picturing what the town would have looked like in the 16th Century when my novel is set.

Since I like to let a manuscript ‘rest’ between edits, so I can return to it after a week or two with a fresh pair of eyes, I will also start researching the next novel, which will probably be a return to Islip, maybe a sequel to The Woman in the Painting. I’ll have to see what I find when I delve in to the village archives. 

I’m also really excited to be going to my first Historical Novel Society UK Conference in September. Some of my favourite writers of historical fiction will be there and I just can’t wait.

So, all-in-all, whilst keeping up with the demands of the ‘day job’, 2024 promises to be another busy year.