February already, and loving the signs of spring burgeoning. Snowdrops are appearing in our local churchyard, crocus pushing up their pale purple heads in the park, and various bulbs in my own pots at the front of the house are coming up for their first year. Which counteracts the sad loss of two fuchsia bushes planted last summer. Who knows what went wrong? My gardening has always been random. Plants either take over or droop in tatty sulkiness until I put them out of their misery.

The sunny weather has helped the mood, although the forecast states rain as of next week. Of course, because yesterday started the process of taking down our old kitchen and utility and building the new one. Months of entertainment ahead for all as I come to grips with my new air fryer and not knowing where I've put things in the temporary arrangements!

And now The News!

OTHER  NEWS

Pleased to have a short flash fiction piece longlisted in the very last Reflex Fiction flash competition. It means the story will appear in their anthology. Nice! You can read the story here.

On short stories, I've kept up with the daily writing prompts I started at the end of 2022, and a handful of others have stayed the course with me. I've upped the game, working to write a complete story from the week's worth of prompts. Love a challenge! They're not prize-winners, but if you want to take a peek, have a look here. And join the fun, even if you don't consider yourself a 'writer'.

Also on short stories, now that Walking in the Rain is out, it's time to focus on my collection of Forest stories. I will do so, but have been a little side-tracked by beginning my next big project. 

Some of you will remember my tale, Sabrina Rising, about the Great Flood of 1607 (listen to it here). I've long had the idea to turn this into a novel, and now I've been offered the help of local historian and PhD student, Rose Hewlett, who has studied the Flood in great detail. I am so grateful to Rose, and highly excited about it all. It will take some time, but it will be worth it! Stay tuned!

COMING UP

March will bring more spring flowers, and at least wild garlic. And lots of great reviews for Walking in the Rain, thank you in advance! (On this, the best way to help an author is to recommend their books to your friends, but reviews are great for spreading the word even further, and authors LOVE them. One sentence is all it takes.)

Hopefully, me and the air fryer will be friends by then too. Fingers crossed.

Until then,

Cheryl

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