Happy Friday, my fabulous ferret,

This will be the last you hear from me in 2020, which is very exciting, because I've chosen to see 2021 as an entirely new reality full of possibilities and vaccinations and regular trips outside. (Please don't burst my bubble, I need this.)

It's been a wild ride, but this year has taught me some stuff. For example: that romance really can get me through anything. I knew it helped with personal issues, but I had no idea it could also distract me from global pandemics and months of lockdown.

Another thing I've learned: when Grandma told me never to put off until tomorrow what I could do today, she meant that sh*t. (Sorry for cursing, email filter gods, please don't arrest me.)

 On that note, I'm very pleased to announce that I am now an official Goodreads Tastemaker. This means I tell Goodreads on an irregular basis about my favourite romance novels and they, for reasons that escape me, publish that information. 

I don't feel remotely expert enough to do this, but you never know when the internet will collapse and written language will dissolve and your chance to talk about romance online will be gone forever, so. I've learned my lesson. I did the thing.

My first official column is out now, and it's all about the red-hot 2020 reads that helped me cope - plus a few 2021 books I'm looking forward to. There's ghosts and fake engagements and disability rep and a cowboy and also an alien, and didn't they make a film about that once?

And now it's time to talk 2021.

I hope you know that on March 9th, the Brown Sisters series will conclude with Evie's book: Act Your Age, Eve Brown. I am in love with this story. It's chaotic, it's set in the countryside, there are rogue ducks, and everyone is autistic.

That last part is very important to me because I am autistic. If you've read A Girl Like Her, you know I've written an autistic heroine before. If you've read the rest of the Ravenswood series, and you know about this sort of thing, you might realise that I also like to write characters on the autistic spectrum who don't have a diagnosis.

I merged those interests in Eve's book, resulting in my first romance between two autistic protagonists. It was a joy to write.

Equally joyous was the fact that Eve finds her hero, Jacob, incredibly annoying, and Jacob finds Eve alarming and horrifying in equal measure. This is enemies-to-lovers but it's also oil-and-water-to-best-friends-with-kissing. You can preorder it now by tapping here.

So what comes next? Well, if you love my sexy romcoms, don't worry. Something's in the works...

And if you also love my cozy angst-fests (think Jas and Rahul in Wanna Bet? or Olu and Griff in Work for It) you're gonna adore the book I'm working on right now. 

It's tentatively titled Write Dirty to Me. The hero, Blaise, is a primary school teacher and quintessential do-gooder with a secret temper. The heroine, Simone, is trying to rebuild her life and finds his Perfect Peter schtick very unimpressive.

But I cannot reveal anything else! *Disappears in puff of smoke.*

(I am still here, the puff was metaphorical.)

I'm also hoping to pop up in a 2021 anthology or two, but nothing's confirmed. So keep an eye out!

And that's that. Talia out. I'm going to lie in a pile of blankets and eat chocolate for the rest of the year.

But before I go, I want to say thank you. Thank you for sticking with me for another year - or maybe finding me this year! Thank you for reading my books. Thank you for loving them in a way that inspires me to write even more. Thank you for being a wonderful community that's offered warmth and support and happy endings no matter what.

I am wishing you all the best for 2021. We've got this.

Love and biscuits,

Talia xx