July Updates

Jul 21, 2026

Hello again!

It’s been a little while since my last newsletter. Somehow the months have slipped by in a whirl of writing, proof reading and trying to stay cool,

Most of my time has been spent with Olivia and the residents of Penbartha as the fourth mystery gradually takes shape. Writing a novel is a curious business. Some days the words flow effortlessly; on others, the characters seem determined to keep their secrets. It’s been particularly weird writing a novel set at Christmas during a succession of heatwaves. And, despite not cooling me down, I think I’m finally winning.

Articles & Interviews

I’ve also enjoyed taking a short break from fiction to write a couple of magazine articles. It’s been refreshing to write something completely different for a change.

One of those articles was for the Climate Fiction Writers League, a group of authors who write stories that explore our relationship with the environment in all sorts of different ways. As part of that, I also had the pleasure of interviewing another League member, Phyllis Dixon, US author of Something in the Water. Despite her novel being further along the climate fiction spectrum from mine, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was fascinating to hear how another writer approaches their work. And a good reminder that there are so many different ways to tell hopeful stories about the future.

I also wrote an article for the League called, ‘Why I chose to weave sustainability into a cosy mystery’. This is due to be published on Substack on 13th October to coincide with the publication of A Deadly Abode. I’m not sure when the interview will be published yet, but I’ll be providing updates on my instagram and substack page.

Both will be on substack at

Climate Fiction Writers League Substack

I’ve been reading….

Matt and I are represented by the same Literary Agency. I loved Matt’s first book in this series, The Armchair Detectives, which was full of laugh out loud moments, intrigue, fabulous characters, great writing and a clever twist. I’m thoroughly enjoying this next one, where they travel to Menorca and end up investigating the death of a famous author on a writing retreat.

What’s not to love?

I’ve been watching…

I’m not really interested in football or tennis or much sport at all, so was very happy to find this series on ITVX, based on a novel by Matt Baker.

A widowed UK police detective takes his daughter to Capri for the summer to stay with his in-laws, and as they struggle to overcome their grief he gets immersed in helping solve local crime.

It’s full of beautiful scenery, food, great characters and intriguing mysteries.

I want to go to Capri now!

Postcard from Penbartha

And talking of beautiful places, I used to love sending and receiving postcards from people on their holidays, but that just doesn’t happen anymore so I’ve decided to start sending them from Penbartha on Instagram.

Penbartha has been part of my imagination for quite a while now, and I thought it might be nice to share occasional postcards from village life, seasonal happenings and whatever Olivia is currently trying not to investigate.

This one comes from the creek, which is looking particularly beautiful at the moment.

I hope you enjoy visiting from time to time.

Bargain alert….

For those of you who would rather not use a certain well-known online retailer, I have good news if you want to pre -order book 3 in the Olivia Wells Mysteries.

A Deadly Abode, which is published on 8th October is on special offer online at Waterstones between 21-24 July.

Pre -order at Waterstones with 25% off

Even more bargains…

For those of you who prefer reading on kindle, Deadly Treasures is currently on special offer for the bargain price of 99p - but probably only until the end of July.

And did you know that you can buy kindle books for others?