Friday 3rd November
Hi folks,
Is Christmas really just around the corner? Autumn crept in slow and hit all at once, and yet just as I’ve gotten my first enjoyment of leaf-strewn pavements, I’m breaking out my festive jewellery.
But before we get there — October.
My granddad passed away this month. He’s been very ill for a while, but it’s still been weird to get my head around him being gone. He wasn’t much of a reader beyond the newspaper, but he was a fantastic storyteller, with plenty of hijinks to tell and impressions to bring them to life. He has been the biggest champion of my writing career, to the point where even during hospital stays he would ask staff if they’d seen The Kissing Booth on Netflix, and tell them all about my books.
He bought me my first proper sewing machine. I’ve had it for about fifteen years. It needs to go in for a service; I have some Christmas cushion covers to make for my auntie before December.
Now, to buoy you (and me, writing this) back up - here’s some highs from October: I took a trip to 66 Books with my friend; I went to a pumpkin patch with another friend and her dog; and I flew out to Miami for a friend’s wedding, and finally got to meet up with my friend group from America. We’ve hung out online a bunch - murder mystery birthday parties, D&D campaigns, and we message every day, but after a couple of years of knowing them, I finally got to meet most of the group at the wedding, and I am SO glad I went. It was a phenomenal trip, even if I did yeet half my book into the swimming pool at our airbnb to get it out of the way of a particularly large lizard.
Some quick housekeeping bits before we crack on with the rest of the newsletter…
My new grumpy/sunshine YA book SINCERELY YOURS, ANNA SHERWOOD comes out in paperback next Thursday (9th November) but the ebook has been released early! It’s only 99p currently until pub day, so don’t dawdle!
I’ll also be at YALC on Saturday 11th November for a panel and signings - and I’ll be hanging around on Sunday, too, so come say hi if you see me!
And, if you’re already starting your Christmas reading list, let me remind you that I have a quick, cosy festive read - my new adult novella from 2019, IT WON’T BE CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU!
THE READING CORNER
I read nine books in October (a record so far this year) and am currently 74% of the way through a 588,000 word fanfic (Measure of a Man, if you’re in the market for a mammoth read). Most of my October reads were witchy romcoms/cosy fantasy: The Ex Hex, Hex Appeal, Enchanted to Meet You…
Special shoutout to the book I yeeted halfway into the swimming pool though: A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon was SPECTACULAR! I loved the blend and balance of romance alongside the more adventure-y/fantasy plotline, and the worldbuilding was effortless and immersive. Definitely a fun read I’d recommend!
SCREEN TIME
My Gilmore Girls watch continues; so far, neither Logan or Jess are very endearing, but I’m reliably informed I should withhold judgement as there will be more to come. I’m not convinced either will win me over, but boy am I invested in the Luke/Lorelai romance.
THE WRITING DESK
October was another deadline-free month for me, so I indulged in some fanfiction and toying around with a couple of other books. One of which may be the sequel to my dual-pov romantasy novel I wrote last year… (The pirate portion of the adventure has just kicked off. In completely unrelated news, the number of times I have googled the difference between a poop deck and a quarter deck is not zero.)
AND A WORD OF AUTHORIAL ADVICE…
Don’t worry about special tools or formatting when it comes to writing your book. Microsoft Word, Pages, Google Docs, the Notes app, an email draft - the main thing is that you’re writing! When it comes to formatting, I’m a fan of Size 12 Times New Roman and justified alignment, but that’s only personal preference - it’s not anywhere near as important or pivotal as you might think it is. Publishers will set their own formats anyway if you end up going the tradpub route, or if you’re at the stage of self publishing there are plenty of online guides with advice on that.
For now, just focus on getting the words on the page. Everything else can come later!
WAIT, BEFORE YOU GO!
A quick reminder that my latest YA book, THE SUMMER SWITCH-OFF is out now, if you’re looking for a read full of those sun, sea and sangria vibes to take you back to summertime. Or, my fake dating adult novel FAKING IT is out now, too! And that one spans a whole year of events, so is perfect whatever the weather!
My grumpy/sunshine YA romance SINCERELY YOURS, ANNA SHERWOOD comes out November 9th (less than a week to go) and you can preorder here - or get the ebook for 99p (limited time only!) here.
And my Christmas book, IT WON’T BE CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU, is available here.