At the moment, it's around 9 in the morning, and I'm scribbling drowsily on a flight from Barcelona to Bristol. As we approach the darker half of the year, the end of October marks the height of the harvest season.
In other words, it's the time to reap what has been sown, and at least in my case, that means taking a moment to reflect on the work done. Here are just a few highlights from a summer that has simply flown by too fast.
This is My Sea
Breath on breath, stroke on stroke, go out as far as you can. It doesn’t matter how wild and turbulent the waves are; you can navigate anything. — Miriam Mulcahy, This is My Sea
Over the course of a frantic two weeks nearing the end of May, I worked with Miriam Mulcahy to prepare her debut, This is My Sea, for publication. Covering seven years of loss experienced by Miriam and her family, the memoir is a beautiful and unflinching meditation on both grief and the healing power of the sea.
This was a seriously intense piece of editing, but working with Miriam was a delight. Plus, it seems that our efforts have paid off. This is My Sea hit #1 on the Irish hardback bestseller list during its first week of release, and now, it's been shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards.
Miriam's writing is gorgeous, and her story is deeply moving, especially for anyone who has lost a loved one. You can check out the other shortlistees for the An Post Irish Book Awards here, and if you want to support Miriam’s work, definitely cast a vote for This is My Sea!
The Round Table Mentorship
I'm one of 36 writers working with Round Table Mentors for our inaugural year. Designed to open up seats at the table for writers from all backgrounds, the mentorship will span most of 2024, and includes one-to-one feedback as well as workshops and cohort meetings. Mentee applications open soon, and I'll be on the look out for genre-bending sci-fi/fantasy and deeply felt narrative non-fiction.
If you'd like to find out more about RTM, check out the website. We've also got a valuable bunch of writing resources on the blog, and you can find other mentor wishlists here.
Murder and Other Projects
Open your invitation by clicking the envelope below…
Just five days to go until the first chapter of A Murder of Crows goes live. This is the first novel I ever wrote (I finished the first draft when I was sixteen), and I'll be sharing the current draft via Substack before launching the book next year. Involving missing spirits, potentially haunted houses, terrible family secrets, and forbidden magic, I can promise a spooky YA read perfect for Halloween, or for anyone who loves Wednesday, Coraline, or Enola Holmes.
In other writing, I've been deep in edits for A Lullaby of Stolen Stars, plus I've been working on an article on PMDD as well as a teeny-tiny cli-fi epic. Hopefully I'll have more news about all those pieces sooner rather than later.
Quick Writing Tip
Nothing blooms in all seasons. As we race toward November and NaNoWriMo, perhaps it's time to pause, breathe, take stock. Creativity is something that ebbs and flows, and it's okay to rest as needed. In these moments, it can be helpful to reflect.
When it comes to your process, what has been working for you, and what do you need a break from? What have you worked on over the past weeks, months, years that is now coming to fruition?