It’s been a little while, hasn’t it?

I’ve been working. Writing. Editing. Planning. Mothering. Caring. Cleaning. Tidying. Organising. And living. Trying my best to.

I’ve become one of those incredibly stretched people, pasted thin on the walls of their lives. Every wall. Top and bottom. But it’s all so important. All of it. Telling stories. Being a mother to my two very young children. Making the world a better place for them. None of it can be left behind, and I never will leave it behind.

I carry it all with me, all the time. Like ink-stained fingers.

But therein lies the problem. How do we fit in such a lot into our very short days? And how do we make sure that we do it all properly? And still ENJOY everything?

I’m building this up like I have the answers. But I don’t. I don’t know if I even ever will!

On the nights when I’ve felt way too squashed by everything, I’ve done a bit of painting. I’m not great at it, but I do love how time passes so quickly and without thought. Just what I need sometimes.

The truth is, that every day is entirely different. So much so, that there’s no planning or strategy that will beat it. You have to bend, flex, and go. Not beat yourself up when you lose time in unexpected ways. When you need to give something up, just this once, to give someone an extra cuddle.

What hasn’t changed is how determined I am. When I meet people, and talk about this great juggling act of parenthood, writing, and work, they look at me like I’m mad, and say, “How do you fit it all in?” Well, often, I don’t. But most often – I do, because I have to. Telling stories and creating worlds is so integral to who I am, it’d be like me trying to stop my heart beating. I can’t do it – it just happens, despite my brain telling it to stop.

I’m currently working on novel 4, while novel 3 is in the cogs of the publishing machine. Turning, turning, slowly turning. I do hope it finds the right home, with editors who’ll help it fly. Novel 3 is such an important story, one that I’m desperate to talk about. I’m so proud of it, and it runs deeper than just a tale I made up. There’s a lot of truth in it, that one. One shared by many women.

I’m aiming to have a readable, shareable draft by Christmas. I’ll then send it to my readers, while I pick up the other project I have on the back-burner – one filled with goblins, body parts, and dark creatures of the night.

There’s so much to look forward to. In lots of ways. Hopefully I’ll have some good book news soon that I can share with you all. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Speak soon,
Caroline x