March already. It feels like I’ve had my head down for a few weeks, I look up, and a few months have gone by. Half a year has passed since A Love of Two Halves, my newest baby, emerged blinking into the autumn light. She’s looking quite healthy, I would say (don’t worry, I’ll abandon the baby metaphor before long), and she will be walking within a year, I hope.

Several readers who don’t know me…

A week to go before publication, and word of mouth recommendations are beginning to spread for A Love of Two Halves. It has been selected by the digital book club The Pigeonhole for serialization. Some 240 subscribers will soon begin receiving the book in the form of 'staves' - sections that can be read on their mobile device for a limited period of time. They can make comments, and other readers…

A week to go before publication, and word of mouth recommendations are beginning to spread for A Love of Two Halves. It has been selected by the digital book club The Pigeonhole for serialization. Some 240 subscribers will soon begin receiving the book in the form of 'staves' - sections that can be read on their mobile device for a limited period of time. They can make comments, and other readers…

A week to go before publication, and word of mouth recommendations are beginning to spread for A Love of Two Halves. It has been selected by the digital book club The Pigeonhole for serialization. Some 240 subscribers will soon begin receiving the book in the form of 'staves' - sections that can be read on their mobile device for a limited period of time. They can make comments, and other readers…

There are some important announcements from the publisher, Unbound, as we near publication date for A Love of Two Halves.

First of all, the supporters list for A Love of Two Halves closes next week, on 2nd September 2019. You cannot pledge for the book after this date. If you know someone who would like to pledge, please urge them to do so promptly! We’ve received a trickle of new pledges from…

There are some important announcements as we near publication date.

First of all, the supporters list for A Love of Two Halves closes next week, on 2 September 2019. You cannot pledge for the book after this date. If you know someone who would like to pledge, please urge them to do so promptly! We’ve received a trickle of new pledges from people since passing the 100% mark earlier this year. As…

Douglas Adams once quipped that he ‘loved’ deadlines: ‘I love the wooshing noise they make as they go by.’

I would like to be so gifted that I would be afforded such artistic licence, but as a jobbing journalist with no family wealth behind me, I’ve never had the opportunity. I think I can honestly say that I’ve never missed a deadline in 31 years of professional writing. That’s quite a few thousand…

Last month we finished the contents; this month it’s the packaging. We’ve had a tremendously positive reaction to the cover. Indeed, it is vivid, and tells the story – or at any rate, the premise – of the book, with the twin front doors, one posh, one slightly battered, representing the Two Halves of Britain, and of the relationship. For a glimpse of the cover, click on this link to the PJ Whiteley…

First, a big announcement: the book has a new title. It’s quite an adjustment, having used the original while managing the crowdfunding project for over a year; a title related to themes in the book. But now my baby has a new name: A Love of Two Halves.

While I was proud of the sharpness and originality of The Rooms We Never Enter, I do have to admit that it doesn’t sound like a romantic comedy…

This is going to sound like an Oscars award acceptance speech, but I don’t care.

I just want to thank you, all of you, for supporting The Rooms We Never Enter, and for making sure it is published. On 28th February, after 14 months, we reached target. The book should appear this autumn; I can now start to plan fun things like selecting the book cover and planning the launch events (there will be…

I’ve been back to school: learning screenplay. There isn’t a long-term plan to become a scriptwriter, more a case of stretching myself and learning about a slightly different world. My tutor, Julia Berg is inspirational. As well as giving advice on storylines, dialogue and the pitch, she offers to put the work of us, her delegates, to producers in the industry. She sees potential in The Rooms We Never…

Following the latest flurry of pledges just before and after Christmas, some of them generous, I've topped the 90% mark for crowdfunding The Rooms We Never Enter. One final push, and we'll be there. I can start thinking in terms of the launch activity.

There's a lot of discussion among authors about the best way of letting people know about your work. Much expertise has been developed in the newer…

Mid-autumn, and we’ve topped the 60% mark, with 58 people pledging to help see The Rooms We Never Enter in print. I thought it would be timely to pen an update. First of all, it was inspiring to meet other Unbound authors at the event at Nottingham Waterstones last month (and to receive a couple of extra generous pledges in the days afterwards). The calibre of authors exceeds even my high expectations…

In June we passed the 50% mark; this week, on Yorkshire Day, we reached 50 supporters. It’s been incredible to receive so much backing for my forthcoming novel, and I’m confident we’ll reach target before the end of the year.

This week I had an initial meeting with a Leeds-based literary events organisation about a Pledge Party, to support The Rooms We Never Enter. I’d be interested in inviting…

In June we passed the 50% mark for The Rooms We Never Enter. I thought the crowdfunding would take a year, and we're six months in, so pretty much on target! I've been really thrilled by the support that I've received; so many generous, wonderful people supporting literature in such a direct way. I really do hope that we reach target, as I'm very proud of the book. I think it's funny and heartfelt…