Want to see what my desk looks like right now?
It’s swamped.
There are notes and work left there from before my holiday. Books that I’ve just brought up from the emptied-out suitcases. A newspaper article about Agatha Christie’s legacy that I want to write about. Bullet points on index cards about what I wanted to write in July and topics I want to cover on Substack this August.
And somewhere under all of that is my planning journal.
It’s a lot, and I feel a touch of the return-to-my-desk-after-a-holiday-overwhelm.
I had a lovely holiday and did very little. But after a tough six or seven months struggling with burnout and my mental health, a worrying family issue, grief, then losing our gorgeous yellow labrador just a week before we went away, I didn’t want to do anything but sleep, read and bathe in the sunshine (with the occasional dip in the pool that took my breath away each time I got in).
Getting away for a short while was such a tonic. By the second and third day I was having ideas for my writing. I kept the ideas as jottings in the notes app on my phone; I didn’t act on them, but I am looking forward to getting stuck in.
And, of course, if you’re on Substack Notes you might’ve seen the whole hoo-ha about Substack partnering up with the ai detection software company, Pangram. I have some thoughts on that and will be expanding on this Note I wrote last week at some point very soon.
Pre-holiday, I read one novel. This was Murder at the Spirit Lounge by Jess Kidd. It’s the second in a series of murder mysteries starring Nora Breen, an ex-nun who came to the coast in the first book, Murder at Gull’s Nest, to search for another nun.
Now I thought the first book excellent. I loved the concept, I loved Nora, and the setting was also great. And I enjoyed reading Murder at The Spirit Lounge, but it felt a bit daft at times. You know, like a Midsomer Murders or Death in Paradise plot.
Marian Keyes wrote a blurb for the first book saying, ‘I was wildly charmed.’ I agreed, as it was charming. But I don’t think the second book lived up to that. I’d still give it a high three out of five. But I do hope the third book recaptures some of that charm.
In the end, I did take all the books I wrote about in the post linked below before my holiday. I also bought three novels from the airport. Of course, I didn’t read them all; I’m not that fast a reader, but I like to have a choice, and I never know what mood I’ll be in. Do I want a cosy murder? Or something without crime?
Summer Reads to Refill The Creative Well
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Jul 22
Over the next few weeks I’ll be spending some time at home, pottering about, and some time away. And I aim to spend lots of that time reading, seeing new sights, swimming in the sea, eating food that…
I read The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen, The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, Crime on the Fens by Joy Ellis and started The Wedding People by Alison Espach.
The Surgeon was a re-read after first reading this in my twenties. I had to skim the descriptive murder scenes. Gerritsen made them extremely vivid in her first few books. Despite this, her storytelling is excellent, and I’m already thinking about re-reading The Apprentice, the second in the series.
The Correspondent was a beautiful book. Absolutely stunning. I was so worried it wouldn’t live up to the hype. Told in the form of letters from 2012 onwards, we learn about Sybil through her correspondence with her children, brother, her best friend, neighbours and more. If you loved 84 Charing Cross Road, you’ll love this.
Of course, I had to return to crime afterwards. Crime on the Fens is by new-to-me author Joy Ellis, recommended to me because I love Elly Griffiths. I have to admit to not being sure at first, but I was pulled in and raced through it. Will definitely be getting the next in the Nikki Galena series—I believe there are sixteen so far.
I actually finished The Wedding People by Alison Espach yesterday, so not strictly a July read. Again, it took me a while to get into because Phoebe, the protagonist, suffers from severe depression and I wasn’t sure where it was going to go.
Basically, Phoebe books herself into a hotel and crashes a wedding party. But there is so much more to it. And it’s very uplifting. Just get through the tougher bits at the beginning first.
July is the month where I don’t watch anything upsetting, or new—just in case it upsets me. Traditionally, July has been the month where my mental health collapses, so I now make a lot of effort to ensure this doesn’t happen.
With this in mind, I’ve been comfort-watching As Time Goes By from the 1990s, which is available on an ITVX subscription through Amazon Prime. This is a sitcom starring Judi Dench and the late, great Geoffrey Palmer. They play Jean and Lionel, who were sweethearts back in the 1950s. But when Lionel goes off to Korea in the Army, they lose contact—only to meet each other by chance in the 1990s.
The sitcom is a romantic comedy and the two of them play off each other beautifully. Judi Dench is hysterical. Her facial expressions are just spectacular. Watch her very early in this clip when they sit on the sofa together (about 30 seconds in). I laugh every time.
My writing in July was mainly spent writing and scheduling my pieces for Substack, getting ready for my time off.
I’ve been so focused and productive and I’m proud of myself for scheduling two posts a week for two weeks. I’ve never been able to do that before.
Now I’m back I want to get organised for August, continue writing my novel and build on the ideas I had on holiday.
My new series of Pull Up a Chair With…has two interviewees, Edna and Melanie:
Pull Up a Chair With Edna
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Jul 8
Pull Up a Chair With… is a new series I’m starting on Substack. The idea is to interview paid members of the Stop Hiding Under the Desk community to find out more about you and your creative pursuits…
Pull Up a Chair With Melanie
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Jul 29
Pull Up a Chair With… is a new series I’m starting on Substack. The idea is to interview paid members of the Stop Hiding Under the Desk community to find out more about you and your creative pursuits…
I’m loving this series and would love to interview you, if you’re part of the paid Stop Hiding Under the Desk community. Just let me know.
The following essay, about losing my orange tick here on Substack, has been one of my most popular essays for some time. It’s an essay about burnout, external validation and remembering why I write:
My behind-the-scenes writing diary for a week in July:
And a deeply personal and vulnerable essay about why it’s taken me so long to write my book proposal:
Plus a piece about the Substack writers helping me find my way:
For those of you who don’t have the app or read Substack Notes, these are a few examples of what I post there.
That’s all until next month x
I hold DeskMates, virtual writing sessions, three times a week. There’s very little talking; it’s simply a way to encourage ourselves to write and to carve out space for ourselves to write. August’s Zoom links are here.
Mondays at 10 am (UK time) that’s 5 am if you’re on the East Coast of America
Tuesdays at 6 pm (UK time) that’s 1 pm East Coast, 10 am West Coast
Thursdays at 1 pm (UK time) that’s 8 am if you’re on the East Coast
This is for paid subscribers—if you’d like the accountability, simply upgrade your subscription here.
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