Hello! 

This post is a little late as it’s been a bit crazy. I’m off to Blackpool this weekend with my husband and my Author friend from across the seas, Merry Farmer, who is staying with us for a few weeks. It’s a long six to seven hour drive so that’ll be fun. 

It’s the LGBTQ+ Indi Pride Book Con 2024, and I’m excited as I’ve never been to one before! On this occasion, I’m not going as an author, just as a reader, but I’m hoping to meet all those authors I usually only get see on screen on Facebook. 

If you’re going, then pop by and see Merry Farmer, I probably won’t be far away… I may be at the sweetie stall, I hear they doing some pic n mix! My favourite lol 

You won’t miss me, I’ll have bright pink hair! Since Christmas, I’ve been dying my hair rather vibrant colours to cheer myself up, and to make my world a little brighter. I was red over Christmas and have since played about with some pink, but this will be bright! I’ll put up some photo’s once I’m back. 

So what do you think of the website? Anything you’d like to see? To know? Playing around with this and the characters from the book, really has helped me stay in their world. I’ve been in a huge panic and suffered lots of anxiety because the words just weren’t coming since losing my son. I pushed myself to write words and ended up deleting them because they weren’t right. 

It’s been highly frustrating, as the story is there in my head. I know how it goes, and I know what happens, and to not be able to put that into words, has been agonising…but, I’ve finally had a breakthrough. 

The story is coming together, words are being put down, and when I get up the next day and read them, I’m actually liking them and not trashing them. I’m not as far in as I wanted to be. I wanted to be near the finish by now, but I’m about two thirds through. Once the story is complete, it’s going to need a fair bit of editing, but I’ve had moments of wondering if I’d ever be able to write again, as the pain and grief of losing my son stole my air for a long while. So to be even thinking about the finish line, fills me with such relief and tearful joy. 

So, about the book. It’s going to be another big one, I’m afraid! But you know, at book 14, it’s a bit late to go small lol There’s a lot to put in this one too.  

It starts out with Joe trying to cement his place in his new world, but it’s not a world that lets people in easily, and that makes for some emotional scenes. There’s a lot of people who are involved too, especially when Joe finally gets home. The scene where Star sees him for the first time after two years is heart-breaking, and not sweet way.  

We are getting to see more of Leo and his people, and that is a rollercoaster of sweet and nasty, as he comes to terms with seeing his friend. Julian’s got his work cut out. He thought it would get easier once Joe was home? He might need to think again! 

There’ll definitely be an epilogue, where we’re see six months on because we need it, right? And that will definitely be followed up with other stories. 

Something else I’ve struggled with these past months is reading too. I haven’t been able to get into a book, so I decided to try an audio book to see if it helped me. At first I wasn’t sure, it was my first time listening to the story, and, this might sound strange, it took a bit of learning to get into the story and to be able to picture it like I do when I read. Anyway, it’s become a part of my daily walk, to the point I’m avoiding people because the stories at a good bit and I don’t want to talk! 

I’m currently listening to The Unbreakables: Volume 1 by Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliot. Narrated by Kenneth Obi. I’d like to listen to a British based story with an English narrator to see how it feels. Let me know if you know of a good audible story. 

It has peaked my interest in reading again so I may hunt for a book when I get back from Blackpool. 

Anyway, that’s me done for now. I’ll check in once I’m back from the book con! 

Take care and TTFN (Ta ta for now) 

Tj x