Planning Book 7: Pinterest

I love Pinterest and spend far too much time filling my boards. I have boards for Christmas pins (several, actually. I love a Christmassy pin), films, crafts and even a board for my blog. I also use Pinterest to collect information, images and links to each of my books and for Book 7 I'm going one step further and using Pinterest to help plan the book!

I've set up a new board and, like a digital mood board, I've been pinning images of the kind of location and themes I'm thinking of for the book. As you can see, I'm going for a summery, British seaside vibe - which is strange as we're nearing winter and Christmas!

I'm enjoying using Pinterest as it's helping me to really visualise the ideas I have floating around in my head. It's especially helpful seeing the sunnier pins as I sit shivering in my jumpers!

Do you use Pinterest to help plan your books? Are you a pinner at all? Let us know in the comments below!



Oldham Reindeer Parade 2016

Every year, Santa and his reindeer come to Oldham town centre, bringing a parade of festive characters and music with him. It's one of the things I most look forward to during the run up to Christmas!

We go to the parade every year and we've had snow (which was nice as it added to the festive atmosphere), pouring rain and thunder. This year, although it had been quite rainy beforehand, it stopped in time for the parade. The town centre was packed with families waiting to see the big guy and his reindeer.

This year there was a Christmas film theme, as well as different bands to entertain the crowds.

Festive characters, snow and characters from the local panto also added to the Christmassy atmosphere.

And then of course we had Santa and his reindeer 😊

It's lovely to see so many families gathered together for the parade and although we haven't had the Coke advert yet, the festive season has definitely begun for me!

Curl Up With A Romantic Comedy This Christmas

I know it's only November, but I've definitely caught the festive bug; I've started my Christmas jigsaw, stockpiled Christmas magazines and I've even dabbled with a bit of jolly Christmas music. It was the reindeer parade in my local town at the weekend, so out came the Christmas socks (it seemed rude not to bring them out for the occasion) and I've even managed to do a bit of Christmas shopping (although the dreaded wrapping phase won't come until much later).

I love this time of year as the festive momentum builds. We've already had the John Lewis advert (which I LOVE as it's sweet and funny and kicks the man on the moon's arse - it was a bit crap, wasn't it?) and the shops start to sparkle with baubles and tinsel. It's too early to deck our homes in the sparkly stuff, but we know it's jut around the corner.

One of the things that really gets me in the Christmas mood are festive reads. I love a cosy Christmassy story to curl up with, a cup of tea or hot chocolate by my side and perhaps a mince pie or two. I love festive reads so much I wrote my own, packing it with festive baking, family fun and a dash of Christmas magic. I loved writing The Mince Pie Mix-Up and I hope its readers will experience the same joy and festive sparkle!

‘I wish I could live your life. I’d happily swap lives with you.’

’Tis the season to be jolly but for Calvin and Judy the usual festive bickering has already begun! Judy’s convinced that her husband has it easy – no glittery wrapping paper, no playground gossip and absolutely no Christmas baking.

Calvin wishes he could trade in his obnoxious boss and dull nine-to-five job to spend more time kicking back with his kids – how hard can Judy’s life really be?

But after a magical mince pie mix-up, one thing’s for certain – by Christmas Day, life for Judy and Calvin will never be the same again. Perhaps the grass isn’t always greener after all…

🎄 The Mince Pie Mix-Up is available from Amazon now 🎄



Planning Book 7: Blank Pages & Pens

I'm at one of my favourite stages of the writing process again: planning a new book. I love this stage as ideas and characters float around, waiting to be grabbed and put down onto paper. I have a pile of blank pages to fill, an array of different coloured pens to jot down notes (it just wouldn't be the same without the different coloured pens) and my trusty (and now tatty) baby names book.

I have a vague idea for a story but it's all a jumble at the moment and there are gaping holes, but this is my chance to tell myself the story, to create and get to know a whole new set of characters. I don't even know the name of my main character yet, but I'm looking forward to finding out about her. There are no word counts yet, just fun and possibility.

Happy Halloween!

It's one of my favourite times of year! I love, love, LOVE Halloween and have been busy making little paper sweets packets for the trick or treaters. I'm looking forward to giving them out tonight and am always disappointed if we don't get many kids knocking.

I also love writing Halloween short stories (although they're always fun, rom-com-style as I'm not one for scary Halloween stuff). I haven't had time to write one this year, but you can have a read of my previous stories by clicking on the following links:

The Ghost of Halloween Past

Pumpkin Pie at The Green Teapot

The Staircase [flash fiction]

Trick or Treat

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I'd love to know how you'll be spending Halloween. Do you love it? Hate it? Somewhere in the middle? Let us know in the comments below!

However you're spending Halloween, I hope you have a great evening :)

Our Holiday To Florida 2016

On Saturday 15th October, the Joyces (that's me, Chris, Rianne and Isobel, not every Joyce in the land) dragged our stuffed suitcases to the airport (with the help of a taxi - handy) and flew to Florida. It was our second visit, as we went back in 2014, but this time, instead of the Universal Studios parks, we wanted to enjoy Disneyland.

We stayed in a gorgeous apartment at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, which was about fifteen minutes away from the Disney parks.

As you can imagine, we had a lot of fun at the parks. The fun starts before you even get to the Magic Kingdom as you can either travel there by ferry (pictured above) or the monorail - we had a go at both!

The girls got to meet loads of Disney characters, from the must-see Mickey and Minnie to their furry friends and Disney Princesses. They both had an autograph book that all the characters signed, so they've got a lovely memento of the trip.

We went on lots of rides, including family favourites It's A Small World, Dumbo, the carousel and Ariel's Undersea Adventure (which we went on twice as we enjoyed them so much).

Another huge hit was the Animal Kingdom's safari, where we got to see elephants, lions, crocodiles and giraffes, plus lots more. We had to queue for around 45 minutes, but it was worth it!

As well as the rides, there were shows to enjoy. Our favourites were the Finding Nemo Musical, which was told using puppets, and Mickey's 4D PhilarMagic.

And then, of course, there is the parade which takes place every day at 3pm. We only managed to catch it on our last Disney day and I'm so glad we didn't miss it as it was fantastic!

As we went in October, the park was decked out for Halloween, which I loved as there were pumpkins EVERYWHERE. As it started to grow dark, the Mickey pumpkins lit up, which looked lovely.

When we weren't at the Disney parks, we spent time at the hotel where there were five swimming pools to choose from, plus two lazy rivers. Isobel also enjoyed the little playground and on our last full day there, we took a picnic to eat by the lake where we had a duck visitor. We also saw a little turtle crawl out of the water, which was cute.

One day we also went to IHOP for breakfast, where Isobel created her own scary face pancake.

The following Saturday, it was time to head back home. We all had a brilliant time in Florida and didn't want to leave!

If You're A Writer, It's Totally Okay To ...

... light cinnamon-scented candles and listen to festive music during a sweltering August heatwave while you work on your snow-filled Christmas book. Equally, you can dream of sunny, beach-filled days to the soundtrack of the gritters trundling past as you pen your summer-themed book during the darkest depths of winter.


... think of your characters as real people. You probably spend more time with them than your family, so it's only natural.


... ignore all the housework. It just is, okay?


... read magazines/watch TV or films and call it research.


... work in your pyjamas. As long as you're working from home. It isn't quite as acceptable if you've decided to work in the library or a café.


... eavesdrop. This is also research.


... stare out of windows and daydream. In fact, it's encouraged. How else are you supposed to plot/develop characters and storylines?


... eat cake at every opportunity. Research, okay?


... fall a little bit in love with your hero.


... snack on chocolate. It helps with creativity. Or something.


... drink so much tea, your blood type is now PG Tips.


... take naps during the day. Research? No? Time to restore creativity and mull over ideas? Brilliant. Let's go with that.