What a week! I had no idea that when I finished Chinglish, the publicity would be so HUGE! Having zero experience of live media, I was chucked in at the deep end, but luckily enjoyed every second. Everyone at the BBC was so welcoming, I felt really at ease. First up was Vic Minett [...]
I was asked to submit a piece about the time I was pregnant and homeless. This happened after the events in Chinglish. It was hard writing about that period as I had to revisit more painful memories, including the time I was living and surviving in a squat. It was painful recalling details, like [...]
I've only gone and been invited by the BBC to talk about Chinglish! Little did I know that when I started writing this book, the public would be so interested in my loony life. Yeah, I was expecting to do some promotion around my debut novel - but the BBC? Wow, that's a pretty big [...]
What a treat to come home to - a box of my new debut novels waiting in a box with their funky looking spot varnished covers! Chinglish isn't officially released until 5th September, but the build-up is well under way. Right now I'm busy doing talks, writing articles and being very excited to see the [...]
The swim spot I jump into after a run from Corfu Old Town, with Albania in the distance. It’s the last week of my 3 month sabbatical (sob) and it’s been everything I’d dreamed of. Each of the four places I stayed at in Bali were unique in their own way, but the standout for [...]
NEWS OF PARTICULAR EXCITEMENT! It's taken 3 and a bit years to finish (launch date Sept 2019), but proofs for my new young adult novel are out at last, and the response from bloggers and reviewers has been fantastic. It feels a bit weird because as I write this, final edits are still happening on [...]
Writing my YA book was full on, but I also had to use up a load of annual leave in my day job - so what did I do? Plan my dream trip to Japan of course! My sister and I had wanted to go for absolutely yonks and it was now or never. We [...]
3yrs, 63,931words, 2 massive eye bags and 0 friends later, I have finally FINISHED my first novel! So, how do I feel? Well there's no fanfares or parties, or whooping or air punching. The creative process of book writing is a slow burner. It doesn't end here either. The manuscript is now with a copy [...]
I read 'Chill with Lil' at Broadstone library, which believe it or not is on Story Lane - how amazing is that? I asked if the library or lane came first - it was the lane. The group followed the guided meditation perfectly, the grown-ups always join in too, which is brilliant. My favourite part [...]
This is the new cover for picture book three, showing Lil putting Jake to bed on a big, soft, fluffy cloud. ‘Chill with Lil’ is a story about Jake the cat, who does everything to swerve going to bed: getting toys out, having a strop - you know the score. Then Auntie Lil (who knows [...]