Whilst fiction will always be my first and true love, recently I’ve found myself reaching for autobiographical books that a decade ago, I would’ve steered clear from. Back then I was too immersed in my own life to read about other people’s, but...
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Whilst fiction will always be my first and true love, recently I’ve found myself reaching for autobiographical books that a decade ago, I would’ve steered clear from. Back then I was too immersed in my own life to read about other people’s, but slowly, there’s been a shift. Maybe its my age; maybe this age of political unrest means I feel a responsibility to not lose myself for too long in escapism, so I find each moment of fictional abandon needs to be counter-balanced by books rooted in the truth of human experience. And these 3 memoirs did just that.

My husband knows me well enough to know that I love books more than almost anything so present buying for me is pretty easy (I’ve also left Ashling’s last minute gift-guide open on my laptop all week as a ‘subtle’ hint for other lovely things!)...
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My husband knows me well enough to know that I love books more than almost anything so present buying for me is pretty easy (I’ve also left Ashling’s last minute gift-guide open on my laptop all week as a ‘subtle’ hint for other lovely things!) Beautiful coffee table and recipe books are what I buy the least and appreciate the most. Head to my triplemelt blog to read about 3 that I think any woman would love – Mother’s day or not!

The honest book about motherhood everyone should read

We all know that parenthood can be brilliant – yes, blissful – er, sometimes, but also HARD. In order to get through it you have to 1) laugh 2) be honest about the bad days, and c) celebrate the good (with wine usually – or gin).

Busy mum of 2 young boys, Giovanna Fletcher (a novelist, TV presenter and actress) knows this and has gained an enormous and faithful following of fans by opening her life  through her youtube channel Giovanna’s World. And now she’s written a book about her parenting journey too. Find out more here.

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3 new short story collections you’ll love


It’s a truth universally acknowledged that many of us don’t have time to read. Consumed by technology as we are in this digital age, our gadgets seem to sap every spare second we have leaving little room for literature.

Enter: the short story. Whilst I’m traditionally more of a full-length fiction fan, I also appreciate the appeal of short stories as they can provide instant satisfaction during busy times; after all, it you only have 15 minutes to read a day it’s uplifting to actually finish a story. I recently enjoyed Victoria Hislop’s brilliantly curated Love: Great Short Stories by Women and not only did it introduce me to new authors whose novels I now want to read, I also got to reaquaint myself more with familiar authors like Angela Carter, Margaret Atwood and Emma Donoghue.

With our love of texting/tweeting over talking, it stands to reason that short-form fiction is experiencing a reading renaissance. Let’s celebrate the resurgence by taking time out from the white noise to enjoy a diverting tale (or 3)!

Discover 3 of the best new short story collections over on my triplemelt blog.

3 tips to make reading a regular habit, not a neglected hobby…

When my friend Ashling told me her New Year’s Resolution was to read more, I knew she wouldn’t be alone. Reading a book regularly is something all of us can – but not many of us – do. Distracted by TV, box sets, phones and social media and exhausted by work/life/kids, reading has slipped off many of our to-do lists. I know because I’ve been there too.
Discover my 3 tips for reading more over on my triplemelt blog.

Hands up who’s heard of Hygge? Keep your hand up if you know what it means or – and this is the real test – how you pronounce it? (It’s ‘hoo-ga’. Nope, I didn’t know either). This year, the Danish word that loosely translates as ‘cosiness’, ‘warmth’,...
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Hands up who’s heard of Hygge? Keep your hand up if you know what it means or – and this is the real test – how you pronounce it? (It’s ‘hoo-ga’. Nope, I didn’t know either).       This year, the Danish word that loosely translates as ‘cosiness’, ‘warmth’, and ‘conviviality’ has infiltrated our consciousness and a whole host of books have hit the shelves explaining how to bring it into our lives – starting with our homes. Read more on my triplemelt blog 

Guildford book festival

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of extracting myself away from my desk and Book 4 for the first time in weeks and driving to Guildford with my good friend and fellow author Paige Toon. We’d been invited by the Guildford book festival  to host a cocktail event at MKB Bar at the Radisson Blu hotel. I love doing events where I get to meet readers, even more so when I get to do it with one of my best friends and even more so with the added bonus of alcohol thrown in!
The lovely Author and journalist Fanny Blake was there to interview us before throwing the floor open to the audience. We had a giggle talking about how much we love our male characters (and our husbands don’t!) what inspires us, our writing process and how we became authors. We finished the evening with signing lots of books (I even signed my first kindle!) and having a chat to everyone. The best bit about this job is meeting readers and it was so fab to do it as part of this brilliant festival. Thanks for having us Guildford, hope to see you again soon!

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