Kelly Creighton's Blog

This summer I am putting the finishing touches to my Poetry MA dissertation, which is all about being a carer-parent. Even as I write the word ‘carer’ it is being highlighted as a non-word. That just about sums it up. It is written from experience of the last twenty years since I had my first child and her subsequent autism diagnosis at the age of two, and non-verbalism. 

I never write about my personal life in my prose, but poetry is another matter. It has been a learning curve. The poems are deeply steeped in questions about gender expectations – there was me thinking that my interest in gender only came out in my fiction.

Speaking of which, I am delighted to be taking part in an event at Féile this year with James Murphy and Sharon Dempsey about gender representations in crime fiction. We each have a lot to say about this topic! The event will take place on Tuesday 8th August, 6pm. So do get your free ticket and join us if you can.

I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at James Murphy’s next book, and it is just fantastic! 

Congrats also go to Sharon, who has recently got a PhD; her thesis was on gender and class in Northern Irish crime fiction, and it was an honour for me that she included the DI Harriet Sloane series.

The proof of Sloane book 4, SAFE AS HOUSES, arrived recently. The title will be released on 20th October this year. At the moment it is pre-orderable for kindle for only 99p. Thisnovel is set in Belfast and Norway, so it has a Scandi feel to it. SAH is also more thriller than police procedural. Book five will see a return to form, but this one was my chance to shake things up and take a bit of a detour. I love it and hope you will too.

After being on Twitter for years, last month I was locked out. It seems to be a glitch in the system and their support team has been chronically bad at offering a proper resolution. So, (un)fortunately, I am no longer on Twitter. I mean, the account is there, but I can’t read my messages. So please don’t try to contact me in weird X land. 

You can, however, connect with me on TikTok, Instagram, Threads, and Linkedin. If you would like an early review copy of Safe as Houses, email: editor.theincubator@gmail.com. I also have a newsletter which I post on twice a year. So, if you wish, join the mailing list and keep in touch.

K x

It has been a couple of weeks since my latest novel was launched.

Thanks to the wonderful book bloggers who took part in the blog tour and to those of you who have read and reviewed the book.

‘An expertly crafted masterpiece! An edgy and unpredictable rollercoaster of a ride.’
Byddi Lee (Rejuvenation trilogy)

‘Beautifully written.’ 
Sarah Stewart Taylor (Maggie D’arcy mysteries)

‘A compelling and brilliant read.’
Sharon Dempsey (Lainey and Stowe mysteries)

More than a literary thriller…

Powerful men can get away with murder…for only so long.

After a life of hardship, Mary Jane McCord’s life in Rapid City, South Dakota, finally hits a sweet spot. She finds happiness and her singing career takes off. Everything is looking up until she uncovers the dark and secret obsessions of two high-profile men.

Twenty years pass but the people closest to Mary Jane have not forgotten.

Will they bring the truth out into the light?

Now for an excerpt:

She has not expected this. Has not expected her father would have a bicycle instead of a car. She must widen her pace to catch him up as he pushes it, moving quickly through the thickets. 

I only found out about you a few weeks ago, MJ says. You’re not upset with Mom about that, are you? I’ve always wanted to come to Memphis, I don’t know why. A few kids I know are applying to school here. I know one girl, Dixie, who is already here. She’s older than me. I don’t click much with girls my own age. Well, there is Celena but she doesn’t go to my school. She won’t go to college. Probably I won’t either, but if I could, I’d like to come here, to Memphis. 

MJ pauses, hoping he will not think that she has only wanted to meet him so she might now have a college plan. She can’t stop talking and thinks it best to acknowledge. 

That day I called you, she says, I am sorry I talked so much but I was nervous, see. It’s a worrisome thing to do, to talk to you for the first time.

He looks back over his shoulder, his eyes pinning hers. Art seems to sigh. MJ giggles, hoping it will chase away the awkwardness. 

They walk through a forest of tulip trees, eastern white pine and wisteria. They walk for what feels like two miles. Every time she goes to ask him something she stops herself. 

If she says: Where is your car? will he be disappointed in her? Maybe he just likes the exercise. He does look very fit. Wiry, almost. 

Besides, MJ has no right to ask Art anything, as he asks nothing of her, just pushes his bike through the fern until they come to a little log house. The garden is overgrown with weeds, far worse than at the ranch back home. 

Your house is nice, MJ says as they walk into the honey-hued living room with black bear themed d’cor. The rug on the floor and the cushions have black bear motifs. 

There is a still on the wall from an ice hockey match. 

The place looks clean enough though there is a bad smell, maybe it’s coming from Art’s coat. Maybe he needs a new one, maybe it is the only thing he could find before he left to fetch her. She is not ungrateful, she really isn’t.

Hungry? he asks.

Yes, she says. 

MJ’s relief is at its highest pitch, glad of a subject Art has broached himself. He turns on the TV and sits down to watch a documentary, every so often glimpsing her from the corner of his eye. 

You like wildlife documentaries? she asks.

Yep, he says, standing to fetch a knife and sharpen it without looking. 

Do you mind if I put my clothes in the closet?

Art grunts a positive response. MJ goes to walk into the bedroom but he comes over and holds the handle firmly, he looks at the couch. Okay, he decides and pushes the door open, the knife is hanging by his thigh. 

There is a clean pile of bed linen that Art pulls off the wood-framed bed and sets on the couch then he stares at MJ again. 

I’ll just clean up before we eat, okay? MJ says and Art nods. 

She closes the door and starts to strip the bed, then she stops and sits down, slightly confused. She cannot see Art and her mom together, but maybe he was handsome when he was younger, MJ is not thinking that he is not now. She is not rude like that. 

Looks aren’t everything and she supposes he is intense. There is something about him, but she only feels warmly toward him through knowing that she is his daughter. 

MJ doesn’t suppose many women would find him as ‘hot’ as her mother once did. But then again, her mother can find sex anywhere: eggplants, burger buns side by side. Marjorie McCord is a metal detector for innuendo.

MJ looks at the stains and the small curly hairs on Art’s bedsheet and resigns herself that she will sleep in her clothes and change in the morning. She is tired from travel and lies down, closing her eyes for fifteen minutes or so before her father enters the room without warning, startling her, telling her supper is ready. Still wearing that smelly coat of his. 

In the living room, MJ sits on the armchair, with him on the couch, his spare bedding over his knee. 

He leans forward and hands her a plate of meat. Nothing else. Where is your wife? MJ asks as she pitches a piece of meat on her fork.

Where is my wife? That is the question, Art says with a smirk. 

Purchase here

Or directly from Friday Press

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Life is starting to look different. In-person events have started again. At the start of the pandemic, I knew that it was not till it was over that I would be able to really examine everything it has put us through. And since it is not over, I’m still in that limbo. I suspect we all are. 

And yet it is a welcome change to be able to meet with writer friends again and share our work. That has been what I missed the most.

There have been a couple of launches for Alternative Ulster Noir edited by Simon Maltman. The first one was in Bending Sound, a cracking record shop in Bangor. It supported War Child and children affected by the war in Ukraine. A great cause and a fun night.

There was music from The Fuzz Tones: a new band comprising of Simon, Gerard Brennan, and Gareth Watson. They played some songs that inspired the anthology, and it was just wonderful to get out in that capacity again. 

This Thursday evening was the launch in Bangor Library, with more of the contributors joining. A discussion and a few acoustic songs. I chat to James Murphy regularly as I review crime TV on his Crime Scene radio show (Belfast247, Tuesday evenings 7-8 pm), but I hadn’t seen him in so long. It was fabulous to meet ‘Producer Heather’ as she is now known. Although the book’s themes are dark enough, it was a family-friendly event made special by all the kids getting together. 

Buy Alternative Ulster Noir here

Today is Mother’s Day, so this blog post has been prepped a couple of days early. I can’t help thinking back to Mother’s Day in 2020 when life was changing for everyone. I was due to have a launch for The Sleeping Season on 27th March that year and it didn’t work out.

It is here I need to give a shout-out to the book bloggers who did not flounder like I did. They picked up the slack and said, ‘Let me read/review/promote your book’ like complete legends. I am indebted to this incredible community of the friendliest booklovers you could meet. Or not meet. The fact that strangers on the internet can be so warm and helpful is something I deeply appreciate and will never take for granted.

Two years on and I am working on Sloane four and thinking back to when the series first came out into the world, in the hardest of times to bring out a book. 

While some of life stays on Zoom – and I am grateful for this, on behalf of people who live remotely, are carers or have a disability that stops them travelling to events – I will echo what I have been saying for a while, that I hope some online events remain and that festivals will take on a hybrid approach.

These are some of the issues I discussed at a recent event with the Society of Young Publishers Ireland as we talked about the publishing world and how we got into it. A fascinating talk. Thank you to Jess and Cassia for inviting me along. The video will be up on YouTube soon.

Publishing is a complicated business. I am learning a lot. First as a journal founder, then a co-editor and anthology co-publisher, and now as the head of Friday Press. I get asked about the books all the time, and while print-on-demand is ideal for new publishers in so many ways, I appreciate that many of you do not want to use a specific publisher beginning with A.

So, the Friday Press website has had an overhaul. Anyone from anywhere can buy books directly from the publisher (and pre-order Souls Wax Fair). There are PayPal links, which can throw people sometimes. Potential readers often tell me that they don’t have a PayPal account, and just to say, you don’t need one.

There are many payment options. And for anyone still struggling, email me to arrange a painless bank transfer. Hopefully this makes the buying process as easy as possible for my readers.

I’ll sign off by saying thank you for your support in what has been an incredibly difficult time for writers and publishers alike. Onward and upward!

Friday Press

Amazon author central

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It’s been a while since I posted on the blog, hence the huge update. Firstly, a change of time for Crime Scene. You can now hear the show on Tuesdays between 7-8pm, hosted by local crime writer James Murphy. Each week I review crime TV: series and true crime documentaries across various channels. So do join us at the new time by tuning into Belfast247.

Speaking of local crime writers! I am delighted to have a story in the wonderful ALTERNATIVE ULSTER NOIR anthology, edited by WITNESS author Simon Maltman. 

It contains seven dark stories by NI crime writers, based on music from here. Included are James Murphy, Simon Maltman, Colin Bateman, Sharon Dempsey, Gerard Brennan, Stuart Neville, and myself. Based on songs by Ash, Snow Patrol, Van Morrison, etc. The mix is excellent. 

I highly recommend you nab your copy…

…and come along to the launch at Bangor Library on Thursday 24 March, 7-8.30pm.

Speaking of music (seamless, eh?), I recently visited Seattle to research a new book. Thanks to the Arts Council of NI’s Covid Recovery fund, I was lucky to go to the birthplace of many of my favourite bands. 

There will be a book of noir short stories that comes out as a result. Plus, I’m toying with a novel too. We’ll see how that goes. For now, I am busy editing Harriet Sloane 4, which is coming out next spring.

Speaking of the Arts Council (!!), in 2018 I was awarded an ACES award that supported a research trip to South Dakota. That book, a literary thriller, will be released on 6 May. Here is what some authors who I really admire are saying about SOULS WAX FAIR…

‘An expertly crafted masterpiece! An edgy and unpredictable rollercoaster of a ride.’
Byddi Lee (Rejuvenation trilogy)

‘Beautifully written.’ 
Sarah Stewart Taylor (Maggie D’arcy mysteries)

‘A compelling and brilliant read.’
Sharon Dempsey (Lainey and Stowe mysteries)

About the book:

Powerful men can get away with murder…for only so long.

After a life of hardship, Mary Jane McCord’s life in Rapid City, South Dakota, finally hits a sweet spot. She finds happiness and her singing career takes off. Everything is looking up until she uncovers the dark and secret obsessions of two high-profile men.

Twenty years pass but the people closest to Mary Jane have not forgotten.

Will they bring the truth out into the light?

You can pre-order your eBook copy here. For paperback pre-orders, drop me a line.

Or, if you are based in America and fancy entering the Goodreads giveaway, it is now OPEN.

Good luck.

I’m currently reading Tender is the Flesh. Let me know what you are reading this World Book Day. 

K

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As an author I wear a few hats. In my short stories I write what people would call ‘literary fiction’, I write poetry, and I am also a ‘genre’ writer of a female-led detective series. My debut novel, The Bones of It, could have equally sat on a literary or crime shelf. In the end it was marketed as crime, which some reviewers thought stopped the book from reaching its true potential. I’m torn on that idea, but what I do know is that Ireland has a lot of love for that which is literary.

New books can be wrongly – in my opinion – sorted into one of two categories: high art or popular art, and there can be snobbery about ‘genres’, which are deemed to be ‘popular’. They are often excluded from the canon, which I take exception to. 

Great crime fiction isn’t just about formula. It doesn’t tell you how to think. Great crime fiction has you questioning your opinion on an issue long after you have made your way down your to-be-read pile. Crime fiction sees everything; societal issues are made miniature through the families we write about. Northern Irish crime fiction always manages to deal with the most serious of themes with a dark, incomparable humor. Our dialect is colorful and warm, though our stories are gritty and informed by a difficult past. Crime writers have as much of a love for language as any ‘literary’ writer I know. We might be told that crime is more plot-driven, but it is just as important that the style is well considered, and that the characters jump off the page and grab you by the scruff.

Regardless of whether I had to pinpoint my first novel as crime or not, I was always proud to be called a crime writer because just as I love literary writers, many of my influences are crime writers. Plus, I was writing crime; working behind the scenes on a detective series. It was important to me to set it in Belfast and to have a strong female lead. In fact, gender is hugely interesting to me across any and all of my writing. The Bones of It was a post-Good Friday Agreement novel about the effects of toxic masculinity, which is sadly still prevalent in Northern Ireland. Our society remains immensely patriarchal. For one, we are part of the UK but not where women’s reproductive rights are concerned. 

The DI Harriet Sloane series has had three published books: The Sleeping Season and Problems with Girls. The Town Red launched last week. The series has been called ‘unapologetically feminist’ and that lifts my heart, especially in a genre that can be sexist. The Sloane series always takes a side glance at how women are judged and treated in Northern Ireland, and the world at large. 

Harriet Sloane works in a male dominated workplace and is, herself, the victim of a serious crime. However, she doesn’t want to report this, and actually has little faith in the system in which she works. Some say that when watching our favorite police shows we are consuming pro-cop propaganda, but I hope the DI Sloane series has way more balance and realism. Sloane’s storyline was actually inspired by real accounts of local women who have been stalked or been the victims of domestic violence. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK or Ireland that does not yet have its own stalking legislation. 

Growing up here through the Troubles has undoubtedly influenced the main theme of my work, which is violence: its origins and effects. Harriet comes from a middle class background because women from all backgrounds encounter domestic violence, even strong-willed detectives from wealthy families. She works for the PSNI in East Belfast: a working class area from which Harriet is an outsider, even though she grew up only fifteen minutes away. Before Harriet Sloane, my main characters were always from the working class background I knew personally. I have really pondered writing about class in recent years since it was brought to our attention that in the UK there is a tangible need to promote more working class voices. Though in Northern Ireland, I would guess that most of us come from that background. Crime writers especially. 

The ‘Belfast Noir’ genre has been thrilling to watch, first as a reader and now as a writer.  There is a fantastic group of female crime writers in Northern Ireland. Namely Sharon Dempsey, Catriona King, Kerry Buchanan, Claire Allan, Rose McClelland, and many more yet to be published. Their books fill me with excitement for the growth and evolution of ‘Belfast Noir’.

Though the Republic of Ireland is dominated with successful female writers, in Northern Ireland we have been banging our heads against a brick wall for some time. At last local women crime writers’ work is making its way out there, equipped to fill the voids in our collective story about a complex but fascinating place. 

The Town Red is out now.

Read more about the Sloane series here.

Thank you to Lorraine Berry whose LA Times article on Belfast Noir got me thinking about gender and class in NI crime fiction and inspired this response.

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE DI SLOANE SERIES:

‘Timely.’

‘This series goes from strength to strength.’

‘Unputdownable.’

‘Amazing, simply amazing.’

‘Captivating.’

‘Packs an emotional punch.’

‘Vivid and imaginative.’

In late May I was thrilled to be included in Lorraine Berry’s fantastic article in the LA Times highlighting Belfast Noir stateside. You can read the article here.

For the last few weeks I have had a slot on James Murphy’s Crime Scene radio show on the new station, Belfast247. It is a fab show with lots of great music, fun features, writing tips from Sam Blake and book reviews from Deborah Small. I am the resident true crime buff, giving crime TV and true crime documentary recommendations.

Do tune in on Wednesday evenings 7-9pm to hear James’ show.

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I was delighted to be invited to take part in the BBC writers’ room Hothouse programme, which wrapped last week. It has been amazing learning how to write for TV. Since the start of the year I have been getting more into script writing, so this opportunity came along at a great time.

If you know me, you know I hate when people list only the good. So, just to note, I have had a fair few redirections since I last blogged. Also my concentration and time for writing has waned. Blame school holidays and a new pupper.

Meet Ivy

Now I am looking forward to getting back on the (novel) horse and finishing the final edits to THE TOWN RED, Sloane 3 – pre-order here. Thank you for all the many pre-orders so far. I’m blown away! They are helping to keep me motivated.

The blurb:

If it had been me, she would not have stopped until there was justice.

The third instalment in the East Belfast detective series.

Just as DI Harriet Sloane turns forty, an old case reopens from before she was born. In the late 1970s, Karen Ward was a teenager when she was murdered just yards away from her Belfast home. At the time, people thought they saw Karen with a man, but time has moved on and now witnesses are thin on the ground. With the help of the victim’s sister, Sloane must travel back in time, while her own family evolves and someone from her past resurfaces. Codes, and rules, need to be broken if justice will ever be served.

The book launches at the end of October.

Here’s to adding another book to the Belfast Noir library!

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In my late-twenties, as a carer and parent to three young children, I began setting myself physical challenges for two reasons. 1. To get out of the house. 2. For my own headspace.

I abseiled, ran a half-marathon and climbed a couple of mountains. Lately I completed a project about mountains, so I have been thinking about this a lot, and obviously the awful fire at Slieve Donard has made me recall my climb.

Even though all these challenges pushed me out of my comfort zone, especially being a very non-sporty person, they taught me so much. 

At 31 I had signed up to take part in a full marathon when baby number four came along. I wanted to keep up with the training at least and keep my friends company, but I was too sick. I had to put it off until after she was born.

The next May bank holiday, when Martha was six months old, I completed it, but the day after the run I knew I never wanted to push myself like that again. I had this sense that I had achieved everything outdoorsy that I wanted to – except I still have never been white water rafting! – and after my pregnancies, and with a bad back and creaky knees, I thought I should hang up the trainers. 

I needed a new challenge though, so the day after the Belfast Marathon I went back to an idea that had always flitted through my mind: I might like to write a book. Becoming a writer was my childhood dream. So I plotted a novel and got cracking.

That autumn I went to all the workshops and took all the creative writing courses I could find locally, not so locally and online. I immersed myself totally in learning, reading and writing for years. Nine years on I am still here at the desk. Still not bored. Perhaps because there are so many branches of writing it feels impossible to complete every level, like beating some kind of literary Bowser. 

Writing still excites me. Reading excites me. Ideas excite me. When life is mundane – albeit wonderful, blessed but still mundane; especially during lockdowns – getting lost in a story is one answer. Doing the work is the other answer. 

I get excited about returning to unpolished manuscripts and revisiting characters that I want to pinch the cheeks of. I know other writers will understand the depth of feelings we have for our imaginary friends.

At the start of 2021 I had no idea that my writing was going to go in a different direction, which it has; now I am learning a new skill. I am also returning to student life in the autumn. Another thing I didn’t know would happen when I was making my New Year’s resolutions. 

The unpredictability of ‘being a writer’ is part of what I adore about it. The growing amounts of admin, eh, not so much.

I have recently been given a course bursary from the Irish Writers Centre and look forward to selecting a course from the summer programme. As yet, I have no idea what that will be.

My children are getting older, thinking about which career paths they might want to take. I keep telling them to pick something they will love doing. I know that had I chosen English Lit at eighteen I would not have taken this long, strange route to get here. Although life in between has granted me bottomless tanks of fuel for my stories. 

When I was an introverted little kid I would never have believed that public speaking would become part of my future job, or that I would have ended up enjoying it. In school I joined drama clubs but hid in the chorus. Now I’m done with asking myself if I’m happy with how things are going for me because I can be pretty negative and hard on myself.

Now I check in with young Kelly instead and ask her. She’s kinder, doesn’t care about any of the insecurities that seem important to me these days. She thinks it’s pretty amazing that I am the author of six published books, and that I didn’t give up. She also thinks it’s great that I give up where it counts. Young Kelly is encouraged by the awesome network of support I finally have around me.  

Six books in nine years might seem like a lot to some; I have been prolific, which is a good thing – for me. I know of people who don’t trust prolific writers and I say that’s their problem. I don’t judge anyone who brings out, say, one book every decade. 

My first short story collection was written over my first four years of writing. My second, EVERYBODY’S HAPPY, over the following four. Collections do take time, I’ll admit that.

The imminent release of Everybody’s Happy – that book no. 6 I’ve been banging on about – feels like a little birthday present to my writing journey. 

I have nothing planned for this Friday, 7 May. No launch. However I will be releasing YouTube videos of me reading from the collection.

It is my most personal of works so far and I am hugely thankful to the Arts Council of NI for its support with a SIAP award so I could complete Everybody’s Happy. 

Available to buy now in paperback.

Available to pre-order for kindle. (99p for a limited time)

If you are in the USA, you can enter a Goodreads giveaway and possibly win a copy. Good luck!

More about EVERYBODY’S HAPPY:

Eight short stories about art, shadows and self. 

Creighton’s second short story collection introduces us to a gallery owner who worries her husband will leave her for a doppelgänger; an artist whose creativity is blocked by intense fear on a retreat; a would-be writer who opens a PO Box to gather other people’s letters to God; two mothers with guilty secrets; a young student contemplating suing a lecturer for boring her into deep slumber; a geologist travelling the earth to find herself; and a woman who flies home to bury her dead uncle, only to end up in a compromising situation. 

Creighton blends satire with the unsettling. Tenderness with humour.

If you do happen to read it and enjoy, please let me know.

Remember, reviews feed authors.

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I am delighted to have a guest with me today.

Ellie Rose McKee’s debut novel Full Term is out today, and to coincide Ellie kindly allowed me to ask her a few questions about the book, and her writing in general.

Hi, Ellie. First of all, congratulations on your new book. I was wondering when and why you started writing.

I remember working on short pieces––stories, poems, or the generic ‘write a page about your holiday’ type stuff––for primary school, and really enjoying the process of expressing myself with pen and paper. I’m still writing now because of that enjoyment. Writing can be difficult, sometimes, but it always feels good to me in the end. I’d be lost without the outlet it gives me. 

What are the best and worst things about being a writer living in NI?

I think it’s a double-edged sword. Because Northern Ireland is so small, a lot of people in the arts community know each other. That has both benefits (when everyone’s getting along) and downsides (when something happens to cause a rift, be it big or small). There’s also the factor of being caught in the middle between Great Britain and Ireland. For a long time, I saw that as a bad thing––that we fell in a gap that didn’t get the attention it needed––but now I’m more of a mind that it can be turned into an opportunity. To spread your work further afield, you don’t have to set your sights south, on the republic, or over the sea to the rest of the UK. You can––and, I think, should––do both. 

What can you tell us about your new book? 

Full Term is about a sixteen-year-old girl (Mya), who goes into labour one day in the middle of her maths class. Obviously not ideal! She’d calculated her due date and wasn’t expecting the baby to come before it. And she hadn’t told anyone out of fear of what her step-dad might do, so she hasn’t got any kind of support in place. Now that the baby’s on the way, however, Mya is forced to deal with her reality head-on. The book charts her first month of being a new mum, trying to keep herself and her baby safe, attempting to recover her relationship with her ex-boyfriend, and if she can manage it, get her step-dad put behind bars so that he’s kept out of all their lives for good. 

What inspired you to write your novel/series?

I got the specific idea to write Full Term from a nightmare I had. There was an entire scene from my unconscious that I was able to pull out and write directly into the opening chapter of the first draft. But I think the origins probably go further back than that. The series is contemporary, centring on dysfunctional family dynamics, which is something I love reading from other people. And pregnancy and motherhood are themes I keep returning to, I think partially because of my own upbringing and partially because of my (so far) failed attempts to have a child of my own. I didn’t start out writing a trilogy. I didn’t even mean to start working on a new novel––I’d been fighting with an entirely different work in progress for years when I had the nightmare that sparked Full Term––but the spark happened and everything else followed organically. Looking back at it now, it’s kind of like staring at the cosmos, filled with so much matter you can’t really get your head around it, and trying to pinpoint the exact place it began. 

Tell me about the different forms you write in. You are also a poet?

Yes. In much the same vein as I started out with the school projects, I still write in a number of mediums: primarily poems, short stories, blog posts, and of course novels. I just can’t help myself!

What are you working on at the moment?

As of 1st April, I will be rewriting book two in The Family Ties Trilogy. And in July I’m aiming to work on book three. But I’m not planning to release either of them quite yet. The next thing in the pipeline for being published is a poetry pamphlet called ‘Linchpins.’ I haven’t officially announced it yet, so that’s the inside scoop! 

Thanks for giving me the scoop, Ellie. Good luck with Full Term, and happy launch day!

Full Term is available to buy NOW.

Paperbacks can be ordered from Waterstones in the UK, Barnes & Noble in the US, and Amazon around the world. Libraries should be able to order the book in for you, on request, and independent bookstores should also have it in their wholesaler catalogues.

There’s also an audiobook currently in production.

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Yay! This year there is no need to rush to Tesco to buy a book-related costume. (Not for me, of course.) It is about simply enjoying books and sharing our love for the written word.

On that note, I have lots of love to share …

Sharon Dempsey’s Who Took Eden Mulligan? is out now. It is a fantastic read. If you enjoy crime fiction set in NI, then this one is for you.

Hear Sharon talk about the book here, on my YouTube channel.

I was really delighted that Sharon was my first guest.

Next week James Murphy joins me to chat about the Terror trilogy.

At the beginning of April, local science fiction and fantasy writer Jo Zebedee will be my guest.

I have a long list of people I want to invite over to the channel after that. Stay tuned!

It has brightened my days speaking with my awesome, talented peers about their work and about being a writer in NI.

Speaking of another awesome, talented peer … Claire Savage’s new book has recently been published. The Story Forest is a beautiful, magical read for younger people about the importance of libraries, and so much more.

She is doing a reading on Zoom on Saturday (6th March), so do contact Claire for the log-in details and listen along.

On a separate note, the proceeds of our anthology, Underneath the Tree are on their way to our chosen charities: Simon Community and World of Owls. A fantastic amount! We are over the moon with how much support the book received. True heart-warming.

I do associate World Book Day as being really special for children. They always enjoy the day, and I enjoyed listening to David Walliams give a school assembly as I painted the kitchen cupboards. My daughter’s teacher sent her the link. It was lovely to hear Walliams remind (parents and) children that there are other writers, not just him, and to read widely.

Speaking of my daughter, Martha is 9 years old, and when she was 8 (at the start of the first lockdown) she and I started a lockdown project of our own. We wrote poems on many themes, and in many forms.

I used exercises that I often use when I facilitate poetry workshops in schools. We developed a little half-made book and set it aside.

However, one positive of this latest lockdown, is that we were reminded of our book. Finished it. Martha illustrated it. We designed a cover. It turned out beautiful.

Although it was only ever intended to be a book between us, it ended up being so interactive that we decided that other children would gain a lot from owning a copy, and so we published it for the public.

It has space and inspiration for children to write their own poems. It has space for illustrations. Plus, we encourage and hope that children will colour in Martha’s pictures, and just get stuck in, making it a nice poetry/activity book.

We were delighted to be on The Ticket, Radio Ulster, last week speaking to Kathy Clugston about the book. A special moment indeed.

FUN POEMS FOR KIDS is available to buy here. Or, drop me a line if you would like a signed copy.

I have much more book news, but I think that is enough for now.

I just want to end by saying thank you to the Arts Council of NI for granting me an IERP award during a difficult time when much work for creatives is cancelled. It is an absolute lifeline.

Thank you, ACNI!

And thank you to everyone who loves books.

Happy World Book Day.

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Rabbit, rabbit, it’s the start of Feb. 

We got through January and I am feeling a lot more positive than I was back in my December blog, although people who have recently lost loved ones are never far from my thoughts.

Obviously, we are in another lockdown but despite everything I had a lovely Christmas and am refusing to take my lights down. I argue that they are not typically Christmassy, but more neon. They’re staying up!

Like in the other lockdowns/circuit breakers, every day has its good points and its not so good, but I am getting through it by being productive.

Years ago I started up a YouTube channel, inspired by my good friend and co-ed. of Underneath the Tree, Claire Savage, who also vlogs. Like with this blog, though, when I first started it was great and then my inner saboteur came out and I deleted both.

I have been sticking with the blog this time round. And back – by no demand whatsoever – is the YouTube channel. I started it up a few months ago to post a poem for Culture Night and then I added a few readings, but this go around, I am motivated and WILL vlog weekly (Fridays at 12p.m. GMT). So, like and subscribe! 

The channel will feature interviews with other writers, reviews of books, advice and tutorials, plus readings from my upcoming work. 

And like a lot of people, right now I am helping my children to learn remotely; it is not easy but we WILL get there. 

I am trying to learn Norwegian myself, and enjoying it. 

Lately I recorded an interview for a podcast – a first for me and very fun – and that got me thinking about how much I miss panel events and lit festivals. So bittersweet!

I am putting the final final edits to Everybody’s Happy right now and then it will go to get formatted. It is a short story collection of eight stories about art, shadows and self, and is launching 7thMay.

I’m extremely proud of EH and delighted it is supported by the Arts Council of NI. You can pre-order it for kindle for only 99p. A complete steal.

After I send the book to the editor, I will have to get back to DI Sloane book 3, which is coming out on 29thOctober. So, lots to look forward to. It’s hard to give it the attention it needs at home right now, so I hope to get to a retreat to really knuckle down.

For those of you wondering, I plan for DI Sloane to be a long running series, so Harry is never far from my plans. And notebook.

Also, I’m reading about five books at the minute (stories, crime, lit. fic.) and watching a lot of popcorn TV, unashamedly. Both are keeping me sane.

Be good to yourself and catch you next time.

K x

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