A little bit of magic has been creeping into my writing lately. I’m not talking about what goes on in my notebook, although I have to admit, that does sometimes feel like magic. Not all the time - my notebooks are full of crossings out and arrows to add extra text or to make changes - I challenge anyone to make sense of them! But sometimes, when I come to type up my early morning scrawlings, I’m thrilled by what I’ve written after my first cup of coffee. However, as I say, in this case, I’m not talking about that kind of magic.

Where The Sea Lavender Grows, my next novel, due to be published on April 28th 2026 (which incidentally happens to be my birthday), includes the unseen ghost/spirit/soul/ essence of a long-dead artist who communicates with an artist working to restore a house. Shades of Green and Time, the novel I’ve recently been working on, includes time travel. And the novel I’ve just started…well, it’s a bit too early to tell you about that, but if I tell you it’s a bit like The Midnight Library, that will give you an idea.

Those of you who’ve discovered me in the last few years might think all this is a bit of a change. But those who’ve read my earlier writing will know that I’ve included magical elements in my books before. Jade Gate, the workshop leader in The Goddess Workshop has a bit of magic about her; she’s certainly mysterious and other worldly even as she encourages women to be their best confident and sensual selves. And Nessa in Perfect Responses, well she’s an angel, or my version of an angel anyway.

In Perfect Responses, Corrine Walker, a self-help author, is dead but she’s currently in limbo and can’t move on to heaven. Why? Because having preached to women that neutral responses to events - no matter how painful or trying - lead to a better life, Corrine proceeded to tear up her own rule book when her husband cheated on her, resorting to gratifying, but now frowned-upon acts of revenge. She’ll remain in purgatory until an angel - Nessa - can prove that at least three women down on Earth have benefitted from her teachings. But Nessa has her work cut out, because the three chosen women have big problems. Janet’s just been abandoned by her fiance before their beach wedding in Africa, Debbie’s having a hopeless affair with her married boss, and Kate’s just married the love of her life only for him to become an uncommunicative stranger overnight. Can straight-talking Nessa make the most of Corrine’s theories to help the women become the best versions of themselves before it’s too late?

Perfect Responses and The Goddess Workshop are both available to buy now. Why not give one of them a try?