Charlotte Francis

It was such a cool show. I have the episodes somewhere on a hard disk. My friend got them via other means too, back in the noughties. Need to dig them out, would love to watch the whole thing again.

Very dapper indeed

😂

Wise words! So true

Same. It’s so beautiful. We’re so lucky to have this one at the bottom of the garden. It’s over the fence in the neighbour’s garden, but we get to enjoy it too without having the occasional faff of trimming it

Magnolia tree in bloom, blue sky behind

Magnolia tree in bloom, blue sky behind

Magnolia tree in bloom, blue sky behind

What a difference a few hours makes. Blooms opening up all over the place now.

Aw, that's a lovely reaction. Made me feel so grateful for sitting here.

It’s wondrous. And as I’ve been sitting here this afternoon, all the petals have opened. Going to take some more pictures.

That's awesome! Great work! And yes, the vampires!

Great work on COTBM too. Really eager to see Daemrin and Lex get steamier. Love all the scenes you've shared of them.

How goes work on COTBM?

Thank you 😊 Yesterday was so satisfying; not only did I get a lot done, but it was one of the hardest things I've had to write in a while. Solving a tech problem on the page along with the character in a way that felt both inevitable and clever and ticked boxes in her arc. Worked well in the end.

Work on We Always Come Back is going well. Got 5500 words written yesterday. I’m up to around 45k for the draft so far. Progress is up and down, but I am intensely invested in it for now. Hoping to get another chapter written today.

View from my laptop. Sitting at our dining table, looking out through the open doors into the garden on one side and my tidy (for once) kitchen on the other side.

Magnolia blossoms about to open.

Magnolia blossoms about to open.

Magnolia blossoms about to open.

Well, this is glorious. One of my favourite places to write in the house, and today it’s just about warm enough to have the garden doors open. The sun’s shining, there’s a woodpecker in the ash tree behind our house, and our neighbour’s magnolia is starting to bloom.

Never give up!

I mean it. I wrote the book 5 years ago and it's been through several iterations since while I kept trying to place it. I can barely absorb the fact that it's going to be a thing! But I also know it wouldn't be the thing it is without that journey.

Nothing wasted.

Keep writing. 📚💙🏳️‍🌈

Totally fair 🫂 And I'm sorry. That's tough.

I also know kinda what you're going through. I *used* to write fast before being on sub messed with my brain. Imposter syndrome is slowing me down. I'm used to churning out first drafts in 1-2 months, but this is a new and agonisising territory.

It’s so hard not to. But life will throw different challenges your way and so will books. And it doesn’t mean anything in the long run. When you read a great book, do you ever wonder how long it took to write? Can’t say it ever crossed my mind.

And what you've been saying about the secondary world of it all: that's super relevant. It takes a lot more effort to invent everything from scratch, especially the way you're doing it—alien first then repurposed to human. That's a lot, a lot. It'll naturally take longer.

Expectations can be a killer. I think after you wrote TD so fast, it's normal to then have conflicted feelings if the next one doesn't come the same way. It's great you're aware of it being mindset related, though, because your writing habits sound really healthy and sustainable.

Had a lovely relaxing time thanks ☺️ didn’t do any writing after all. Lots of reading and roaming the coastline. Joyous.

Me at the beach, wrapped up warm with a tinny of G&T (yes, very classy).

Back home in the London rain. Wish I was still at the beach with a G&T. Post holiday blues. On the upside though, kids are off to the grandparents tomorrow for the night, and I intend to get my write on.

Happy book birthday to Olivia Jackson and HUNTER’S TREASURE! Out now from One More Chapter.

This thrilling adventure rom-com is now available from your preferred seller of books. A desert island read if I’ve ever seen one… 🌴🌴🌴

Amber Glenn and Alysa Liu posing with a Belle nuiMO in skates holding a Pride flag

Yes, that’s U.S. Champion Amber Glenn and Olympic champion Alysa Liu with the nuiMO version of my OC Chloé LaFleur. And both of them have said they want to read my book when it’s published. Is this a brag? Abso-fucking-lutely.

Me and my daughters on the beach

My girls digging in the sand

My husband and older daughter playing at the beach

My three kids at the living room window in the beach flat, staring out the window

At the beach for a few days. Beautiful sunshine, freezing cold, scaffolding up around the flat, but still delightfully happy to get away from the London rain. Hoping to get a lot of writing done.

#Febchantment Day 14

The most terrifying thing about the magic that permeates my world is its unpredictability. One small mistake, and everyone ends up as cinders. Or flamingos. Or soup tureens.

Occasionally, all at once.

Brilliant prose with amazing depth as always! It’s all spectacular, but I especially appreciate the psilocybin reference. Amazing work.

Mostly by being mortal in his line of sight.

😬 Another storm?? What did you guys do to piss off Zeus this year?

Is it ever going to stop raining? Like, seriously, the Atlantic must be empty at this point.

Hear, hear

Thanks