Dr. Zoë Marriott

Thank you! The same to you :) No one's ever burst into tears but I have had a few people sort of scoff and say 'That can't have happened!' and I am still stumped as to how to respond since to me these things seem like very normal events. Which is why they're weird, I suppose...

One of the strangest things about growing up in a dysfunctional family is how sometimes you tell a childhood story and everyone laughs. And sometimes you tell a childhood story & everyone stares at you in transfixed horror, at which point you realise: oh dear, that wasn't normal, was it? Oops.

On Accidentally Becoming Earnest I have a dirty mouth.

A piece about earnestness, and what happens when you stop saving up goodwill and consider running up some irreverence debt.

kristiedegaris.substack.com/p/on-acciden...

#Writing #WritingCommunity #Scotland #Women #Reading #Books

Chance to meet Grimsby author for book signing at Waterstones The Moonlit Maze is a "historical mystery with a hint of a haunting"

A lovely journo from the @grimsbytelegraph.co.uk interviewed me for this! Tl;dr - you can come along to Grimsby Waterstones between 11:00-15:00 on Sat the 24th to meet me, and I'll sign a book for you and give you free stuff! There might even be cookies! www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/grimsby...

* THE MOONLIT MAZE. Just one maze in the book. The second one here is free.

A page of positive reviews from sources such as Ruth Ware, Amanda Geard, Woman and Home Magazine and Susanna Kearsley using phrases like 'hauntingly beautiful', 'I read it in a single setting' and 'Exquisitely written'.

A small pile of paperbacks of the book The Moonlit Maze lying on a silk scarf surrounded by scented candles, starshaped fairy lights, orange roses and a small brass astrolabe.

Image of the paperback of the book The Moonlit Maze surrounded by greenery with the words 'Uncover the secrets hidden in The Moonlit Maze' and then beneath that 'Out in Paperback 15th of January 2026'.

The big day is finally here! THE MOONLIT MAZE MAZE makes its paperback debut today. Sundrenched 1920s glamour, spellbinding romance, and a ghostly mystery.

The past can hold you in its spell...

www.amazon.co.uk/Moonlit-Maze...

Just seen someone online complaining that HAMNET doesn't reflect the 'real' age gap between Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway. In fact, Jessie Buckley is 7yrs older than Paul Mescal, so the film *perfectly* reflects how little difference that age gap would have made in real life, despite ppl's misogyny.

All the empathy! Especially for when people act like you're just being picky for correcting them. NO YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND IT IS IMPORTANT.

Please stop using the word 'Romantic' as a synonym for the word 'unrealistic', that is not what it actually means, signed someone with a PhD in What Romantic Actually Means.

"Oh my god you are so cringe."

Me: "Yay, that's what I was going for! Thanks!"

Hello, 2026! It is delightful to meet you. Please be filled with joy, safety, opportunity, connection and love. You can do it! We believe in you!

“See, the thing is, as a writer you are free. You are free. You are about the freest person that ever was. Your freedom is what you have bought with your solitude, your loneliness. You are in the country where you make up the rules, the laws. You are both dictator and obedient populace. It is a country nobody has ever explored before. It is up to you to make the maps, to build the cities. Nobody else in the world can do it, or ever could do it, or ever will be able to do it again.” - Ursula K. Le Guin, from The Language of the Night, 1989

“As a writer…you are the freest person that ever was.”

Don’t let genAI ever take away this freedom.

People talk a lot about how hard & gruelling doing a PhD can be - but I never see anyone talk about how, once it's really complete, you miss it. I'm ecstatic that I gradutated! But I also wish I could go back & do it again, this time with a bit more trust & confidence in myself & the process.

There is a US content creator - who I love - whose videos I found when I was first thinking about pursuing a PhD. She was, I think, in year two of her PhD then. I have now completed my doctorate. She's still working on hers. If I was in the US I would be DEAD, friends. Seven years! Yowch,

Little tip for Wes Streeting: if you want doctors to stop striking (& leaving this country in droves) stop insulting them. Try: 'We value & respect our doctors & feel very saddened that they've felt the need to take this action. We stand ready to return to negotiate with them at any time.'

Fellow Mint Aero fans - let my tragic tale be a warning to you. I bought a box of the Mint Aero Peppermint Mocha, followed the instructions exactly. Not only does this NOT taste like a Mint Aero, it doesn't even taste like mint or chocolate. It tastes of nothing but hot water (and disappointment).

Sign the petition to end peat sales! No more delays: Let's get peat out of gardens once and for all. The time for uncertainty has ended.

Good morning, please can you share this petition by @peatfree.bsky.social to end peat sales - all previous petitions were for the Conservative Government, and we're now close to making this law with Labour so peat habitat can never be used again actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sal...

Being a British parent is so weird bc you're actually worried about paying the sky high rent/mortgage & getting GP appointments but the entire press keeps telling you you're worried there's a trans person or immigrant nearby & the vat on Eton means there'll only be two skiing holidays this year

#Strictly Thanks, I hate it. #Scd2025

When it comes to academic writing, I know very well that the 1st step is always to just GO. Splurt out all the incoherent, messy thoughts. Throw spaghetti at the wall.

Boy... have I succeeded today. Yep. That's a mess all right.

Time for a tea/toast break & reflective journalling, I think.

Painting detail of a flower.

'We are like the herb which flourisheth most when trampled upon'
-Walter Scott, Ivanhoe

🎨Jan van Huijsum (detail)
#BookWormSat

Uncover the secrets hidden in The Moonlit Maze... the cover of The Moonlit Maze displayed on an ereader, mobile phone and as a paperback, surrounded by flowers

This book kept me spellbound, 5 stars, reader review

A beautiful timeslip love story, 5 stars, reader review

"A forbidden encounter, a dark secret, a house in ruins..." An image of the cover of The Moonlit Maze displayed on an ereader with the legend "99p" next to it in red

The Moonlit Maze just went on offer at 99p/c on Amazon! So if you'd like to escape the rain and darkness and explore a world of sundrenched 1920s glamour, forbidden romance and spellbinding family mysteries... grab it now! www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DB8C5VT...

"Why?" I scream to the heavens, "Why won't anyone sell me a yoga vest with built in support? I don't want a crop top! I DON'T WANT A CROP TOP! Just give me a vest!"

"Lol. No," says the heavens (otherwise known as the internet). "Belly out or nothing, beyotch."

Uncover the secrets hidden in The Moonlit Maze... the cover of The Moonlit Maze displayed on an ereader, mobile phone and as a paperback, surrounded by flowers

This book kept me spellbound, 5 stars, reader review

A beautiful timeslip love story, 5 stars, reader review

"A forbidden encounter, a dark secret, a house in ruins..." An image of the cover of The Moonlit Maze displayed on an ereader with the legend "99p" next to it in red

The Moonlit Maze just went on offer at 99p/c on Amazon! So if you'd like to escape the rain and darkness and explore a world of sundrenched 1920s glamour, forbidden romance and spellbinding family mysteries... grab it now! www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DB8C5VT...

This year we're doing Whamutopia. Every time you hear Last Christmas you have to have a mulled wine at your earliest convenience and toast George Michael, because he was a lad

Not into this new quick-change high jeopardy dance improv thing on 'strictly' at all. Far too stressful.

Migraine woke me at 2am. Didn't get to sleep until after 5. Weird side effect of nighttime migraines: a random song plays over & over & over in my head, completely inescapable. Let's just say if I ever meet Sabrina Carpenter IRL I'll punch her in the face. Also, don't offer me espresso.

Plastic beads spreading on Sussex coast after ‘catastrophic’ spill, meeting told Local people describe devastating impact of millions of toxic beads from Southern Water site near Camber Sands

The case for privatising water (at low prices) was that the companies would run things better & use financial leverage to invest in modern infrastructure.

Infrastructure has deteriorated disastrously, shareholders grow fat, & the water companies’ managers couldn’t run a bath.

Renationalise. Now.

It was great to join ITV Last Orders as they showcased a fantastic local nature project, which we should celebrate.

The Yorskhire and Humber Climate Commission is leading by example, continuing the spirit of Carla Denyer’s 2018 climate emergency declaration in Bristol.

#ClimateLeadership