Hayley Dunning

Signed title page of The Killer Question by Janice Hallet

Five women on a panel on stage

Was an absolute DORK over @janicehallett.bsky.social at the @chilternkills.bsky.social festival just now. I always said she's who I want to be when I grow up, and that's still mostly true, but just a tiny bit less after she said she's a 100% pantser!!😱

My hand holding the paw of a sweet black cat

There's this true crime advert that ends with someone saying, "How do you know the person sitting next to you right now isn't a psychopath?" and it makes me laugh every time because whose sitting next to me is him

Got a new purse and trying to answer the eternal question: do I fill the purse with loyalty cards or my phone with loyalty apps?

Oh! You can also usually still eat garlic-infused oil, and the spice asafoetida can be a garlic substitute

I have onion and garlic issues too - you can try looking for low-FODMAP recipes as they also tend to avoid beans and lentils. Sometimes I substitute onions for fennel or celery in recipes for that taste and crunch.

I finished my book and now I'm too sad to do anything else (Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro)

A cat chomping on a spider plant

A cat chomping on a spider plant

I bought a new plants and it wasn't in my flat 2mins before Copper got at it...

Happy #InternationalCatDay! Peanut is off his face on catnip

UK gets first female Astronomer Royal in 350 years Prof Michele Dougherty is the first woman to be appointed to the influential post.

Oh I am SO pleased to see this. I worked with Prof Dougherty a lot at Imperial and she is one of those people you really want to be when you grow up. Smart, dedicated, kind and funny. A true inspiration.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I read a LOT more now than I did 10 years ago, and yet I've still only heard of one of the Booker longlist again this year. It used to make me feel uncultured, but I think the type of book favoured is just not for me! 🤷‍♀️

People also ask Is The Great British Sewing Bee on tonight? AI Overview No, The Great British Sewing Bee is not on tonight. It airs on Tuesdays at 9 pm on BBC One. The current date is Saturday, so it will not be on tonight. The most recent episode aired on Tuesday, July 22. AI responses may include mistakes.

Just beautiful work there. The disclaimer really earning its place

Also, are you ever amazed by how consistent you are? I just scrolled back and in the last sale I wrote almost exactly the same thing: bsky.app/profile/hdun...

6 books: Murder at the Black Cat Cafe - Seishi Yokomizo The Witching Hour - Bridget Collins, Imogen Hermes Gowar Of the Flesh: 18 Stories of Modern Horror - Susan Barker, J K Chukwu The Killer Question - Janice Hallett The Chesil Beach Murders - Rachel McLean Barrowbeck - Andrew Michael Hurley

So how many books did you buy in the @waterstones.bsky.social pre-order sale? I managed to restrict myself to six 😁

Job Opportunity: Digital Communications Officer The Degrees Initiative seeks a Digital Communications Officer to join a growing, dynamic charity working on climate change and development.

I'm hiring! Love communicating complex topics and are handy with tools like Canva, Premiere Pro, LinkedIn and WordPress? Come join me and the incredible @degrees.ngo team as we navigate a fascinating interface between climate change and international development: www.degrees.ngo/careers/job-...

A letter about service charges rising. A sentence offering to explain why is unfinished

Honestly, how disrespectful is this? Not only have they already told us two different values since April, they can't even be bothered to pretend to explain why the new figure is, naturally, higher (Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing, MTVH)

When I gave blood last week, one of the nurses found a 2hr video of silly cats on YouTube to put on the TV in the donation room. And my nurse gave me an extra bag of Mini Cheddars 'for the road' 💪🩸

Why did this make me want to do homework again. I miss doing assignments. Grown-up job work just doesn't hit the same

Title: Useful phrases for the murder mystery writer abroad An eight-panel cartoon showing a writer in a series of situations in a foreign country. Panel 1: looking at historic buildings saying "Kia bela vilaĝo!" which is translated below as "What a lovely village!" Panel 2: in a pretty garden asking the gardener "Ĉu ĉi tiuj estas venenaj" meaning "Are any of these plants poisonous? Panel 3: in a bar asking the server “Kie oni povas aĉeti pafilon?" meaning " Can one purchase a firearm nearby?" Panel 4: on a beach asking a fisherman "Ĉu la tajdo povus forporti kadavron?" meaning "Could the tide carry a dead body away?" Panel 5: approached by a police officer and saying "Saluton, oficiro." which is translated below as "Hello officer." Panel 6: being marched to the police station protesting "Okazis miskompreno!" meaning "There has been a misunderstanding!" Panel 7: in the interrogation room the officer holds up a moleskine notebook, the writer explains "La murdo en mia notlibro estas fikcia." meaning "The murder planned in my notebook is fictional." Panel 8: locked in a cell asking "Mi ŝatus telefoni al la Brita konsulejo." which means "I would like to telephone the British consulate." Note: The foreign language used by the writer in the cartoon is Esperanto. It has not been proofread by an Esperanto speaker so there may be errors.

‘Useful phrases for the murder mystery writer abroad’ (my cartoon for this week’s Guardian Books)

Every summer I think about leaving London

A black cat in two photos, in the same spot, curled in two different directions

Peanut is ambidextrous, it seems...

Cover of the book Wild Folk

What a beautiful thing to arrive on the solstice from Jackie Morris and @tamsintheshed.bsky.social 🌅 Tinged with sadness tho as it's probably the last book I'll receive from #Unbound - 2 others are still on order but one (another folk title) was cancelled by the author this week

People dressed in red within the stones

Selfie inside the stones

View of the stones with lots of people

Poppies in a field lit by the early sun

Happy solstice from Stonehenge! I sang in the dawn this year 😊

This is 39

Weirdest Object in the Universe - The Great Exhibition Road Festival From black holes to human consciousness, Imperial scientists compete for public votes as they pitch what they think is the strangest object in the cosmos.

What's weirder? Black holes, human consciousness, or quantum spookiness? Join the debate (and me) tomorrow as three @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social scientists fight it out to have their 'thing' crowned the weirdest!
www.greatexhibitionroadfestival.co.uk/event/weirde...

A buffalo tries to look menacing but looks cute

One elephant rests their trunk on the back of two others

A weaver bird sits in the sling of grasses he has constructed in a thorny bush

An African penguin huddles in the sand with their two babies

A small selection of the wonderful animals I got to say 'hi' to in South Africa :-)

!!!!!

STATEMENT FROM ENGLISH FOLK DANCE AND SONG SOCIETY

A puffin stands on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. "I always thought I'd get wiser and braver with time... but I'm only becoming more neurotic". We see its perspective, looking down at the rough water below. "Why am I like this? Does it help me?" A close up of the puffin's face, looking momentarily cheerful. "Maybe overthinking IS wisdom! I AM the contemplative figure, gifted with great insight". They look down again "...and nervous bowels".

Puffin's Bluff

"She's been sleeping diagonally in her bed for years" YES I HAVE

Can you believe I'm on this list?! I almost can't, but there I am in black and white!