Happy New Year! In my latest substack, I review what I achieved in 2025, and reveal my hopes and goals for the year ahead. arsenicandcoldcase.substack.com/p/goodbye-20... #Goodbye2025 #Hello2026 #HappyNewYear

Here's my December reads... My favourite book this month was "The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers", a fantastic debut by Samuel Burr. It's a great contemporary mystery with a strong Golden Age voice that felt incredibly immersive. Highly recommended! #amreading #decemberreads

It's time for my favourite books of 2025! I didn't read as much this year as I normally do, but I still have a lot of books to be thankful for, so here's my top 10 in no particular order... #BestOf2025 #readingcommunity (1/4)

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas x

Overwhipped the cream for the yule log and ended up with accidental butter 😂 It's very tasty though!

In my latest post, I talk about how my writing journey began with short fiction. Plus, enjoy a festive short story that I wrote back in 2021! No judgement please, my writing has improved a lot since then 😉 arsenicandcoldcase.substack.com/p/writing-sh... #shortfiction #shortstories #festiveseason

In part 10 of my Path to Publication series, I discuss what it’s like to Sign a Publishing Contract, and what you need to know before you do… arsenicandcoldcase.substack.com/p/signing-a-... #blogpost #substack #pathtopublication #publishingcontract

Here's my November reads... My favourite book was "Hidden in Memories" (Åre Murders 3) by Viveca Sten. I have a real soft spot for Scandi crime fiction, so perhaps it's not surprising. What have you read and enjoyed this month? #amreading

Once more for the evening crowd... My latest blog is all about getting professional headshots taken⬇️

Like many people I hate having my photo taken, so last month I visited a professional photograph for my official headshots. And here's what happened... arsenicandcoldcase.substack.com/p/getting-pr... #authorlife #headshots

ICYMI yesterday, it's not too late to check out my latest blog on writing during times of turbulence or uncertainty. Take a look here ⬇️

Here's my October reads! Just five this month, and my favourite was "Quantum of Menace" by Vaseem Khan. It's the first in a new series about Q (from the Bond / 007 universe) and it's a brilliant mystery!

When life throws you a curveball, or you're waiting for the other shoe to drop, it's easy to lose your creative impetus. What's important is how you get it back, and that you acknowledge your success when you do. arsenicandcoldcase.substack.com/p/writing-th... #writing #resilience

I started my writing journey with @writershq.bsky.social. Write November looks like a fantastic way to get into writing, or to give your writing a little boost! Check it out ⬇️

Another recharge weekend well spent. My husband bought this for our anniversary last week, and we built it yesterday. Love a bit of '80s nostalgia, and Gizmo in particular!

Once more for the evening folks... ⬇️

The path to publication can be long, winding and highly variable. But what do you do when you get a publishing offer? And how do you assess whether it's right for you? Read my latest substack to find out what I did, why, and whether it worked! arsenicandcoldcase.substack.com/p/assessing-...

Once more for the evening crowd... 'A Lens Unclouded' is changing. For a sneak peek of what's coming next, take a look at my latest blog ⬇️

This is the last edition of A Lens Unclouded... before I rebrand my blog, and everything else in my writing life. But what is rebranding, why am I doing it, and is it really going to make a difference? alensunclouded.substack.com/p/rebranding #blogpost #substack #rebranding

Here's my September reads! My favourite was "The Killer Question" by Janice Hallett - which narrowly beat out the latest offerings from Osman and Herron by having just a few extra twists that kept me guessing right until the end. #amreading #septemberreads

Once more for the evening crowd... If you'd like to have your say on what I write about in 2026, take a look at my latest blog ⬇️

It’s my fiftieth substack today, so please join me for a little retrospective over the last two years: what I’ve learned, what I (still) haven’t, and what is coming next… alensunclouded.substack.com/p/twoish-yea... #amwri̇ti̇ng #substack #blogpost

Doing the final readthrough before I return my MS to my editor. It's really easy to see which bits I wrote while hungry... Anyone for a cinnamon roll? 🤣 #amediting #hungrywriter

Once more for the evening crowd... Going on Submission was a wild ride! ⬇️

In my latest blog... What it's really like to go on submission, how what actually happens compares to your plan, and how to stay sane when everything is outside of your control. alensunclouded.substack.com/p/going-on-s... #pathtopublication #submission

Here's my August reads! My favourite was "The Half Burnt House" by Alex North. Deliciously twisty, I lost sleep when I stayed up to finish it. Totally worth feeling knackered the following day. I also did some beta reading, which is always a joy. #amreading #augustreads

Am I editing my book like I should be? No Am I writing 'white papers' in the voices of my characters about funny topics because I thought it was a good idea? Absolutely yes. Good lord, this is fun 😂 #amwriting #crimefiction #sidequest

Once more for the evening crowd... if you're unsure about whether to read, there are many pictures of puppies included!

In this week's substack I'm talking about characterisation hacks, specifically the 'Two Beers and a Puppy' questions. Take a look to see how this premise may help with your writing (and your friends!)... alensunclouded.substack.com/p/two-beers-... #amwri̇ti̇ng #characterisation #twobeersandapuppy

Once more for the evening crowd... You send more than just your manuscript and it pays to get your timing right. Here's what I learned when submitting my novel to publishers ⬇️

In the next instalment of my path to publication... What really happens when you go on submission to publishers and why it’s more complicated than you might think. alensunclouded.substack.com/p/preparatio... #pathtopublication #submission

Here's my July reads! My favourite was "The Ministry of Time" by Kaliane Bradley. It's a brilliant book and I loved every minute. Also really enjoyed Ruth Ware's short stories. Looking forward to August which will be TBR reads only... #amreading #julyreads

An encore for the evening crowd... if you're unsure about audiobooks, or have never tried them, have a read of my blog ⬇️ #amreading #audiobooks

Most people predominantly read paperbacks or ebooks over hardbacks or audiobooks. So what happens if you just listen to audiobooks for a few months instead? That's what I did, and what I found was genuinely surprising... alensunclouded.substack.com/p/its-still-... #amreading #audiobooks

Running through structural edits of my #CrimeFiction novel today. Editor thinks there's too many references to tea/coffee. Decided to count them... 63! There's only 54 chapters 😂 #amediting #lessteaplease

It's easy to think about which writers inspire me, but sometimes I forget about the TV series, movies and life events that lead me to write crime fiction and cold cases in particular... alensunclouded.substack.com/p/writing-fi... #amwriting #CrimeFiction #coldcases

Somehow we're half way through the year and I can't quite believe I'm posting one of these again. I slowed down a bit in June due to a lot of uncertainty and a bereavement, but here's the five books I read... (cont...)

I much prefer writing a new novel to editing, so editing with my agent was a whole new experience... Read more about my path to publication in today's blog! alensunclouded.substack.com/p/15-jun-25-... #amwriting #amediting #pathtopublication

Supposed to be working on book 3 candidate today, but woke up with an idea and spent the last hour writing it down. 2000 words done👍 Now it needs time to grow in my subconscious. There's a seed of something good there, but it's not quite ready yet. #amwriting #psychthriller

Bought myself a little gift as something very exciting (that I'm not allowed to talk about yet) happened this week... The new Lego Sherlock Holmes booknook! 😍 I am so excited to build this, hopefully starting later today and will build it a little at a time over the next week.

Back up to normal speed for my May Reads! It's hard to choose a favourite because they were all great but it's probably between 'City of Destruction' and 'The Beast of Littleton Woods'. I'm still enjoying my audible trial too; 'Ice Town' as read by Maya Lindh is fantastic!

Last month I finally made it to #CrimeFest and had a wonderful time. Read about my favourite panels, who made my day and what books I brought home here... alensunclouded.substack.com/p/crimefest-...

After writing book two of my #crimefiction series, it occurred to me that writing a series book is like walking into a bar alone after an unexpected absence; everyone's pleased to see you but you've got a lot of explaining to do... alensunclouded.substack.com/p/do-you-com...

And so it ends... The first draft of book two is done, in two months and with a final word count of just over 84k! 🥳 Now to stick it in a drawer for a few months while I work on something else, so that I can come back with fresh eyes later in the year. #amwriting #crimefiction

Finding an agent isn't easy, so I thought I'd share my own - somewhat unconventional - story... alensunclouded.substack.com/p/path-to-pu... #WritingCommunity #amagented

I keep forgetting to update my progress on book 2 of my #crimefiction series. Today, I reached the midpoint of draft 1: 23 chapters and 43,000 words. Then I wrote another one to be sure. Now for that tricky second half... #amwriting #WritingCommunity

Does it matter who writes crime, how it's written, or whether crime is a vehicle for human connection? And why does crime fiction mean so much to so many of us? Take a look at my latest blog: alensunclouded.substack.com/p/theres-bee... #crimefiction #writingcrime #womenwritingcrime

Took a bit of time off writing the second book in my #crimefiction series last week, but have added another three chapters (7,000 words) today and ended on a scene that I just love. I wish every writing day was like this! 🤣 #amwriting #WritingCommunity

haven't had my work stolen - yet - but I stand with all those whose words have been taken, without permission or compensation, by companies who can afford to licence the work but choose not to. I've signed the SoA petition and you can too. #DoTheWriteThing #MakeItFair