Now for the scary bit...I'd cross my fingers but that's a bit difficult right now...(broken hand) If you'd like to request, here’s the link: ow.ly/25RZ50WF7Ku

One of my favourite acknowledgements ever…

One of my favourite acknowledgements ever… It's called

A few pics from Friday at #TheakstonsCrime! Always so brilliant to be back and lovely to see @rogeraprice.bsky.social @amandalees.bsky.social #LyndaCheckley #michaelwood #RuthKelly @sarahclarke.bsky.social amongst others 📚 @harrogatefestivals.bsky.social

I've spent so many happy hours here as have millions of others. This cause is close to my heart - please sign: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/sa...

British household rules: you have a cupboard with upward of thirty mugs in it, only three of those can hold exactly the right amount of tea. When those are not available you will drink from the Lesser Mugs, but it will not be as good.

My brand novel set in Cairo… “Inheriting a forgotten villa will change everything. We’re thrilled to reveal the cover for Secrets of Villa Eden: An absolutely gripping and emotional historical fiction page-turner by Amanda Lees! Out September 25th.” Pre-order here: geni.us/B0FG3K7XBNco...

A brilliant debut…❤️

Think my editor will buy it?

Times are very tough and we're fundraising! Buy a book today and enjoy 20% off all our titles in The Big Salt Sale! Simply use discount code TheBigSaltSale in our checkout or click the link below! www.saltpublishing.com/discount/The... Happy reading!

“But luxury has never appealed to me, I like simple things, books, being alone, or with somebody who understands.” Daphne du Maurier, whose birthday it is today and with whom I entirely agree.

Nerdtastic moment…the brilliant author, linguist and lexicographer Tony Thorne, one of the world’s leading experts on slang, just told me he used my book in court as the published source to back up his expert witness statement. And they won. I feel like a proper grown-up at last.

👏👏👏

Lovely event last night for Essie Fox and her gorgeous new book Dangerous…Byron at his baddest and best. Who could resist?

The only Pope who made me feel less lapsed as a Catholic…a kind, humble and courageous man whose last acts were to call for peace and to tell JD Vance where to go. If there is a heaven, he has a very special place in it.

Jean Charles de Menezes. Never forget. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault. What is with the rich, celebrities and powerful that they want to inflict pain, sorrow and humiliation on others. What kid of society enables this kind of psychological development? Seems to point to failures at home, community, education, work.

My new favourite German word (yes, it really exists)

So. We're a bunch of artists and writers surrounded by AI gouging out the soul of Hayao Miyazaki for clout, and triple-fried ghost-written celebrity "novels" written by people who hate writing for people who hate books. I can think of no better reason to dig your heels in. Create out of spite.

The Very Divorced Years:

Worse…I write them too.

Pirated by Meta? Yep. You can search for your own books using the link mentioned in this article www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

Clouds parted just in time for maximum totality at 1:58 a.m. here. The total lunar eclipse as viewed from my front door:

In no particular order, here are the 15 bestsellers from our first 5 years as a worker coop! We feel lucky that because of our incredible community, we are able to carry & sell books we believe in, books that help us think critically about our history & how to build the future we think is possible.

Structural edit: “Love it…absolutely perfect. What a book! Could you just rewrite the whole thing?” Life edit: “Love you…you’re absolutely perfect. What a woman! Could we just break up?”

Monday morning and I’m starting a new book. As ever, I’ve thought long and hard about it, taking plot walks with the dog and carefully crafting characters…but there is one fundamental question at the heart of my authorly preparations: Which tw*t who did me wrong am I going to kill off in this one?

In great company…you can see the full line-up here boswellprizes.org/judges

Slava Ukraini

Good…although it’s a ‘partial climbdown.’ Keep up the pressure! www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

COOL JOB ALERT: We're looking for a senior leader to take on Indivisible's media operations, particularly with experience in the non-mainstream media space (influencers, podcasts, etc). Only downside is you have to work with me. Please apply or tell people to apply! jobs.lever.co/indivisible/...

I’m at that stage of ten days before deadline where I have no idea what day it is and my diet consists of coffee, chocolate and grapes (OK…wine). Send kind thoughts. Please don’t send Keanu. I don’t have the time or the energy.

Take your pick…and happy whatever day you choose!

The Heroines Anthology is open for submissions of poems & short fiction on the theme of witches, witch trials, medicine women, mystics, herbalists, spells, enchantments, shapeshifters, familiars, covens, hags, crones and sabbats. Deadline June 2025 Please share :) www.writingtheheroine.com

A reduced sentence if you read! www.goodnewsnetwork.org/prisons-worl...

The beautiful London Library offers emerging writers one year’s free membership including masterclasses, networking opportunities, peer support, access to all the Library’s resources and publication in an anthology. Details below. Please share :) www.londonlibrary.co.uk/about-us/ll-...

Over the moon about being Editor's Choice in the latest issue of the Historical Novel Society's journal historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-... #theballadofmarykearney #historicalfiction #Ireland #writingcommunity @historia-hwa.bsky.social

Sharing for the morning gang! 🤓

It’s a moody, damp, dark, gothic, feminist tale. With eels for flavor. Loved this advanced copy of The Homecoming by Zoë Apostolides from @saltpublishing.com Could have used a few more eels though. 😉 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It would be rude not to…

I love a dialogue.

Please share

Remember the people getting rid of sexual assault and misconduct rules for children spent a lot of time on Epstein's island. www.thedailybeast.com/trump-orders...

It’s Monday…here’s something uplifting to start the week…Max Ehrmann's Desiderata. And if you don't want to read the whole thing, take my favourite line away with you: "With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world."

Love it or lose it…my rallying cry for libraries: www.linkedin.com/posts/amanda...

As Elif Shafak says, “The silencing of women’s voices is not a thing of the past.” On 26 March she’ll join Sandi Toksvig, EmmaGH and Zahra Joya to discuss both the historical and present-day silencing of women. www.theguardian.com/guardian-liv...

Karma.

Such a lovely guy. This is desperately sad. My thoughts are with his family and friends.

Well deserved #theCWA #diamonddagger #mickherron