The sheer AMOUNT of stuff women over 40 are supposed to be doing to beautify ourselves is insane. There’s your good old cleanse, tone & moisturise, & of course a good diet & regular exercise…

Our local park really exploring Unexpected Red theory for 2026. (7/365)

If you’d told me five years ago that I’d end up having a dog – let alone that I’d end up loving her quite this much – I would have laughed in your face. And now here I am sharing my home – and, regularly, the bed – with this ridiculous Fraggle. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. (5/365)

My other half has become quite the botanist and needed some more space for his seedlings and various houseplant accoutrements. Found this amazing 1950s Remploy military issue chest of drawers on FB which is *perfect* – sturdy and spacious and, most importantly, waterproof wipe-clean Formica top!

It’s funny, growing up next to the sea for her entire life means my kid takes it totally for granted (and is a complete beach baby). But it’s still a bit crazy to me that this is the view at our local dog walk. Bonkers. (3/365)

A post on Threads inspired me to get out my beautiful c.1895 edition of Little Women. The inscription says that it was a gift from for Christmas 1897. It’s the first thing I’d save in a fire (after the child and the dog, obvs). And remains one of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve ever received. (2/365)

Read half of A Little Trickerie in one greedy gulp last night and I cannot wait to inhale the rest. What a brilliantly unique narrative voice Tibb is, and what an interesting world Rosanna Pike has evoked. Hooray for books.

I’m very excited for when Zohran Mamdani eventually becomes President, but even more excited for Rama Duwaji being the coolest First Lady of all time.

Oh gawd it's January, which means my book is coming out in paperback on the 29th! Waterstones are doing an exclusive edition with red edges, a prequel chapter AND the first chapter of the sequel, The Hoard and can be pre-ordered THUSLY: www.waterstones.com/book/pagans/...

Decided to go further afield today for our dog walk. When we got out of the car I realised with a start that this was where my late husband Mike and I brought our daughter the day before he died, for what would be our last walk as a family. As I remembered that, I looked up to spot a huge rainbow.

Also I just realised I’M GETTING MARRIED NEXT YEAR AND NEXT YEAR IS ALMOST HERE

IT IS DONE. Yes, the worst part of Christmas is over: I have made room for all the child’s new presents. Every last one of them now has a place, and, more to the point, is put away in said place.

A lot of writers have busted their butts all year to publish great fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and journalism. Consider sharing their work today. Consider what you send people's attention to.

I love this time of year. Making solemn vows for the forthcoming year to eat better/exercise more/take up a new hobby and daydreaming about your new life where you’re slim and fit and accomplished, all while sitting on the sofa eating crisps and happily doomscrolling because IT’S STILL CHRISTMAS.

Baffling that Book!Sky is such a lovely, cheery, lighthearted place when Book!Threads is a joyless, overly critical levity-vacuum that takes itself so seriously it’s genuinely painful to witness. How do places become echo chambers like that?

First time I’ve seen this all year and IT FEELS SO GOOD (it’s not entirely true, I do actually have several two things to do today, but nonetheless, an empty to do list and an empty calendar? So unusual it genuinely made me startle when I saw it.)

Everybody is watching The Family Stone in honour of Diane Keaton and I’m so frustrated because a) that film is horrible and b) Love The Coopers (the utterly charming and, most importantly, *far superior* Diane Keaton Christmas movie) exists.

“It makes me all shivery when we watch Muppets Christmas Carol, Mummy, because it always means Christmas is tomorrow.” That’s it, my parenting has peaked, I’m calling it a job well done and retiring forthwith.

I have been ill and v. busy and my patience has been somewhat… fraught. Just told my kid to “gimme” about something, and she looked at me very seriously and said “Mummy, I am not getting a lot of manners from you lately…”

Good morning from the house of endless wrapping, where I’ve already given myself three papercuts, we’re out of bin bags and the coffee machine is refusing to make any more coffee unless it’s descaled, the traitor.

Today I have to do a Sainsbury’s shop. Pray for me. (Or, given my perimenopausal, full-of-cold, haven’t-slept-more-than-two-hours-in-a-row-in-a-week state, maybe pray for the other shoppers…)

Our dog is scared of the dark and whenever she goes out for a wee at night she has to take a stick/toy/bone/block of hard cheese with her for emotional support and I just think that’s adorable.

Twas the weekend before Christmas and all through the house Not a creature was stirring because the entire family has some horrible sort of respiratory virus and have had to go back to bed 😒

My toxic trait is having a soft spot for past cast members of Made In Chelsea.

My fellow early millennials, a very important PSA: the Body Shop have brought back White Musk, this is not a drill: www.thebodyshop.com/collections/...

it’s been One Of Those Days 🙃

David Walliams? Inappropriate behaviour towards women? Shouldn’t have had a publishing contract in the first place? Actually a rather unpleasant man all-round? WELL I NEVER.

I do like Christmas Lights by Coldplay and Santa Tell Me by Ariana Grande is a nice catchy one

Gang, what are the modern-day (i.e. 2000 and beyond, YES THAT IS MODERN-DAY SHUT UP) Christmas songs that have deservedly earned their place in the pantheon of festive hits?

You literally couldn’t write it, could you? He is a piece of shit beyond parody.

I got my flu jab on Monday, then woke up yesterday with a cold and a sore ear, shivered and ached so badly last night that I barely slept l, woke up this morning completely deaf in the sore ear, have a temperature of 38.7 AND now I just threw up my morning coffee. This is not a good day. 😒

Remembering my old @waterstones colleague Dave today, out of the blue. One year on Christmas Eve, Colin Firth came into our shop and I – totally starstruck – served him.

I don’t tend to talk politics on social media because I think it achieves the sum total of nothing, but honestly, knowing that we lost Rob and Michele Reiner but the orange fucking dictator is still alive is just… so utterly tragic.

Working in publishing can destroy any romantic notions one might have had about the industry — it is, at heart, a commercially-focused numbers game the same way as any other business — but spending time talking to booksellers is food for the soul.

Just looked at the criteria for the British Book Awards and honestly, I now think that everyone who enters should get an award just for writing such a detailed essay 🙃

This morning I came downstairs to see my guy making our daughter’s lunch for school, tea towel flung over his shoulder, dog padding around behind him and I had this sudden moment of wonder.

I got a new (old!) mid-century cabinet for Christmas from my parents so I’ve been switching over the contents of the bookcase it’s replacing.

Today is our 10th wedding anniversary. We should have been celebrating a whole decade of being blissfully, devotedly, gloriously happily married. Instead, I’m celebrating the almost 5 years we had of that – and the 5 years since, which I have spent loving Mike as much as I did the day I married him.

If you donate to @doorsteplibrary.bsky.social's Big Give campaign before 9th December, we'll help match your donation. That means you can give twice as many children the gift of reading this Christmas. And we think that's pretty magical. 🎄📚🎁 bit.ly/xmasbiggive25

Happy “my kid uses my Spotify more than I do” day to all who celebrate 😒 (august is a stone-cold banger though, some of those listens are definitely me)

2025 is the year my faith was entirely restored in the publishing industry. Hear me out. Sometimes, working for an indie, it can feel like it’s a Sisyphean task, trying to get your book noticed in a sea of celebs and household names and Tik Tok trends. It feels impossible. Thankless.

This work a TREAT, thank you @georgewalkley.com!

Dec 1: @jamesbluecat.bsky.social's Pagans got my year off to a great start. it's a police procedural with a difference: set in alternative modern-day Anglo-Saxon London, complete with gods & hackers, seaxes & drones! Full of great characters, historical & imaginative details, lots of fun to read 💙📚🪐

First of December means Baileys cream in my morning coffee 🥰 (restricted to weekends from here on on, I promise)

What a nice weekend. Watched the kid’s gymnastics class, bought a Christmas tree, decorated the house, bit of Strictly, glass of wine (or two or three), NYT crossword, walk on the beach, cooked satay prawns, snuggles with the dog, @tastinghistory.bsky.social Christmas episode from last year. Bliss.

Does anyone have a method of keeping a star straight on top of a tree? We’re having issues with DROOP. 👀

I started a thing called The Big Green Books 500 Club on July 25th (my birthday!). I'm asking people to chip in £1 each week so we can get books into schools. Every time we reach £500, I send £500 of books to a different school. Details HERE. www.biggreenbookshop.com/big-green-bo...

it’s beginning to look a lot like etc etc

Without a doubt my late husband has already cornered Tom Stoppard to tell him what a genius he is, and quite right too. The best there ever was.

Let the record show that I have FINISHED MY CHRISTMAS SHOPPING