I'm very much looking forward to this event, next Friday.

A fantastic day on Saturday. 100 miles travelled, 10,000 steps walked, 8 bookshops visited and a lovely pile of reading purchased. Thanks to all the lovely booksellers who took part. #bookshopday #choosebookshops

I'm excited to be a #bookshopday ambassador. I'm celebrating with a grand tour to sign and buy books. This may be dangerously expensive! First stop, Chepstow Books. @booksaremybag.bsky.social @fireflypress.bsky.social

We hope you've all got your bookshop visiting plans ready for #BookshopDay tomorrow? If you're in South Wales, you may spot campaign ambassador @clairefayers.bsky.social out and about, signing copies and ready to chat all things books! @booksaremybag.bsky.social @bouncemarketing.bsky.social

Dragons at the Dieppe kite festival. The conditions weren't the best for flying but the final day was glorious.

Congratulations and happy publication @pgbellwriter.bsky.social Really looking forward to getting my teeth into this.

We've nearly finished the cat climbing wall and Idris decided to check it out before we put the last shelf in. He's having a great time bouncing all over it while I watch, terrified.

My sister informed me it was Claire Day yesterday, and apparently it is Claire Day in the States today. I await your accolades!

I'm on the final stretch of edits on my exciting new project. Aiming to finish this week. I think I've got the right edit/tea balance for optimal performance.

Looking for something to do this week? I'll be running two children's writing workshops for the libraries Summer Reading Challenge on Friday, 1st August. 10:30-11:30am in Abergavenny library and 2:30-3:30pm in Gilwern library. Places are free, but please book as spaces are limited.

We took our new cat to the vet to be neutered yesterday and now our other cat is attacking him. Apparently there's a thing called non-recognition aggression where the cat comes home smelling different. Has anyone dealt with this?

✨KINDLE DEAL UK✨ For TWO WEEKS only #Skrimsli by #NicolaDavies, #WelshGiantsGhostsAndGoblins by @clairefayers.bsky.social and #LittleHorror by @idanielpeak.bsky.social are in a #KindleDeal 📚🧡 Deal ends 14th July. Grab it here: www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=firefly+...

Hurrah, I'm covid free again. That was a very mild bout. Catching up on work today. It's the Tir na n-Og awards on Wednesday, then I'm gearing up for my first Hay Festival session next week. All very exciting! www.hayfestival.com/p-23242-clai...

Cover reveal! Here it is - the fantastic cover for Dirk Jones is NOT the Chosen One by Gatlin Perrin, coming from @fireflypress.bsky.social You can read all about the book, and an interview with the author here. preview.mailerlite.io/emails/webvi...

I am doing my first cover reveal today! I'm just a bit excited. All will be revealed at noon.

Whilst in bed with covid I am watching The Legend of Shen Li, in which the Phoenix king of the Immortal Realms loses a fight and crashes to Earth as a chicken. (Yes, the king is female. I think that gets explained later.) So far it's Storm Hound with a bird. There could be a whole franchise here.

I can't wait!

Time for a cuppa before heading over to Monmouth for the FCBG conference. I'm looking forward to a weekend of book talk.

Today I played how many times can I microwave the same cup of tea and forget to drink it. Current score 5, with potential to rise to 6 in the next 20 minutes.

The Abergavenny Writing Festival is on this weekend. If you're in the area, it's well worth coming along. You can get tickets in advance or pay on the door. abergavennywritingfestival.com

📢Join us tomorrow at Granary Square 1pm for a protest Meta following revelations of pirated books being used to train their large language models. More details below 👇

THIS. It’s theft. It skips over the licensing system. It destroys livelihoods. Destroys our creative industries.

Has anyone else noticed Google search suggestions getting weird lately?

Quite accidentally, all my school visits start at 10.30am this week so I'm enjoying getting up at a civilised hour. Sending positive vibes to authors who need to be up at 5am. #worldbookweek

A belated Happy St David's Day! I finished the first draft of a new top secret thing on Saturday and celebrated with a walk up mount Skirrid. Fantastic views from the top!

Lovely book launch at Chepstow Books this evening for @hazelhitchins.bsky.social It's great to see Babs and Aggie out in the world.

In between deadlines I'm starting a village church choir. We've done some Easter hymns and we're trying John Rutter next week. It's quite a learning curve.

If you like your folklore irreverent, modern and doused in alcohol, this book by my lovely friend will be right up your street.

Happy UK publication day to @stephanieburgis.bsky.social A wonderful feel-good book for a grey February.

Do you know any young writers within reach of Abergavenny? The annual Youth Writing Competition has extended its deadline to March 3rd. There's an award ceremony and mentoring sessions as prizes.

People of Wales we need your help! We urgently need volunteers in the NP23 postcode area to create readers in a local primary school. Can you pls spread the word? @clairefayers.bsky.social @jonblakeauthor.bsky.social @eloisewilliams.bsky.social @walesonline.bsky.social @ruthjoneslabour.bsky.social

Newsflash! I'm going to be on Radio 4's Saturday Live this morning. Tune in at 9am

The house is very quiet without Tallis asking to be let in/out every two minutes. Cassie (the white one) is doing her best to get us out of bed every morning and keep us active. Rest in peace, Tallis, our beautiful big boy.

I'm so grateful for the support of my local bookshops. Storyville are rebuilding after a horrible flood this winter, so if you're in the mood for a new book, do take a look at their website.

A massive thank you to the wonderful @clairefayers.bsky.social  for this fabulous endorsement. #BabsAndAggie arrive to cause mayhem from February 28th! 📚Pre-order here: https://hazelhitchins.co.uk/babs&aggie

Interesting article about the use of Welsh language and culture in fantasy. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I'm starting the new year with a conundrum. A close friend, let's call her 'H' was given a copy of my Welsh Giants Ghosts and Goblins by another friend for Christmas. Not wanting to embarrass her friend, H thanked her enthusiastically and pretended she hadn't read it. However... (1/3)

That's me done for Christmas. Word count achieved, presents wrapped, chocolate bought. Have a great holiday, everyone.

In a run of bad luck, I lost my pocket fountain pen, broke the bathroom sink and my laptop crashed on the train, losing an hour of work. I'm looking forward to my Christmas break, think I need it!

Made Bailey's ice-cream today. It is delicious. If anyone wants me, I'll be sitting over here licking out the ice-cream maker.

Book signing Saturday was great fun. I met some real characters and signed a book for a dog. That's it for this year. This week is writing week. Let's see how many words I can do by Christmas.

Writers who write by hand, what do you do with all your finished notebooks? They are stacking up rapidly. At this rate I'll run out of space for new ones.

Up at six to write this morning because my current wip kept me awake all night. My brain and I need to have a stern conversation about working hours.

The trip home from Swansea was a real adventure yesterday. A cancelled train, on board parties, a drag queen, a lively chat with a drunk guy from Pontypool, finally getting home at 11pm. Thanks Waterstones for having me, and it was lovely to see everyone!

The weather is howling in Swansea but the Christmas lights are shining. Time for a quick coffee before heading to Waterstones for book signings.

Favourite part of school Q&A today, a girl asked how old I was. I said ancient, probably as old as her nan. She looked at me disbelievingly. 'My nan's really old. She's fifty-eight. She's still alive though.'

I'm off to my last school visit of term today. The school is holding a mini 'Hay Festival' with the parents coming in. It's a great way of getting families reading together and I can't wait to see how it goes.

Hello to new followers! I write middle grade fantasy and Welsh myth and legend retellings. You can find my books and events details on my website. I also run an occasional newsletter for book recommendations, news and writing prompts. Sign up here: dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/215932...

That's my office decorated.