In my last blog, I talked about the weirdness of trying to write in lockdown, and how hard I was finding that. I am always honest with my readers, and so I wanted to share some of the process that went on behind the scenes. You can read it here.

So many people reached out and shared that they, too, were finding it a challenge to do normal activities while lockdown was in place. Our whole routines have been completely disrupted, and it’s hard to think of another event in recent memory that has been like this. The only thing I can think of is the Blitz, and sadly that’s almost beyond living memory now.

I wanted to update you with the joyous news that I finished a book yesterday! Not just written, but edited twice, proofread, and sent over to my editor.

I experienced such a huge sense of relief when I clicked ‘send’, because it’s been a real struggle for me to focus on writing. Ther are so many things going on in the world, and my day job interacts with the NHS (the UK National Health Service) on an hourly basis. It’s hard for me to mentally separate myself from the pandemic, and that’s been really hard on me emotionally.

It is thanks to amazing authors who I speak to on a regular basis, and thanks to you, my wonderful readers (thank you, those who got in touch!) that I am able to keep going.

And you know what? I think I’ve broken my funk. I woke up this morning wanting to edit the next book – and I can’t remember the last time I’ve felt like that.

It’s challenging to think about normal life, and what the world will be like when this is all over. But whatever that world looks like, we’re going to work it out together – and with some amazing books by our sides.