I was reading a post on Linked by local author Rachel Churcher where she shared an article from the Bury St Edmund’s Flyer on recommended books set in Suffolk.
It was a lovely surprise to see my YA Fantasy Romance novel included. Ocean Heart is set in Felixstowe and the story is of a teenage girl that has no idea she’s a mermaid until her messy love life awaken her dormant dangerous powers.
If you know any local Romantasy fans that this might appeal too, there’s still time to get a copy for Christmas. Plus books are a nice easy shape to wrap.
My son told me about this incredible book they’d shared at school and I wanted to read it too but couldn’t find it on Libby or Borrow Box. The book was Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Murpurgo.
Instead, I found another book by the same author, and as a fan of unicorns I decided to give it a listen. This book is the one I am reviewing today.
It’s a beautiful children’s story about how the children in the town discover stories at the library. The librarian shares many stories with the children but also a personal one about how she got the unicorn and of the book burnings.
I loved the story and would recommend it to others to share with children. However, be aware that there is a fire, and if that’s a topic your child is triggered by, then this might not be for them.
What a lovely surprise to discover a display in the library, showing me and my book, to promote WAM Fest happening next week.
WAM Fest is a celebration of Women in Arts and Music. I’ll be attending on Saturday. I will have a stall and be on the lunchtime jam panel with other authors.
You do need a ticket to attend this event. These can be bought from the WAM Fest website.
Dial Lane Books, an independent bookshop in Ipswich is selling raffle tickets to raise money for charity and offering a prize of £100 to spend in store for the winner.
Go check out Dial_Lane_Books on Instagram and get your raffle tickets.
This morning I was at Great Eastern Square for a photoshoot of people taking part in WAM Fest. Whilst I was there, I checked out the Edible Felixstowe pop up event.
This Sunday 29th September, get down to Great Eastern Square Felixstowe.
There is an exciting event taking place called Edible Felixstowe. There are activities for the kids such as a treasure hunt and potato stamping. There is a bike powered smoothie makers that the Mayor has tested and approves of.
There are some lovely things to buy like the beautiful handmade wooden decorations, or the organic teas and soothing balm made with ingredients found in Felixstowe, and you can get fresh produce like apples, onions, honey, mead, and a selection of herbs. All harvested from Felixstowe and many are just asking for a donation.
I treated myself to the Tea LC Brew that has ingredients to boost your immunity, and a healing balm made with local ingredients. Then I got the Mead which I’ve never tried before, and only heard of in Fantasy novels, but I love honey so I’m excited to try it. I also got the local honey for my medicine cupboard as it helps during high pollen seasons. And I got an onion and some apples and made a donation.
I also took away details about the community gardening initiative where locals meet by the library on a Thursday at 5pm and work together to grow local produce that are free to all. One spot is the triangle in town. I had no idea this was happening but it’s such an amazing idea and I know someone I think would love to help.
Not long now until WAM Fest. Make sure you get your tickets so you don’t miss out on the next event!
It started with the kids going back to school and myself back to work full time. I was exited for normalcy and routine and was feeling great as we’d made some great memories over the summer.
But, my son managed to split his lip open and had to be rushed to A&E. after having sutures he needed a week off school due to the pain and swelling. So, his attendance is already looking bad – eek!
Then my husband and I got really ill with colds. The kids thankfully (fingers crossed) dodged that one. I managed to get through work but when I got home I had to do everything as he was really poorly. Needless to say I was too shattered to work on Sky Heart.
Then, I get the notification that my website hosting is about to expire and they want to charge me £168 to stay with them. So on Tuesday, I worked on moving my website to another host for £35. Everything was going great but my domain (with another provider) needed to point to my new website and this can take anywhere between 48h and 72h to know if it worked. 😱. I figured out how to put a maintenance page up whilst it moved, but after several days it was still showing the maintenance page. I started to panic. It turns out, the magic happened in the background and this morning I turned the staging page off. Every year, I learn a little more.
I discovered a new printer for my books. I ordered one copy and was impressed with the quality so I ordered 10 for my next event, WAM Fest. But, the books were delivered on Friday bashed and wet. I’ve emailed the printer to try to resolve this but they don’t work weekends so I have to wait until next week to fix this. I doubt I will be able to get more stock in time, and currently only have five books left.
The low stock is due to the highlight of this month, which was the fabulous YA Lit Fest at Stowmarket Library, part of @forewordfestivaluk . 🥰
My website is back, my son’s lip is healing nicely, and I’m feeling much better. Things are on the up, so I’ll get back to finishing Sky Heart.
