Keeping (relatively)positive

Previously, I’ve written about my thoughts as a writer in lockdown, when I was finding it difficult to write. My muse had obviously been scrolling through it, and decided to take pity on me, because the drive to create has returned to some degree. My fourth novel Sight Unseen has been published into a strange, sad new world. I want to take this opportunity to thank Agent Jenny, as always, and my publisher Birlinn/Polygon. Everyone there is working so hard in difficult circumstances to get those books out.

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We were aided GREATLY by Kelly Lacey, Jacky Collins (AKA Dr Noir!) and a legion of fantastic bloggers and influencers who managed to get the Sight Unseen word out. If you need help with your literary endeavours, please look up Love Books Tours and Honey and Stag Literary Events. Heartfelt thanks to them all.

So, Book 2 of the Sarah Sutherland series Last Seen (set partially in India) and an outline for Book 3 (set in places  I think I’ll be able to get to) are now complete. I’m just thinking about all those shiny new books that were published this summer, sitting hopefully in bookshops nationwide, longing for readers. I also know how difficult it is to persuade ourselves to try and resume a ‘normal’ life.

With the latest new restrictions, life looks set to shrink even further. I go for a coffee with friends just once a week, but since we’re from four separate households, that looks likely to be a casualty. However, being home alone has led to some interesting observations. While I’m missing all the literary events I used to attend, I’m enjoying a break from the almost-constant anxiety of speaking in public and ‘putting myself out there’. I think this will resonate with many writers, yet when we talk about mental health, we tend to skim over this. I always tell my creative writing students that sharing your work with an audience is ‘something you’ll get used to’ because that’s what we tell ourselves, but writers are generally a shy, insecure bunch. As much as I miss the interaction with readers, this breathing space has definitely made me feel a lot calmer.

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I don’t have any answers for what’s happening to us, but I’ll share with you some of the little things that are getting me through this and it might help you too:

That first gulp of fresh air whenever you take of your face maskSitting in my porch and pretending it’s a conservatoryFairy lights/lights in bottles/tealights. In Reykjavik, they chase away the dark with lights in trees, lights on the water. My memories of Iceland are not of dark and cold, but of golden reflections.



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Tea (always and obviously) in a favourite mug, and taken outside. It’s portable.Watching the sea instead of a screen.Going out for a walk just as it’s getting light.



[image error]Carnoustie at dawn



Hearty east coast dwellers who greet you with ‘Quite fresh, today!’ when we’re in the middle of a named storm.Other people’s dogs. They look so happy.Discovering really cool stuff in my neighbourhood.



[image error]Friendly fishermen, Easthaven



Doing yoga/meditating online (Huge thanks to the Space to BE community- I recommend)Experiencing cacao (look it up, creatives, or do a course with Alchemy of Love) Friends and family checking in with each otherLove/hate Zoom. It’s a lifeline, but wearying, and no substitute for real people in real settings.



[image error]Reading Nook

Wishing you joy in the little things today xx