Morning! Monday! Turn Right At The Rainbow is four days old and the to-do list is neverending. Also this week I'll once again be working on my client's memoir, and on Wed I'll be on an expert panel at @indieauthoralli.bsky.social indie author lab #LondonBookFair . How's your week looking?
Lifted some kettlebells, and the new boiler is going in. Our tradie is lovely, but has already told me the price will be going up, and left dirty footprints everywhere. Not very glam, but I feel privileged to have had time to work out and hopefully a new boiler.
Authentic Child Characters: Really Useful Links by Lucy O’Callaghan
Writing authentic child characters requires more than simply shrinking an adult perspective into a smaller body. Children experience the world with intensity, immediacy, and a developing sense of logic that shapes how they speak,…
Make sure you get our next #skychat in your diary. Thursday 19th March, 6pm GMT we will be talking all things #womenwriters and Writing the Messy Middle. #amwriting #writingcommunity
Does your writing take you down fascinating research rabbit holes? My desk is scattered with books about fungi, radium, botanic gardens and a more than one about our planet being in crisis. Do share what is feeding your writing just now. #amwriting #womenwriters
Good luck with your to do list- and remember to enjoy launch day! Well done on all your hard work getting to here. I can’t wait to get reading.
Morning! Monday! Launch week for Turn Right At The Rainbow, so lots of prep to do. One of those tasks is writing names on scraps of paper and putting them in a cake tin for the prize draw. Also I'm deep in the developmental edit of a client's memoir. How does your week look?
What was the last book event you got to? I was delighted to hear @annehamilton.bsky.social interview @sunisamara11.bsky.social about her novel The Invisible Cage in Glasgow last week. #WomenWriters
Great news! @cymerafestival.co.uk Early Bird weekend passes went on sale today! www.cymerafestival.co.uk Scotland’s Festival of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing will be on 5th to 7th June 2026 and many of its events are both an inperson and you and online.
Good morning from Edinburgh. @sandybennett-haber.bsky.social is your host for all your #amwriting and #womenwriters content this week. I spent the weekend at community gardening events in the rain, how about you? Any writing, or soul feeding activities?
Well, that's me signing out of #WomenWritersNet after a great week. But we're staying not only in Scotland but in Edinburgh as I pass the baton to my wonderful friend and writer @sandybennett-haber.bsky.social Thanks for your company!
#womenwriters #writingcommunity
This meme shows a three headed, green hydra; two heads look dangerous and serious while the third looks cartoonish and derpy with its tongue poking out of its mouth. The text reads: "Caroline Bingley's SELF ESTEEM, DESIRE TO CRUSH HER ENEMIES, LIBIDO."
Caroline Bingley is, as ever, her own worst enemy.
Find out how in THE MISEDUCATION OF CAROLINE BINGLEY, a sapphic historical romance that will have you giggling and swooning over our mostly-intentioned, obnoxious heroine!
(cover and link in nest post)
A6 #WomensWritersNet All information on my upcoming books and The Crucifix can be found via X or Bluesky. I try to keep things simple so my username is @NCashmanFiction on both. I'm working on a website at the moment, and once that is done, it'll be announced via social media as well.
If you didn't manage to join last night's #AuthorInterview with @ncashmanfiction.bsky.social and #WomenWritersNet you can follow back in the thread. Naomi is talking about her novel, The Crucifix. Thanks to @ritakitty.bsky.social for hosting
A great chat!
Thank you, @ritakitty.bsky.social and @nastasyaparker.bsky.social for hosting yesterday's riveting #skychat about women writing romance and intimacy! For those who couldn’t join us then: check out our hashtag #WomenWritersNet to catch up on the discussion, and see you next time!
The latest Substack post from our very own @lizchampion.bsky.social, with the three books she's about to start reading. #bookrecs #booksky lizchampion.substack.com/p/three-new-...
A6. #WomenWritersNet
For fun intimate scenes I love a Kerry Greenwood/ Pharynx Fisher romp. For representing a diverse cast of intimate relationships, and being very centred on the female gaze I recommend All Fours by Miranda July.
A5 #womenwritersnet Knowing where our blind spots are and being open to using sensitivity readers to underpin our writing is important. To go back to the earlier question good writing that represents a diverse range of people and experiences is a great way to keep the genre relevant/ fresh.
Stay tuned! You might be giving me more credit than I deserve. I think there will be other things for them to deal with as well - toddlers, pregnancy, toxic fallout...
A4 #WomenWritersNet Romance is one of those parts of life where the polite facade of everyday life gets pulled back - so pretty good material for writers - whether it is going right or going wrong there is going to be a rawness to it.
absolutely. I think it is great that there are stories around now where the romance is not always the 'end game'. There are romantic elements within my WIP, but the deep friendship between two of my characters is actually far more central.
different relationships, yes, but also the way in which the personal choices are accepted and celebrated.
That's good - I had one reader say I had done a good job of showing how unhinged the character was... and I was like oh dear - that was not quite my intention!
absolutely! and who knows maybe I will come away from tonights chat newly inspired and armed with tips.
More with this bigger project. I think of it as the 'Shitt's Creek' model. Totally aspirational!
A3. #WomenWritersNet
I feel like if it has a genuine place in the story then it can work - and be brilliant. But I have to admit it is not something I have been drawn to... yet. So no tips from me as a writer.
sensory details, and the distance of memory are a great way to bring things alive - and leave plenty to the imagination.
A2 #WomenWritersNet I am trying to keep things fresh by exploring different types of relationships. I am trying to write the world as I want it to be - to a certain extent - so being aspirational about the types of attitudes I want to dominate- rather than being tied to outdated values.
