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February 2025

2025 is well and truly underway, and I seem to be finding my groove with writing and reading, despite disruptions like long weekends (not complaining!) and noisy family intrusions (again, not complaining!). We celebrated the Lunar New Year as loudly as we could, given the average age around the dining table was 55. My partner and cousins and I bring that number down, but our distinguished seniors sure put up a good fight!

Mum doesn’t like Lunar New Year decorations, so I don’t have photos of a beautifully garish dining room to share. But I do have some holiday trivia for you. One of the most popular songs of the season wasn’t originally a New Year anthem, but a musical expression of both hope and sadness in the aftermath of war. You can read all about it (and listen to the song) in CBC Music’s article: “The dark history behind one of Lunar New Year’s most popular songs”

I’m chuffed to report that The Guy from the Wedding is doing well. ARC readers enjoyed it, and lovely folks have written to me to tell me they liked it, and I get such warm fuzzy feelings of gratitude for all the support. It annoys me a little that I can only offer this novel in e-book format for the time being, but there will definitely be paperbacks at some point in the future. It just astonishes me how much needs to be sorted out before I can make this happen. But it will happen. Stay tuned!

Also exciting is that the draft for the next Somerville Downs book is barrelling along, and I did not expect to be halfway through the draft already. At this rate, The Guy from the Bakery will be novelette/novella-length, similar or slightly longer than The Guy from the Park. If all goes to plan, it should be out by July, but as I’m writing it by hand (yes, like high school essay exams in the 90s) I accept that some stages of the creative process will naturally happen slowly 😅

A book I’ve enjoyed lately is Witches’ Brew by Morgana Best. After hitting dead ends in Sydney, a witch named Pepper heads to the beachside town of Lighthouse Bay to help her eccentric aunts run their bed & breakfast. Moments after she arrives, a body plummets through the lobby’s stained glass skylight, turning the humble B&B into a crime scene. Of course, this book being a cosy mystery, we’re thankfully spared the gruesome details, and subsequently treated to a cast of compellingly quirky characters instead.

Peace,

Birdie 🐦

From friends and around the way

Lowcountry Stranger by Ashley Farley
Family drama, Southern style. Things are heating up in the Lowcountry. Seems that being a part of a family is about more than sharing the same DNA.

Dog Gone Troubles by Karen McSpade
When her new boss asks Sidney to cover the annual Pup Parade, she makes a terrible mistake that could cost her entire career.

The Unpredictable Colors of Love by J. Arlene Culiner
Wealthy Nicholas’s lavish and demanding world beckons, but Callie‘s heart strays to the estate gardener. And yet, nothing is quite the way it seems…

Reads with BIPOC characters
A world of love and colour!

Find your next book boyfriend!
Romance books available for the Valentine’s Day Season 💕

Sweet and Low Heat Romance Reads
Hearts and happy endings.

Kisses Only! Sweet romance books
Closed-door romances, full of feels.

You might enjoy this too:

An interesting report on reading by Ella Creamer via The Guardian:

The accompanying report, titled The State of the Nation’s Adult Reading, said that young adults were less likely to read than all other age groups. The 16- to 24-year-old age group had the lowest level of regular readers (32%), with nearly a quarter saying they have never been regular readers and 44% saying they are lapsed readers. In contrast, 62% of adults 55 and over said they read regularly, which was defined as reading at least once a week.

Read the rest: More than a third of UK adults have given up reading for pleasure, study finds

“Enjoy” is a strong word. You might be concerned by this article, or you might be fascinated. Personally, I’m curious. When reading can bring us so much joy, fulfilment and enrichment, why is it still so easy to turn away from it? We’re such funny creatures, aren’t we 🙈

By the way, reviews are a huge help to small-time indie authors. Both good reviews and bad ones help readers hone in on the books and authors they resonate with. If you’ve enjoyed one of my books, I’d love it if you would leave me a review or star rating on BookBub, StoryGraph or Goodreads.

The Guy from the Wedding – BookBub – StoryGraph – Goodreads

The Guy from the Internet – BookBub – StoryGraph – Goodreads

The Guy from the Library – BookBub – StoryGraph – Goodreads

The Guy from the Park – BookBub – StoryGraph – Goodreads

The Guy from the Flower Shop – BookBub – StoryGraph – Goodreads

Heads up in 2025: I have a new website on the way, and these newsletter archives on my blog will be disappearing. Soon, the only way to get these updates from me will be through my newsletter. Those updates also come with pictures and a little thank-you gift for signing up. Subscribe now.