A New Season (and a New Chapter)!

May the force be with you, Gallerina Gang! I'm starting this month with a vlog that technically doesn't have anything to do with my writing or artwork. Yet as anyone who's had the pleasure of watching The Greatest Showman will know, 'the noblest art is that of making others happy'! On the 7th May, I had the absolute privilege to be in the audience for the very first night of Hugh Jackman's World Tour: The Man. The Music. The Show. As far as I'm concerned, there's no greater showman (or greater guy!) out there, so I hope you enjoy these snippets from a once-in-a Million Dreams performance! Especially after my hard (foot)work at Kiltwalk last month, it was such a treat to see the handsome - and hilarious - Hugh in person. I laughed (Mary from Glasgow will forever be a legend!), I cried ('Dear Evan Hansen,' oh my gosh!) and I danced to the point of distraction!

And with Kiltwalk and the huge Hugh show now behind me (boo!), a new season has begun - and with it, a new chapter for my novel Ellen and Arbor. I’m so excited to have reached a point where it’s ready to submit to publishers and literary agents. Of course, this is an incredibly competitive field, and I’m only setting out on the journey. I’ve started by contacting a few carefully selected agencies and publishers, as well as entering a couple of debut novel competitions (it doesn’t hurt to try!) It may be a while before my book falls into the right hands. But what’s most important to me is that I have created a work to encapsulate all I’ve learned so far in my life: about hope, creativity and living freely in the world, no matter who or what you are!

So, where does that leave my Diary of a Novel blog? Well, I’m very glad you asked - it’s up to you! Monthly Favourites, Book Reviews, Vlog-Blogs et al … let me know what you’d most enjoy reading here and stay tuned for more of your favourite content. And for Ellen and Arbour … a million dreams is all it’s going to take! kxo