As I write, it’s ANZAC Day, but this year we don’t get a long weekend. I shouldn’t complain. In QLD, we have the following Monday off for Labour Day. Anyways, it’s raining, and I’m using the time to catch up on words of all sorts.

I’ve also made yet another batch of Moroccan spiced lentil soup – this time using a ham hock and bacon bones to oomph up the stock. We’ll have it for dinner tonight, and the rest can go into the freezer for weekday lunches.

It’s been one of those weeks where there’s been plenty of running around done, but not nearly enough produced. For reasons we won’t go into, I fell behind on my word count in the Wellington novel last week. I’m still on track, but if I have another week like last week, I won’t be.

My writing group met twice, and if it weren’t for that, I’d be further behind than I am. Hey ho.

My productivity wasn’t helped by the fact that we had the roof pressure cleaned on Thursday morning. The noise and all the clomping around above me weren’t conducive to creativity. Their machine broke before they could finish cleaning the house. I guess it’s an upside in that I haven’t paid them yet, as they haven’t finished. Also on Thursday, I had a lunch date with a friend who Grant used to work with in Sydney. They’ve seen the light and moved up here.

Anyways, she and I caught up for lunch at Rice Boi in Mooloolaba. We shared the black sesame prawn toasts, the spicy Thai barramundi salad and their famous eggplant chips – although we were both so full, most of the eggplant chips went back home with her in a doggy bag.

Philly Barker and the French Connection

Philly’s been sent out to my early readers, and thankfully, gratefully, they’ve loved it. Phew! Even though I know she’s in the best shape she can be in, I still worry. Also, I know cosy crime isn’t for everyone and I’m thin-skinned and … you get the idea.

But … drumroll… here’s the cover! What do you think?

Leading up to the publication date, I’ll take you behind the scenes some more, so watch this space.

Preorder links are below (you’ll need to redirect to your country’s Amazon store).

Preorder now with Books2Read

Preorder now on Amazon

Reading …

“I think that the most necessary quality for any person to have is imagination. It makes people able to put themselves in other people’s places. It makes them kind and sympathetic and understanding.”

How lovely is this quote? Here’s another:

“The world is full of happiness, and plenty to go round, if you are only willing to take the kind that comes your way. The whole secret is in being pliable.”

And another.

“It isn’t the great big pleasures that count the most; it’s making a great deal out of the little ones--I’ve discovered the true secret of happiness, Daddy, and that is to live in the now. Not to be for ever regretting the past, or anticipating the future; but to get the most that you can out of this very instant.”

These are all quotes from Jean Webster’s Daddy Long Legs, this month’s classic book club pick. How nice are they?

I’ll tell you more about the book next month. I devoured it in a sitting, but suspect our discussion could be a tad problematic in terms of the subject matter for today's audience.

Speaking of classic book discussions, you’ll find our latest podcast episode, where we talk about Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced, here.

Simply Stunning Classic Book Club

A Murder is Announced, by Agatha Christie

Alrighty, so, welcome back to the Simply Stunning Classic Book Club where we’re (wait for it) Booked on the Classics. Thank you. I’m here all week…

Listen now

9 days ago · Joanne Tracey

I’m currently reading Destination Unknown, by Agatha Christie.

Watching …

Ludwig (Britbox). I wasn’t sure about this one at first, but it’s really grown on me.

In the Kitchen …

First up this week was a batch of Helen Goh’s Posh ANZAC biscuits. They’re sandwiched together with a salted dark chocolate ganache. The recipe is in The Guardian. They’re a bit of a faff – as anything that needs icing or filling is – but the verdict is they’re worth it.

Last night, Sarah came over for dinner, and I made John Torode’s Lamb with boulangere potatoes.

(As an aside, I love his (mostly) weekly posts on his Substack A View From The Fridge).

To follow, I made an apple and berry crumble with homemade apple crumble ice cream. The idea comes from Kate Humble’s Home Cooked, but I use my vanilla ice cream base and add to it caramelised apple puree and a blackberry coulis. No pics, so you’ll have to trust me when I tell you it was good.

And finally …

The news broke of the passing of broadcaster James Valentine. I’ll finish today with one of my favourite songs from the band he was part of in the 80’s, The Models. He’s the one on the sax.

Weeks have a way of disappearing if we don’t catch them—so here’s this one, captured. Thanks for being here… it makes it all feel a little more meaningful. Until next week.

Jo x

Until now, I’ve avoided writing about AI, but this post by my friend and writing colleague Nicole Cody (if you’re not following Nicole at , why aren’t you?) got me thinking.

Still Here

Why I Will Never Let AI Write For Me

“Burning trust to get attention rarely pays off.” ~ Seth Godin…

Read more

23 days ago · 29 likes · 25 comments · Still Here

Then, last week, Draft2Digital announced the introduction of fees where previously there had been none.

For those of you not in the know, Draft2Digital (D2D) is widely used by indie authors to publish, well, widely. We upload our books to D2D, and they distribute them to other online book stores and library borrowing platforms. And they currently do this without an upfront cost to the author.

Going forward, new author accounts will incur a $ 20 USD one-off activation fee and accounts whose earnings from book sales total less than $100 over the preceding 12-month period will incur an annual maintenance fee of $12 (USD).

This doesn’t sound like a lot – $1 USD a month – but why are they doing it?

The official version is:

“Draft2Digital is primarily supported by earning commissions on book sales. For accounts that earn less revenue, a small annual fee helps offset a portion of the steadily rising costs we pay to maintain those accounts, including compliance, security, and infrastructure upkeep.”

The message goes on to say:

“Our goal is to keep D2D a place where authors can publish with confidence. That means continuing to invest in our tools, maintaining strong relationships with retailers, and protecting the legitimacy of indie authors and the trust that readers place in indie books.”

While I don’t sell a lot on D2D, I don’t have a problem with the fee. It’s being introduced largely to combat the content farms that produce over 1,000 AI-generated books a month. Yes, you read that correctly. The business plan for these is simple – when you’re producing that much content, you only need to sell a couple of each title to make a profit.

Sure, the majority of these are non-fiction titles and are, to put it bluntly, slop, but the flood of them is ruining the algorithm for the rest of us. Anything that helps maintain quality is a good thing.

One suggestion is to put content through AI checkers. These, however, tend to return false positives, especially if you’re creating commercial fiction. For starters, the AI tools have been trained by the books we wrote long before AI was out there. They’ve been trained in what sells commercially, and they’ve been trained on core sentence structures.

And don’t get me started on the whole em-dash thing as being an AI giveaway. The reason it’s prevalent in AI-written pieces is that many of us have been using them forever and a day.

Then there’s what I loosely call the rule of three – the way we group three phrases, maybe three words – in our taglines. Surely that means it’s been written by AI? Yet again, it’s a tool that’s been around for centuries. We came. We saw. We conquered.

The thing is, the AI genie is well and truly out of the bottle*, and most of us use it in some way, shape or form, even if you’re not aware that you are.

I’ve named my ChatGPT agent Archie (before you have a go at me for humanising it, my satnav is Rhonda, the geckos that frequent our walls are all George, the carpet snake that shows up occasionally is Charlie, and my car is Olly), and I use Archie for all sorts of things in both life and business.

“Hey Archie, I’m making Arroz Roja with Mooloolaba prawns. Can you suggest a wine available at Star Buderim for less than $30?”

“Hey Archie, I need a wine to go with mango sticky rice. It needs to be available at Moore Wilson in Wellington. Any ideas?”

Last week, I asked Archie to come up with a series of headlines. My male protagonist, Jim, is a communications director for a political minister and was scanning the papers and blogs for the fallout from the scandal the minister is involved in. I asked for headlines as follows:

• In the style of the Murdoch press, e.g., Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun

• In the style of The Guardian

• In the style of the Betoota Advocate (If you don’t know The Betoota Advocate, you can find it on Instagram @betootaadvocate)

This would have taken me hours, yet within seconds, I had a result. Incidentally, my favourites were the Betoota-inspired ones:

• Senior Government Figure Urges Respect For Privacy While Quietly Hoping Nobody Asks About Dead Staffer He Was Definitely Not In A Relationship With

• Wellington Insider Confirms Everyone Knew About Affair Except Ethics Committee And Possibly The Minister’s Spouse

• Government Calls For Calm As Entire Nation Pretends This Is The First Time A Powerful Man Has Made Catastrophically Poor Decisions

While I have no issues using AI for all of this, and for the business and marketing things I’m either crap at or don’t enjoy, I don’t use it to write – either my books or content like this or my astrology posts. After all, I write because I love to write. Nor do I use it to design my covers or edit my work. I pay humans to do that, and I can’t imagine a time when this will change. For me, at least. Sure, I could probably save a lot of money, but at the cost of my voice, my creativity, and the quality of my product. That’s a compromise I’m not prepared to make.

While AI is a valuable tool, it is just a tool, and a tool is only as good – or as dangerous – as the person (?) using it. It’s not a substitute for critical thinking, or for old-fashioned research, and the “facts” it spouts aren’t always correct. As for the creation of “deep fakes” and the like… don’t get me started.

The thing is, the genie isn't going back in the bottle*, so now the question is what we choose to do with it. I know what I'm choosing. I'll keep using Archie to find a wine that goes with prawns (or mango sticky rice), and I'll keep using my own brain, my own voice, and my fantastic human design and editorial team to write and publish the stories only I can tell. I think that still matters – it certainly matters to me. I hope it always will.

I’m interested to know, though, where you sit on the AI spectrum? Do you embrace it, avoid it, or sit somewhere in the blurry middle? Let me know in the comments.

Jo x

*Archie would probably remind me that genies come out of lamps, not bottles.

On Friday I had lunch with the girls at the local surf club.

This is quite the event, as I’m not normally a lunch-with-the-girls type, and certainly not lunch-with-the-girls en masse. I never really have been. This, however, was a different lunch with the girls. This was for the women who walk the beach each morning at sparrow’s fart, stupid o’clock, or slightly more civilised but still early o’clock.

There are quite a few of us. Some walk solo, some with partners, some with friends, some with dogs. Most I’ve seen to say hi to, some to speak to each morning, some not at all. But we all have that one thing in common: we’re morning people who walk the beach regularly.

Grant and I are on track well before five on most weekday mornings, and it’s through this that we’re building our little community. We know who to expect each morning; we worry if we haven’t seen certain people for a while. Others know I bake for the op shop each Tuesday and meet for the secret handover of baked goods. Every so often, they swap me some flour and butter for the baking. Last week, one of the women brought me in some homemade chilli oil, which I’ve had on my eggs every morning since.

It was, therefore, such a treat to actually have a chat – even though it’s a truth universally acknowledged that everyone looks different at 5 am. Well, I certainly do.

Having said all that, there are some people we see regularly who, in the nine years we’ve been walking at this time, still refuse to say good morning or even smile. Seriously, who can be bothered to be in a bad mood at that time of the morning? It’s not as if the day has had long enough to go downhill.

What else?

It’s school holidays still, so that means we tend not to venture out too much; we certainly don’t tend to head to the beach on the weekends or during civilised daylight hours.

We did, however, try a new restaurant down at Mooloolaba’s Spit on Saturday night, Lam Sam. Not that it’s really a new restaurant, but more like an old favourite, Moom, that’s moved to new premises with a new name.

In any case, the food was great, and the new location is airier and quieter than the old. We shared fried tofu with satay sauce, sweet chilli crispy barramundi and crispy pork belly stir-fried with garlic, Chinese broccoli, fermented bean paste and oyster sauce.

Writing …

The Wellington novel is going well. Steadily well. I’m still excited by it, so that’s a good thing.

I’m close to finalising the covers for Philly Barker and the French Connection and Christmas at Kirby Manor Farm, so watch this space.

Speaking of…

Philly Barker and the French Connection

I’ve finally set a release date for this one – June 8, 2026 – and pre-orders are now open.

I don’t think I need to tell you how important pre-orders are for authors and new releases, so I won’t. But you will hear me rabbiting on about this book for the next six weeks or so, partly because I need to sell it, but mostly because I love it.

The Amazon blurb is:

A French buying trip. A bold theft. A body in the churchyard…

When antiques dealers Tamsin and Henry Proctor return to Chipwell after months in France, their stories of a picturesque village—and a notorious cat burglar—seem like little more than dinner party entertainment.

Until their shop is broken into, and only their French purchases are stolen.

For Philly Barker, something doesn’t add up.

Unusual auction bids. Valuable pieces quietly donated to a charity shop. A customer insisting the items were stolen abroad. Then, while walking her dog, Philly makes a chilling discovery: a dead man in the churchyard—and Henry Proctor lying unconscious beside him.

The victim? The very French antiques dealer who helped the Proctors.

As suspicion mounts and the trail leads back across the Channel, Philly and Robbie begin to unravel a sophisticated theft ring spanning France and England. But someone is watching—and they’ll do whatever it takes to keep the truth buried.

Because the real threat isn’t overseas—it’s much closer to home.

With secrets, lies, and betrayal closing in, Philly must expose the truth before she becomes the next target…

And this time, her heart may be just as much at risk as her life.

Preorder on Books2Read

Preorder on Amazon

Watching …

The remake of A Woman of Substance on UK Channel 4. Yes, this means I’ve had to use a VPN so shhhh… It’s between us.

Reading Barbara Taylor Bradford’s A Woman of Substance (and the sequels) way back when I was a teenager (the book originally came out in 1979) was what made me originally want to become a writer. Well, that and Enid Blyton and Nancy Drew and … you get the idea.

In any case, the landscape (set in Yorkshire) was as it should be, but I was a tad disappointed with the remake. It wasn’t how I remembered the story. So over the weekend, I binged the original. Oh. My. Goodness. It hasn’t aged well. The love scenes are cringeworthy. The moors, however, remain as they always have.

I also finished watching The Other Bennet Sister (Foxtel/Binge). There’s been a lot of criticism around this, but you know what? I loved it. Completely, totally, over-the-top loved it. I forgot the other characters were from P&P… this was Mary’s show, and she’s her own woman.

Reading …

In case you missed it, the monthly bookish wrap-up was out last week. The link is below.

I’m currently reading The King’s Mother, by Annie Garthwaite. It’s essentially about the War of the Roses told from the POV of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York and the mother of Edward IV and Richard III. If you’re into historical fiction, I can’t recommend it enough.

In the Kitchen …

Grant’s still bringing bags of limes home from work, so this week I made two batches of Lime Curd Slice – one for the op shop and one to take along for Writing Friday.

Due to the cancellation of flights out of Brisbane last Sunday night, we had unexpected guests for a couple of days. I made a couple of batches of Diana Henry’s Moroccan Lentil Soup – one to feed them and one for the freezer for lunches. You’ll find the recipe here.

I’ve also had Em The Nutritionist’s cottage cheese toast on repeat for lunch. It’s protein-heavy, healthy, cheesy, and, with some jalapenos added, the right amount of spicy. My friend Sammie has adapted Em’s TikTok version. You’ll find it here.

Weeks have a way of disappearing if we don’t catch them—so here’s this one, captured. No major disasters, a few small wins, and at least one recipe. Thanks for being here… it makes it all feel a little more meaningful. Until next week.

Jo x

I’ve spent the week up in Hervey Bay, walking, writing, walking some more, writing some more, trying not to read the news. I wrote lots of words, walked lots of steps, and watched absolutely no TV.

A few years back, Sarah was living here – first in Urangan, then up the road in Torquay. My job was remote, so Kali (aka Adventure Spaniel) and I would come up for a week most months.

Even though her apartment in Urangan was crappy – it always felt damp, and smelt of mould – the position right on the seawall looking out to K’gari was fantastic. I’d do the mum thing and fill her freezer and vacuum in the corners, and in the evenings, I'd make dinner, and we’d chat.

While she went to her early morning gym sessions, I’d walk before sunrise to Urangan, work, maybe swim or walk after work, or do some writing at The Dock, the tapas bar at the marina where the whale boats would leave from. Grant would come up at the weekend and we’d go for breakfast or lunch or both before heading home.

When she moved to Torquay, I missed the view, the walks and the facilities at the wharf. I didn’t miss the mould. Plus, at the new place, Kali could stay and we had different walks and different places for coffee. I still remember the morning we were walking on the beach and a kangaroo bounded out of the she-oaks. Poor Kali.

This past week, I’ve relived that. Sarah’s work arranged her accommodation near her workplace at Pialba, while I stayed at the marina in Urangan.

We might be just two hundred or so kilometres away from home, but it feels different. In Urangan, in particular, it feels unhurried, hazy, like those summer holidays you remember from childhood but probably never happened.

As I do at home, I walk at dawn each morning. Here, though, the dawn chorus sounds different, the tides are waaaay different, and at the pier, there’s never a dull moment. Fish jump about, staying ahead of the receding tide, herded into circles by bigger fish. Rays fly from the water, reminding you of a paper plane, one of those ones that’s airborne for the briefest of flights.

At high tide, you might see dolphins, or perhaps the fin of an eagle ray, towards the end of the pier – 800 m away, perhaps a shark.

If you’ve read any of my Clementine Carter novels, you’d know that I based Whale Bay at least partly on Urangan. You’d also know that in those novels, you don’t buy your coffee from the same place you buy your sausage rolls. So I don’t. Coffee from Hatch and (very good – 9/10) sausage roll from Kelz. I eat it while watching fish and rays jump about in the receding tide.

On Wednesday, I walked back up to Kelz at lunchtime for one of their jam-packed salad sandwiches. Proper salad sandwiches with all the veggies, including beetroot, especially beetroot.

On the way, I called in at The Dock to make a dinner reservation for tonight; I'm catching up with my friend Deb. While I used to frequent this bar for afternoon writing sessions when Sares lived in Urangan, it's been over two years since I was last there. The owner remembered me, though, and asked how my book was going. She even remembered my red wine order. Now, that's service.

Reading …

I’ve finished reading The House In The Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune and have begun Annie Garthwaite’s The King’s Mother.

I’ll tell you more about these in Friday’s book post.

On Substack, I’m loving Ray Robinson’s short stories. He is an absolute master of the art. I’m not worthy.

Ray’s writing is restrained, yet full of texture and emotion. Reading his work feels like looking at a black-and-white picture, but seeing colour and texture in the monochrome. If that makes sense. If you read anything, read this.

Ray's Substack

and your tongue fills your mouth

Before the novels, I wrote short stories. That was all I wanted to do. For a while I had it in my head that I might become a kind of English Raymond Carver, though I didn’t really understand then what that meant, beyond a feeling for brevity and restraint…

Read more

a month ago · 3 likes · 2 comments · Ray Robinson

In the kitchen …

I’ve been away, so there hasn’t been much happening.

This week, though, I intend to make this for lunch one day – PSB with tahini dip. While we can’t get PSB here, broccolini will do the trick.

Tales from the Veg Patch by Kathy Slack

HERO HARVEST #3: Purple Sprouting Broccoli

Welcome to Hero Harvest. Each month we take one vegetable, or fruit, in peak season and geek out - exploring how to grow it, classic flavour pairings, endless recipe ideas & new ways to put it centre stage…

Read more

21 days ago · 6 likes · Kathy Slack and Kirstie Young

and Em the Nutritionist’s Cottage Cheese on Toast as reimagined by Sammy.

Alrighty, until next time…

Jo x

We live in a holiday town, so on big holidays like Easter, Christmas and the various long weekends, we tend to hibernate. It gets so busy down at the beach, and parking is a nightmare.

The exception to this rule is early morning walks, in Friday’s case, in the rain. The best thing, though, about walking in the rain is the possibility of a rainbow. Extra points for a double rainbow. I reckon if you look closely enough at the picture below, you might just find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Speaking of rainbows, thanks to season 10 of Shetland (which we binged over the long weekend), I’ve found my new favourite word: Watergaw.

It’s an old Scottish word for pieces or shards of a rainbow. A broken rainbow, if you like. I love that and will definitely be using it sometime. In what, I have no idea.

Naturally, I went down a rabbit hole and found it mentioned in a poem written in 1922 (or thereabouts) by Hugh MacDiarmid (who was apparently the greatest Scottish poet since Robbie Burns.

Ae weet forenicht i’ the yow-trummle

I saw yon antrin thing,

A watergaw wi’ its chitterin’ licht

Ayont the on-ding;

An’ I thocht o’ the last wild look ye gied

Afore ye deed!

There was nae reek i’ the laverock’s hoose

That nicht—an’ nane i’ mine;

But I hae thocht o’ that foolish licht

Ever sin’ syne;

An’ I think that mebbe at last I ken

What your look meant then.

Once you get past the old Scots and read it aloud, it’s actually quite beautiful. It also introduced me to another lovely word: laverock, which is a Scots and Northern English term for a lark or skylark. I’ll be using this as well… maybe in my next Philly book…

Anyways, other than bingeing Shetland, I worked heaps on the Wellington book (I’m now at the halfway mark) and finished the copy edit for Philly Barker and the French Connection.

My chocolate count was zero, while my hot cross bun count was somewhat higher. They were spread with enough butter to inspire another word I love – tandsmør, the Danish term that translates to ‘tooth butter.’ In my defence, although I love a hot cross bun (never ever a chocolate one), I restrict myself to eating them only during Easter weekend. Mainly because of the butter thing.

This year I bought the buns rather than baked them. I simply couldn’t be faffed. I did, however, make a fish pie when Sarah came over for dinner on Friday. The recipe I make for three of us is this Rick Stein version, halved. There was still enough left for Grant and me to have on Saturday.

I also had some buttermilk in the fridge that needed using, so I made scones … and a spicy lentil soup from a Diana Henry recipe I saw on Instagram.

Tomorrow, I’m leaving Grant behind and taking off to Hervey Bay for a few days. Sarah’s heading up to do some work, so I’m tagging along. I’ve set myself the target of finishing the Wellington book by the end of April, so next week will be a tad like a writing retreat for me.

Aside from a day trip for whale-watching, I haven’t been to the Bay since Sarah moved back to the Sunny Coast, and it’s fair to say I’ve missed it. The fictional town of Whale Bay, as featured in the Clementine Carter novels, is loosely based on Urangan—if Urangan had a spit and a wharf like Mooloolaba.

Speaking of which, if you haven’t read Clementine Carter’s first adventure, One For Sorrow, it’s currently discounted on Amazon to $0.99. I was supposed to change the price last week, but forgot, so I’ll keep it at this level for a few more days only.

Podcasting …

A few weeks ago, I recorded an interview for Jodi Gibson’s podcast, Ask the Author. Jodi is one of those people who inspires me because they walk their talk. She’s worked hard to build a community of authors and is generous with her knowledge and with promoting other authors. To say I was thrilled to be part of her podcast is an understatement.

In any case, we spoke about creativity, indie publishing, inspiration and so much more. Duck over and have a listen. You can find it here.

Reading …

I’m currently absorbed by The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune. Sarah recently read it in her book club and recommended it to me. It’s not one I would have picked up otherwise, but I’m loving it.

As an aside, who is this person and what have you done with Sarah? At school, despite me reading with her every night, she wasn’t a reader. In fact, in her final year, when we received a note from the school saying she had to return a book to the library, I was so proud because it meant she knew where the library was! Reading for pleasure wasn’t something she started doing until well after university. Now I’m so glad she’s reading I’ll follow through on any recommendation she gives me.

Star gazing …

After several years of resolutely ignoring my astrology website (it’s a long story), I’ve relaunched it as a new publication here on Substack.

What you can expect is free weekly newsletters with astro weather forecasts, and the occasional longer post. My brand of astrology has always been of the DIY kind – to provide the tools for you to do it yourself. I’m not into the woo-woo side of things – in fact, my goal is to take the woo-woo out of things – so you’ll never read anything about journeys in my posts.

It’s free at the moment, but I will be pay-walling the longer posts in the future. Also coming will be a series of mini-books – essentially a repackaging of my blog archives that will help you, if you’re that way inclined, to teach yourself astrology. Watch this (and that) space.

Anyways, I’ve named the Substack publication Whale Bay Astrology – after the Clementine Carter series, and you’ll find it here.

And finally some music…

This song is everything …

Alrighty, that’s it for now…

Until next week…

Jo x

Almost ten years ago, I hiked the Milford Track. Although strictly speaking, one tramps tracks in New Zealand, saying I tramped the track doesn’t sound right to me. In any case, I went for a long walk for a few days with a mountain in the middle.

It was something I’d wanted to do for years, a bucket list walk, and after completing the Routeburn Track a few years previous, one I thought that with a bit of training I’d be able to nail.

Reader, it didn’t quite work out that way.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

The training I’d done (which was, as it turned out, far less than what I should have done) was fine for the first real walking day (16 kms) and even fine for the last walking day (24 kms), but the mountain in the middle? Yeah and nah.

When I booked the hike twelve months in advance, I’d done so with the attitude of most things I go into: seriously, how hard can it be? I’d planned (I use the term “planned” loosely) out my training (in my head), including the bit about how I was going to lose twenty kilos before the walk and would be super fit and able to do the whole thing easily.

Then 2016 arrived, and it was an absolute nightmare. Not one part of our lives was untouched. My husband was bullied into early retirement after a 38-year career with a major bank (trust me, I still harbour revenge fantasies), I changed jobs, our closest friends (and neighbours) split up acrimoniously, and to safeguard our financial security, we decided to sell up and move to Queensland. My new job was in the city, so I was spending at least 3 hours a day commuting by bus. In between it all, I was trying to write. Life was not good.

While I somehow managed to write Wish You Were Here that year, I didn’t manage to train more than once a week, sometimes twice. To be honest, I was too knackered. As for those twenty kilos? Again, yeah and nah. Even so, how hard could it be, right?

Despite the rain, I began the walk with enthusiasm. While I knew there was a mountain in the middle, you guessed it, how hard could it be?

The first real day of walking was glorious. Yes, it was raining hard, but when you’re soaked through, it’s not like you can get any wetter, right? Besides, the scenery was stunning. It felt as though I was walking through a waterfall. I’d got into a rhythm, and the steps felt easy. For most of the day I walked alone, but towards the end, one of the guides walked with me.

‘See that ahead?’

I peered through the rain and above the trees.

‘That’s Mackinnon Pass. That’s what we’ll be walking up tomorrow.’

Reality hit, and every shred of confidence I had that I could do this thing disappeared.

While the goal was hazy and out of sight, I was fine. I could just put one foot after the other, and somehow it would all fall into place. But this? Seeing it in the distance? That seemed insurmountable.

That night, I barely slept. Outside, the rain hammered on the roof. At breakfast, I felt too sick to eat. But, there was no alternative – apart from a very costly and humiliating helicopter ride, there was no way off this track but to walk it. So I packed my backpack, laced up my boots, donned my waterproofs and set off. One foot in front of the other. I’d stop and look around, I decided, I’d even look back to see how far I’d come, but I wouldn’t look forward. At least, not too far forward.

And it worked until, again, a well-meaning guide said, ‘You’re doing well. Look, from here you can see the top.’

The truth was, I wasn’t doing well. I’d left my lungs a few switchbacks ago, and seeing the top? Well, it was so far away. And in between were switchback after switchback. I’d gone from how hard could it be to I can’t do this.

I hadn’t trained for this. I hadn’t planned for this. And now, I was reaping the consequences of those choices. I’m not a big one for regrets, but even though I got down that mountain and walked another 24 kms the following day (with much less drama), Milford Track sits at the top of my three biggest failures list to this day.

Why am I telling you this? During the week, I had a “moment” while writing my Wellington novel. I’d gone from being super excited this-just-might-be-the-best-thing-I’ve-ever-written to who are you kidding, what the f$%k do you think you’re doing?

Why? I’d reached the 30% mark in the book and could see the mountain in the middle, in the distance, and suddenly, I was overwhelmed. It seemed too far off. How on earth do I climb it, let alone deal with the steep run down the other side?

I mentioned it to a writer friend when we worked on some words together on Wednesday. As we chatted, I realised that my mistake was stopping to look at the mountain in the middle.

Although I don’t outline the way some other writers do, I told myself that, because this book is different from what I usually write, I should plan it more carefully – at least sketch out a rough path. I had done that, and now I couldn’t see beyond it. I knew where I wanted to go, but it all felt overwhelming. Switchback after switchback.

You know how to do this, my friend reminded me. Just write a scene, any scene.

So I did. I also put the plan somewhere I couldn’t see it and focused only on what I had to do that day. One word at a time. Resisting the urge to look ahead.

It worked, and the words are flowing easily again. I’m back in my rhythm.

Unlike Milford Track, I’ve trained for this.

Watching …

• The Other Bennet Sister (Foxtel/Binge). Oh, how my heart is breaking for Mary. Loving it.

• The new (final) season of Outlander (Foxtel/Binge)

• The latest season of Unforgotten (Stan)

Reading …

Trish O’Malley’s Wildsong series. It’s romantasy and maybe because I’m writing crime, I’m inhaling it.

Until next time …

Jox

So, anyways, this week I got back into work mode. After a slow start to the week as I found my way back into the novel, plenty of words were written. Having two weeks away from it could have tempered my excitement for this one, but instead, it’s clarified the picture in my head of my characters. I've also been able to visualise a few more random scenes, so I’ll write them up before I lose them. I’m a discovery writer, so this is how I roll.

Behind the cover …

Also, this week, I briefed my cover designer on Philly Barker and the French Connection.

Louisa (my designer) has Philly and Bally nailed, and they will always have a place on the cover. As an aside, the Philly series is the only series I write that features a character on the cover. This is partly because I wrote her with a very clear image in mind of how she looks, and partly because the series is all about her. (In case you’re wondering, in my mind I picture Philly looking something like Claire Holman - Laura in Lewis.

This novel was set in late March when the daffodils were out. In my brief to Louisa, I said:

It’s set in late March, and spring is springing with daffodils everywhere. A key scene takes place in a daffodil-filled churchyard very like the one in my images. The weather is better, blue skies rather than snow, and while Philly isn’t exactly in a t-shirt, she’s not layered up.

I then sent her these images - photos I took last year when we were in Yorkshire - to give her an idea of the sort of colour and feel I was after.

I’ll be doing the same for Christmas at Kirby Manor this week. Kirby Manor is different, though. It’s a new set of characters and a different style … but I’ll tell you about that brief next time.

Scams …

Like most indie authors, I get an average of 3 requests a day from “book clubs” eager to feature one of my novels. While they sound as though the sender has actually read the book, they are, of course, AI-generated scams.

Over the last week, they’ve multiplied; I’ve been doing a few small promos, so I suspect that’s what’s prompted the avalanche.

They normally read something like:

I hope this message finds you well. I’m an organizer with the Inklight Book Club.

I came across One For Sorrow and was immediately drawn into its intriguing blend of mystery, atmosphere, and emotional depth. The return to Whale Bay, layered with unanswered questions surrounding Aunt Rose’s death, old friendships, rising tensions, and a touch of romance, creates the kind of immersive and character-driven story our members truly enjoy exploring.

We would be delighted to feature One For Sorrow as an Inklight Book Club selection and, if you’re open to it, invite you to join us for a virtual discussion or brief Q&A with our community.

Thank you for crafting such a compelling and warmly atmospheric start to the Clementine Carter Mysteries series.

This week, though, I also received a slightly different one:

I hope you are doing well. I’m reaching out to invite you to join us for a live radio interview on KCRW, where we would love to spotlight your novel Philly Barker Investigates, the first book in the Philly Barker Mysteries series, and introduce its charming blend of cozy mystery, antiques, and village intrigue to our engaged listening audience.

My name is Lynette R. Morris, and I represent KCRW, a broadcast platform dedicated to highlighting engaging books and the authors whose storytelling creates memorable characters and captivating mysteries.

During the live virtual interview, we would love to explore the inspiration behind Philly Barker Investigates and the delightful character of Philomena Barker, an antique dealer whose keen eye for hidden treasures leads her into a mystery far more dangerous than she expected. What begins as the discovery of a forgotten nineteenth-century painting quickly unfolds into a complex puzzle filled with secrets and unexpected twists.

We would also enjoy discussing the charming setting of the fictional Yorkshire village of Chipwell, as well as the dynamic between Philly, Detective Inspector Robbie Dawkins, and her loyal companion Balthazar the cocker spaniel. The story’s combination of antiques, village life, and suspense creates a cozy mystery that keeps readers engaged while maintaining a warm and inviting atmosphere.

Listeners would especially appreciate hearing about your inspiration for the series, how you crafted the mystery surrounding the painting, and what readers can look forward to as Philly continues her adventures in future books.

Your interview will be professionally recorded, edited, and scheduled within our programming lineup to ensure a polished broadcast and strong audience reach.

Interview Highlights

• Live radio interview focused on Philly Barker Investigates and the Philly Barker Mysteries series
• Real-time on-air exposure connecting you directly with listeners
• Professional editing before broadcast
• Discussion about cozy mystery writing, character development, and storytelling set in small communities
• Expanded reach among listeners who enjoy charming mysteries and character-driven detective stories

We would be delighted to feature you on KCRW and help introduce Philly Barker Investigates to a wider audience of listeners who enjoy engaging cozy mysteries filled with charm, intrigue, and memorable characters.

If you are interested, simply let me know and I will gladly share our available interview dates and the next steps.

The idea behind each of these is that you, the author, go back and say something like OMG, you loved my book? Of course I’d like to take up this opportunity. To which the scammer then responds with a request for money to help buy copies, or for editing, or for … you get the idea.

One of the more unusual ones I got (and I’m yet to see what the hook on this one is) was from someone purporting to be Tessa Bailey, the New York Times bestselling author. Everything about it looked legit, including the originating email address, but when you read the email, it doesn’t read as if a human wrote it, and anyway, why would someone like Tessa Bailey pick up something like Christmas at Fountains Hall?

Naturally, I ignore and delete, but I thought I’d share with you all in case you’re also getting inundated with these. Part of me is tempted to follow through on a couple and just find out what they want – without parting with any personal information or money, that is. To be honest, though, I really can’t be faffed.

The thing is, though, these scammers are getting more sophisticated, and the usual red flags (weird-looking email addresses, etc.) may be harder to spot. I read somewhere the other day that author scams are the new romance scams … I’m not surprised.

Finally …

So far this year, a couple of my musical heroes from the 80’s have died. First, in January, there was Midnight Oil’s Rob Hirst, and last week, Bernie Lynch from the Eurogliders. It is, therefore, only right that I end this week’s wrap-up with my favourite Eurogliders song. Feel free to dance around the kitchen. I do.

We arrived back home from Malaysia on Saturday morning. The final flight might have only been eight hours, but man, those overnighters don’t get any easier. It doesn’t help that I don’t sleep, and in this case, there was nothing, and I mean nothing, I wanted to watch on the onboard entertainment. After the flight to Kuala Lumpur the other week, I’d anticipated this and downloaded Being Gordon Ramsay and Scarpetta to my phone and iPad for the flight home. Up here for thinking, as my dad would say.

In any case, travelling is a privilege (especially now), we’re fortunate to be able to do it, and we had a great time away. I’ll be posting my (rather dull) travel journal gradually over the next few weeks.*

Okay, what else?

Birthdaying…

It was my birthday last week. I turned 59. Gulp. I posted this photo and wrote this on my Facebook/Instagram post:

Okay, so this is 59. No make-up, hair unwashed after being submerged in the pool for most of the afternoon, and 30 kgs overweight. On the upside, I’m healthy (touch wood), happy, and doing a job I love.

Next year is a milestone year and given I struggled with 30, 40 and 50, I have no doubt I’ll also struggle with 60. There will be some fearless vows uttered over the next day or so about my intentions of facing 60 without that 30 kgs of excess baggage, but for now I’m still on holidays and it’s still my birthday and the pool (and a beer) is beckoning. The rest can wait until I’m back in reality.

I had a perfect day: going from breakfast on the Planters Lounge terrace to the pool to Din Tai Fung for lunch, back to the pool, to Kenny Hills Bakery for a shared pistachio cromboloni (essentially a pistachio-filled fusion of croissant and bomboloni and as close to a birthday cake as I’d get) another swim, down to the lounge for drinks, and then a candlelit dinner on the terrace.

Yesterday, with Sarah, we celebrated with lunch at Ethos at the Alsahwa Estate at Palmwoods. We came here for Grant’s birthday back in October.

The food was, again, fantastic, and the three of us shared sourdough and dips, whitebait with lime pickle aioli, chorizo with aioli, roasted beetroot with whipped feta, walnut and blackberry vinegar, toasted carrots with yoghurt and puffed grains, and chicken with green garlic macadamia pesto. Dessert (shared) was roasted apricot pavlova with lemon verbena and coconut sorbet.

Excess Baggaging …

Yep, it starts today. Even though I spent most of the last two weeks in or around water, and it’s been many years since I’ve felt comfortable in swimmers (not that it’s stopped me from swimming), this time I actually felt embarrassed. Further, I really noticed the width (or lack of) of our economy seat and the tightness of the seatbelt.

Worst of all, though, was how guides on the tours we were on asked if I could manage the walking. Given that I walk every day, it made me realise how I must appear to others.

While I’ve talked about how this year will be different, I have yet to make any changes. Given that in six months I’ll be squeezing into another economy flight for a Mediterranean cruise, that changes from today.

Writing …

Other than a few travel posts, nothing.

I’m back into it this week, and in the interests of accountability, my word count goal is 7,000. In addition to this, I’m planning on:

· Sending out an author newsletter (with a special giveaway and preorder details for Philly Barker and the French Connection)

· Sending Christmas at Kirby Manor Farm to my advance reader team

· Finalising the cover briefs for my cover designer for Philly and Kirby Manor Farm.

Reading …

So, so much. I’ll tell you all about it on Friday in our monthly bookish post. There’ll also be a new episode of our book club podcast – the one where we discuss Gulliver’s Travels.

Watching …

The above-mentioned Gordon Ramsay doc, and Scarpetta – the adaptation of the Patricia Cornwell novels. To be honest, I was underwhelmed. I’m not a Nicole Kidman fan, but I did enjoy the chemistry between her and Jamie Lee Curtis. I also quite liked Simon Baker as Benton Wesley, but otherwise had some problems with this one. Hmmmm.

Alrighty, that’s enough to be getting on with …

Until next time …

Jo x

*I’ve set up Substack so you can subscribe only to the sections that interest you. While you’ll automatically be subscribed to every section, it’s easy to change your preferences in your settings:

Click on your profile pic in the top right-hand corner, select “Manage Subscription”, and select which sections you want to receive email alerts about.

It’s my 59^th birthday this week, so I figured that called for 59 things about me...

Here goes… gulp!

1. I was born in Sydney (the eldest of four children) and have spent most of my adult life there, but as a child, we moved around regional NSW, relocating every few years. When I finished uni, I moved to Canberra, which is where I met my husband. For the past nine years, we’ve lived on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland. For ten months of the year, it’s the best place to be, but in February and March, the weather is feral.

I’ve never lived there, but I’ve always felt as though my roots are buried deep in Tumbarumba, where my father’s family comes from. When I’m there, it feels like home.

2. Although I’m the fourth generation (on both sides of my family) to have been born in Australia, according to Ancestry, my origins are mostly British. In case you’re interested (which you’re probably not), the breakdown is 45% from Central Scotland and Northern Ireland. Other than that, 20% is from Wales, 15% from the North-eastern and East Midlands of England, 10% from Cornwall, 5% from Northwestern Europe, and 5% from Norway, which presumably dates back to the Vikings.

3. My husband and I have been together for 37 years and married for nearly 32. He’s still my favourite person to travel life with. We met at work and were friends before we began dating. Once we did, we had to keep our relationship secret for six months until I was transferred to a different office.

4. We have one daughter – she’s almost 28 and a paediatric occupational therapist. She lives on the Sunny Coast, not far from us.

5. We lost our beloved cocker spaniel almost two years ago and I’m lost without a dog.

6. The only sport I’ve ever been any good at has been swimming. When I’m in the water, I’m strong and in my element. On land, I feel clumsy and ungrounded. I can’t swim without getting my hair wet – I’m either all in or out – and I swim most days between September and March.

7. I have long, thick curly hair and get dreadlocks in the summer. I like my curls and hardly ever straighten my hair.

8. I need glasses for long-distance, but only wear them when I’m driving or watching TV – this means I spend most of my life in a blur, but I really don’t mind. I got reading glasses last year, but I only need them for reading real books in poor light.

9. I have a scar just above my left knee from where a cow stuck her horn into my leg. She ruined my favourite jeans. I have another across my palm from trying to cut a watermelon the day I went into labour with Sarah.

10. My ears are pierced, and I have one tattoo – a koru – on my hip. It was my 40^th birthday present to myself. It’s the Kiwi symbol for growth, harmony, and new beginnings. I want a rose tattoo for my 60^th.

11. The only bone I’ve broken is one in my back – in a fall from a horse when I was a teenager. I got straight back on and didn’t know it had been broken until an X-ray years later. I rode a lot and fell off a lot back then.

12. I have severe scoliosis – the kind that my chiropractor had only seen in textbooks before treating me. As I grow older, the pain is becoming more persistent. While I manage my back pain with plenty of walking, I’m at the age where I should be losing at least 30 kg to keep it mobile and relatively pain-free. For the useless book of knowledge, I’m also missing a couple of ribs.

13. As most painkillers either space me out or make me hurl (I can’t even take cold and flu medication), and I was too frightened to have an epidural (see note about crooked spine), I had a drug-free birth.

16. I hate wearing shoes in the house, but I have flip flops at the back door for the garden. Even though I’m short, I refuse to wear heels anymore. Not even for weddings.

17. I love the beach, but hate having sand on my feet afterwards.

18. I dislike shopping (especially in malls) and only buy clothes when things are really falling apart, or I have a special occasion and can’t get out of shopping.

19. I should wear makeup more often.

20. I swear too much.

21. Growing up, I wanted to be a writer. When I grow up, I want to be a full-time author. Oh wait, I’m currently writing my twentieth novel … does that mean I’ve grown up?

22. My (not so) secret ambition is to be an extra on Midsomer Murders. A dog walker in Badger’s Drift. If I were on Mastermind, my special subject would be Midsomer Murders: The Tom Barnaby years.

23. I have a degree from Sydney University in Economics, majoring in political science and agricultural economics.

24. My first job was in an ice cream shop.

25. My first real job was as a graduate trainee at a bank in Canberra. I lasted 12 years and met my husband there.

26. At 18, in 1985, I was a rugby league referee – apparently, the first woman to use her ticket for anything other than coaching. The old guard was not impressed, and my exam – where I had to sit in front of the referee’s board and answer questions – took 3 times as long as the men’s. They were trying to trip me up, which only made me more determined. These days women are accepted in the game. Back then? Yeah… nah…

27. I can’t stand “ists” or “isms”, am slow to judge and look for shades of grey as opposed to the black and white in most situations.

28. I can change my mind (or my focus) quicker than ... things that have very little focus. My attention is scattered to the wind. It’s why I write as quickly as I do. In any case, I’ve developed tools to help me deal with it.

29. Boundaries… what boundaries?

30. I’m a daydream believer and love nothing more than the possibility of possibility.

31. My glass is neither half full nor half empty – I’ve enjoyed what I’ve had, and now there’s room for more.

32. Politically, I’m pink, i.e., left of centre, and environmentally, I’m lime green – but love my air-conditioning too much to be completely green.

33. I’m ridiculously trusting and, when hurt, forgive easily – but if you hurt anyone I love, it’s a different story.

34. I struggle with the “not good enoughs” and constantly have a low-level hum of anxiety that I try to hide.

35. Spiritually, I’m spiritual.

36. I’m a much better starter than I am a finisher – finishing leaves a vacuum that requires a new project to fill. I can’t finish writing a novel until I have the characters for the next one (or two) active in my head.

37. The first album I bought was Bay City Rollers’ Once Upon A Star in 1975. I still have it. On vinyl, of course.

38. I truly believe there’s an ABBA song for all of life’s situations. I finally got to see them (as Abbatars) in London a few years ago. Best. Night. Ever.

39. I have a Top Ten Most Hated List of songs, which has more than ten songs on it. At the top of that list is Toto’s “Africa” and that ridiculous “Horse With No Name” (you think he would have named the poor creature). I have an even longer Top Ten Favourites list, of which Edith Piaf’s “La Vie En Rose” is consistently at the top. It could be my theme song.

40. The first concert I went to was Wham – it must have been 1984 or 1985. I remember Andrew Ridgley wearing this amazing long tartan coat on stage. Inspired, I made myself some tartan pants. They didn’t look as good on me as that coat did on Andrew Ridgley.

41. I’m a pop music tragic - the daggier the better - and firmly believe there’s a special place in your brain used purely for the storage of song lyrics. I also love classical music, indie folkie music, Celtic music, and the passion of opera.

42. Travel inspires my writing – and my cooking. When I am away, I write in my journal every day – they’re very dull journals.

43. My first overseas trip was to Singapore – I was 22. My first overseas trip with Grant was also to Singapore. In fact, I had my 25th birthday there (pic below).

44. I’ve travelled extensively in South-East Asia (for both work and play), have done a 21-day Trafalgar bus tour through Europe, a cruise of the South Pacific and the fjords of Norway, and road trips through the UK and France, but have only been to the US once – visiting New York in February 2010. It snowed.

45. If I had to live anywhere else in the world, it would be in New Zealand. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve visited Wellington and Queenstown.

46. I’ve done three long-distance hikes in NZ – two out of Queenstown: The Routeburn Track and The Milford Track. I also did the Queen Charlotte Track. The Cotswolds Way is still on my bucket list, but it would be a solo thing – Grant isn’t interested – and would require me to drop those 30 kgs of excess baggage.

47. My favourite Australian city is Melbourne, and the only Australian state (or territory) I haven’t travelled to is the Northern Territory. One day I’ll get there.

48. I’ve had some fabulous experiences, including hot air ballooning (Hunter Valley), zip-lining (Queenstown), jet-boating (NZ), paragliding (Penang), and snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef. I saw the Northern Lights in Norway, have been in a helicopter in Queenstown and Mt Cook (NZ), and on a joy flight in an open-air vintage tiger moth (Sunny Coast). I’ve never jumped out of a plane and am not inclined to do so.

49. I don’t think I’m a very good driver. I used to be okay driving distances, but these days that low-level anxiety I mentioned earlier turns into a full-blown panic attack at the thought of driving on motorways. I am, however, an excellent passenger and co-pilot.

50. Baking relaxes me. There’s something about following the process and weighing and measuring that calms my mind when it’s jumping all over the place. To manage symptoms related to PCOS, I cut down on sugar nearly 20 years ago, so apart from scones and shortbread, I rarely eat my own baking. I don’t even enjoy birthday cake. However, I do like a square or two of dark, bitter chocolate. And occasionally, I have ice cream, but it has to be very good ice cream.

51. I believe that butter – and bacon – make everything better…

52. The first thing I ever learnt to cook was scones.

53. My favourite comfort food sandwich (and guilty pleasure) is Vegemite and (plastic-wrapped sliced) cheese on white bread with proper butter. It’s the only time I eat either processed cheese or white bread.

54. The dish that reminds me most of my childhood is my mother’s goulash, which is more like the American minced meat pasta goulash than a Hungarian goulash.

55. I prefer black tea to coffee, and I’m quite snobbish about my tea. I don’t drink soft drinks (or sodas), but I do love wine (possibly too much) – and whisky (Scotch, of course), which I prefer neat, that is, no ice, no mixer. Most gin gives me headaches. Oh, and I don’t do cocktails with fruit, cream, or umbrellas.

56. I’ve tried lots of different foods – some weird and some just eeeeuw. Like offal, that’s eeeeuw. Because my husband is Scottish, I’ve prepared haggis for him – what can I say? It was the early days. The weirdest thing I’ve eaten was deep-fried rice paddy eels in a market in Gianyar, Bali. The guide said they tasted like bacon. They didn’t.

57. My desert island dish would be Hainanese Chicken Rice. Mooloolaba prawns would be a close second. And dumplings. Especially xiao long bao.

58. Other than for my scones when I was 13 or 14 at the Bombala Show and swimming races at about the same age, I’ve never won anything, whether it be a contest of skill or chance. I’ve come second on a few occasions, but no one remembers that.

59. My mantras are:

• How hard can it be? and

• Imagine …

  

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Alrighty, it’s been a big week, but I feel as though I’ve finally settled into a weekly rhythm of sorts, something I’ve been struggling with almost since leaving work, and certainly in the almost two years since losing Kali, aka Adventure Spaniel.

What’s helped has been the formation of a weekly mini writer’s group.

Some time ago, I mentioned that I was working with another couple of writers to try to get a writer’s centre off the ground. A place where writers can create a community and a place to work.

In the months since, it’s been made clear that, as much as they say they love the idea, the council won’t be able to provide us with subsidised premises. As a result, we’ve gone back to the drawing board to see what we can do now, and have realised that rather than being a one-stop shop for all writers, the people we most want to support are indies like ourselves. So, that’s what we’re building.

At present, we’re a small group that meets weekly to write, vent, exchange ideas, discuss challenging areas and plot points, and commit to actions. We’re all serious about our business and have several books (in different genres) under our belts.

We’ve experimented with a few places, but over the last couple of weeks have been meeting at Twin Waters Resort. The noise level is perfect, the facilities are great, and there are even kangaroos on the front lawn.

We chat about the previous week and update on what we did (and didn’t do), write for 25 minutes, break for 5, write for another 25, then grab a coffee to take to the terrace and chat some more… before repeating the process.

It feels a little like going to work and chatting through problems in the lunchroom with a coworker, but also like weekly planning and strategy meetings. This week, I’ve committed to taking some actions to resurrect my newsletter and experiment with social media scheduling. An Indie Writer’s Club, but here on the Sunny Coast and with added accountability. Once we’ve proven the concept, we might look to open the group up, but we don’t want to do that too quickly.

Anyways, what else has been happening?

Writing …

This week I’ve been juggling edits and drafts.

I’ve hit the 10,000-word mark in the Wellington novel and am really happy with the way it’s coming together. It’s one of those books that I feel I need to write as quickly as I can while it’s in my brain. This has happened to me before - Happy Ever After, Philly Barker Investigates, One For Sorrow and Escape to Curlew Cottage were written in the same way.

It’s challenging me, mainly because it’s different to what I’ve written before, but I’m enjoying the challenge.

I’ve almost finished the structural edit for Philly Barker and the French Connection. I love this part of the process. It’s about adding layers and texture, and stripping away what doesn’t work. Thankfully, this one is structurally in relatively good shape, though the suggested changes have further improved it.

While I pay my editor to tell me what’s wrong with a book and to suggest ways of making it the best version of itself that it can be, the ultimate decision lies with me. Having said that, I love it when I find comments in the margins about scenes or lines or rewrites that I’ve nailed.

I also asked my editor to do a final read of Christmas at Kirby Manor Farm and was thrilled to get her notes back on Friday. She had a few minor suggestions, which I knocked over yesterday. This is now, I’m pleased to say, in great shape. I’ll be aiming for a Christmas-in-July release. The pre-sales will be up when I get back from holidays.

Also, this week, I had a very fruitful planning meeting with my cover designer about what’s coming up this year.

Our priority is to finalise the updated print versions of my older romcom series. We agreed on new covers for these late last year, but didn’t quite get around to finishing the print wraps - my fault, not hers. I’ve committed to getting her the wording for the taglines and back covers this week.

Watching …

We’re eagerly awaiting the final episode of Under Salt Marsh (Foxtel/Binge). I think I know which way it’s going, but I could be wrong. Who am I kidding? I’m probably wrong.

The latest series of Shetland has finally dropped on Britbox, but we’re resisting the temptation to watch until we get back from holidays.

Reading …

This month’s reading update was posted on Friday. You’ll find it here.

I’m currently reading Slough House, by Mick Herron. It needs to be back to the library before we go away next weekend, so I’d better hurry up and finish it.

BKD’ing …

This month’s theme for the BKD Cookbook Club was holidays - past or future. We’re off to Malaysia very soon, so I cooked from and reviewed Junta Khoo’s fantastic Ho Jiak. The post is here … and the restaurants are in Sydney and Melbourne. If you go, have the laksa, or the laksa bomb, or the Hainanese chicken, or the… You get the idea.

Date nighting …

My hairdresser has a fantastic loyalty scheme - one that allows you to cash in “points” for a $100 voucher to See, one of Mooloolaba’s best restaurants.

Last night we shared the octopus entree – Charred Fremantle octopus, olive, chilli, roast garlic & herb medley. Grant followed that with the Paella (not pictured), while I chose the King Prawn and Bug Spaghettini. It was, as always, a treat.

What I took to the op shop … and Writing Friday this week …

Nigella’s Custard Cream Hearts went to the op shop on Tuesday, although they were more custard cream rounds because I don’t have a heart cookie cutter. Tbh, I find heart-shaped cutters a tad naff. Anyways, they’re from her Feast book, but you can also find them here.

My offering for the writing table on Friday, though, was this shortbread from a posh lodge. I was going to use Substack’s new recipe-embedding feature, but it made the post too long for email before I’d written anything else. You can, however, find the recipe below. And for those who always ask me about these things, the plate is vintage Royal Winton.

Okay, that’s enough for this week…

Until next time…

Jo x

Yes, I’ve been a tad quiet here of late – both in terms of posting and connecting. I blame February hibernation, though it’s a different sort of hibernation from the one we do in January.

In January, it’s about waiting until school goes back and the holidaymakers go home, and we can get a car park in Mooloolaba again, and service and bookings at restaurants. Sure, we still head over each weekday morning for our 5 am walk, but other than that? Nope. Not until school goes back.

In February, though, it’s different. Sure, the weather is feral (and I’m a princess), with humidity providing an all-day and all-night blanket that feels damp and heavy. More than that, because my birthday is next month, March feels like the start of my personal year, and February the end of the last. February, therefore, feels like it has a finishing-off type of energy, a cleaning out and cutting the crap feeling.

Anyways, that aside, here’s what’s been happening …

Streamlining…

Over the past week I’ve used this energy to review and reduce subscriptions (those “for the price of a coffee a month” subs add up quickly - especially when converted from USD to AUD). I’ve also canned a heap of domain names and WordPress sites I’d purchased over the years for projects that never quite took off.

After realising how much my blogs cost me annually, I’ve also looked critically at them – in particular And Anyways, my everything blog that has been going since 2012.

It began, like most blogs of that time, as a place for me to post my photos and find my voice. And, boy, did I use that voice – especially in the early days. I blogged about everything from my eternal quest to be healthier (although when I first wrote about weight loss I only needed to lose 15 kgs and now need to lose 30 kgs, so I’m not sure what that says about me) to recipes, writing, books and travel.

It’s also very photo-heavy – over 16,000 photos to be exact – which has meant that for several years I’ve been paying for a higher hosting plan on WordPress, something I can no longer justify for what has morphed into being an online travel journal. So this week I spent days deleting media and most posts written before 2020 – freeing massive amounts of data. It was the most brutal of cuts, leaving me with a site that has several broken links needing repair.

As for the future of And Anyways? I’m still pondering that. While I have my travel journals, I like to have somewhere to post this stuff, and, sadly, Substack doesn’t yet have the flexibility to share multiple images beyond a square-format gallery. It is, however, expensive to maintain something that isn’t pulling its financial weight.

Next on the hit list: BKD, followed by my author website. Future me intends to redirect these savings into a Shopify store and advertising to build my mailing list. Naturally, I’ll keep you informed as to how I’m going with that.

Writing …

I completed a full rewrite of Christmas at Kirby Manor Farm and sent it back to my structural editor for another read-through.

This involved rearranging several scenes and adding a few new ones. It was a bit of a faff to do (but it was easier when I put it all back into Scrivener), but it has made a massive difference to the book's flow.

I was talking to one of my writing friends about why I wasn’t entirely happy with this book. He suggested it was because it took me longer than usual to write, and, as a result, it became a different book from what I had initially envisioned.

This made sense to me. I’m a reasonably quick drafter, usually taking no more than about three months to complete a first draft. Sometimes I’m even quicker. One and done. However, with this one, I took a five-week break when we went to the UK, and another two weeks for Vietnam. As a result, it took around seven months to finish.

Anyways, it’s done, and once my editor has had another look at it, I’ll send it through to my beta team for a read, even though I won’t be scheduling it for publishing until later in the year.

For those of you who are waiting on the next Philly Barker, pre-sales will be up by the end of March. I’ve received the structural notes back for Philly Barker and the French Connection, so I will take the next couple of weeks to incorporate that feedback before sending Philly to my copy editor at the beginning of March.

In the meantime, I’ve begun writing my Wellington romantic suspense novel. It’s early days, but I’m loving it. So much so that I announced at our write-in yesterday that it might just be the best thing I’ve ever written. A big call – especially this early into the process.

Tumbarumba…

Sadly, my family had two aunts pass away in Tumbarumba within a week of each other at the end of January. While other commitments meant I didn’t go down for the first of the funerals, when Aunty Kath died just a week later, it felt important to make the effort. So I flew to Sydney and hitched a ride down (Tumba is about a five or so hour drive south of Sydney) with my parents and my brother.

My father was the sixth of eight children, born in Tumbarumba, as were his parents. As far as I can tell, the first Lyons ancestor arrived in Tumbarumba around the time it became Tumbarumba, so it feels like the end of an era to have only my uncle (number seven in the pecking order), his daughter, and her family left living there.

Even though we’ve never lived there, for my brother and me, it’s in our bones, and we refer to it in the same way as Dad does, as “coming home”. Several of my cousins who also came down for the funeral said the same thing. It’s in our bones. Anyways, I’ve written more about Tumba here.

We drove out to Paddy’s River Falls for a look, and I also caught up with my friend Debbie, who lives there. Mostly though, it was a lovely family catch-up, and I saw cousins I hadn’t seen since Grandma’s funeral back in 2001.

It was a whirlwind of a visit, and I was knackered when I got home, but I’m beyond glad I made the effort.

In the Garden…

Somehow, mealybugs got into my Vegepod, and by the time I got back from Tumba, everything in there was covered in a sticky white residue (I’ll spare you the pics). The diagnosis at the garden centre wasn’t good, so I pulled out the basil, parsley, eggplant, and chilli and treated the soil with a systemic insecticide.

Elsewhere in the garden, the cherry tomatoes have now almost finished, although my eggplants are still producing nicely.

Watching…

A new series of Midsomer Murders is finally out (ABCTV). The wait has been a long one. We’ve also completed our Slow Horses marathon, and the equally brilliant Down Cemetery Road (both on Apple), and are now watching Under Salt Marsh (Foxtel/Binge).

What I took to the op shop…

For this week’s op shop shift, I thanked past-me and baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies that past-me had stashed in the freezer. You’ll find the recipe here. And for those interested in the vintage china, the cup is part of a Shelley trio, and the plate is by Royal Winton.

So much for my intention to write one of these each week… but hey ho and all that. January 26 is, I’ve decided, the new January 1. Settle back, we have some catching up to do.

It’s been hot … stinking hot. As I said to Mum the other day (who lives in Sydney, where it’s been even hotter), I don’t know why we’re surprised; it is, after all, summer.

It was also hot enough for this python to take up residence by the pool the other night. He was stretched out on the tiles, minding his own business, until I saw him as I was walking up the hall to bed. My husband’s response? ‘Yeah, I was hoping you hadn’t noticed.’

The pic’s not very good, but he was beautifully marked, and about 6ft long, I suppose. In any case, he slid off some place else after an hour or so.

Writing Updates…

Philly Barker and the French Connection is finished and has gone off to the editor. Even though I didn’t realise who had “dunnit” until the second last chapter, I’m really happy with it and always enjoy catching up with Philly, Robbie and the crew at Chipwell Barn Antiques in Yorkshire.

I’ll be writing more about my process and giving you some behind-the-scenes peeks, so watch this space.

Come February 1, I’ll be starting something new. Set in Wellington, NZ, it’s a standalone and falls more into romantic suspense than cosy crime. It also feels a tad darker and edgier than what I’ve written before, so I’m looking forward to the challenge.

As always, I’ll start with a few characters and a couple of (disjointed) scenes in mind and trust that the rest will come from there. While I know people (who probably know a lot more than I do) say we should know our characters before we write them, I like to meet them and get to know them gradually, as I do in real life. It mightn’t suit everyone, but it works for me.

In the meantime, I’ve pulled out Christmas at Kirby Farm. Even though I completed the edits for this last October, I wasn’t happy with the end result. Because I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t publish anything unless it was the absolute best version of itself at that point in time, I chose not to publish it for Christmas 2025 and to defer it until September this year.

Now I’m taking it apart and putting it back together. Reordering events and scenes and even POVs. It’s a nightmare, but it will be worth it when I’m done. I’m a tad more than halfway through, and already it’s feeling tighter.

I’ll talk some more about this process and how I’m going about it during the week.

Last week I read …

Prue Batten’s gorgeous book, Passage.

Yes, grief is its central theme, but I’d argue that it’s more about life than loss. Just beautiful. You can find more of Prue’s writing on her Substack.

I’m also reading Sophie Hannah’s latest Poirot adventure, The Last Death of the Year.

Last week I watched …

We finally finished season 5 of Slow Horses (Apple TV), but now have to wait until much later in the year for season 6. Heavy sighs.

The final of the Great British Bake Off was finally broadcast on Foxtel during the week, and Great British Sewing Bee is also getting to the pointy end (no pun intended).

Also, I wrapped up Season 4 of The Traitors UK (TenPlay) on the weekend. I was hooked on this series, just like I was with the previous ones, and it’s not just because of Claudia’s Highland Goth outfits each week. I believe what makes the UK series stand out from the others (for me, anyway) is that the civilian version (i.e., non-celebrity season) isn’t full of the influencers and reality TV personalities that the US and other versions are. That’s just my humble opinion, though. Oh, and I loved catching up on the Uncloaked extra on YouTube, where the murdered and banished faithful get to read who the traitors are.

The big TV news from last week, though, was the announcement that Dame Prue Leith is stepping back from Bake Off. I’m hoping that the rumours are true and Nigella could be her replacement. That could, however, be wishful thinking.

In the kitchen…

Not a lot to talk about here last week, although I did make a lovely deconstructed cheesecakey thing for dessert on Friday night when Sares came over for dinner and Ayam Kapitan (Kapitan/Capitan Chicken) for dinner on Saturday. I’ve been making the same recipe for years (and yes, I make the spice paste from scratch) - you’ll find it here.

We indulged in dumplings for lunch yesterday. It might have been too hot to go outside - it was even too hot for a swim - but we ventured out of the aircon and down to Panda Dumplings at Mooloolaba. The way we figure it, it’s never too hot for dumplings. Am I right or am I right?

What I took to the Op Shop…

This week, I baked Nutty Shortbread for the Tuesday volunteers. The recipe is below.

Nutty Shortbread

Ingredients

• 50 g walnuts (plus extra to poke into the top)

• 50 g hazelnuts (plus extra to poke into the top)

• 100 g caster (superfine) sugar

• 250 g plain (all-purpose) flour

• 200 g unsalted butter, cold from the fridge and cut into cubes

• Icing sugar for dusting, if you like

Method

Toast the nuts (excluding the ones you’ll poke in the biscuits for decoration) in a dry frying pan until lightly golden. Keep an eye on them, because they can go from almost golden to cremated in an instant.

Tip the nuts and the sugar into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until roughly chopped.

Add the flour and butter and pulse until it forms a dough. The dough at this stage is quite soft, so divide it into two and roll into two sausage-shaped logs. If you need an estimate of diameter, aim for about 4 cm. They will spread a little wider in the oven. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C fan) and line two baking trays with baking paper.

Carefully slice the dough into 1.5 cm thick biscuits and place them on the tray, leaving space for spreading. Press a reserved nut into the top.

Bake for 12-15 mins until golden, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. If you like, dust with icing sugar before serving; it looks pretty, but I couldn’t be faffed.

So that was Christmas … and what a Christmas it was! But the tree is down, the decorations packed away, and the house is back to normal. That can only mean one thing - time to get this new year started!

It’s a tad unfashionable these days to make resolutions, but I still like them. The way I am with boundaries, if I don’t have a goal to aim for, a boundary in place, I drift and do faff all. Another thing I know about myself is that I usually achieve 75% of whatever I aim for - I even leave the bottom dregs of a coffee or tea. So I aim higher, and if I land at 75%, that’s a good result.

This year’s resolutions are simple - although there are to-do lists/tasks behind them (you can take the girl out of project management, but you can’t take project management out of the girl), that I won’t bore you with. They’re a mix of adulting things (e.g., get the NBN and the wifi fixed, get a quote to have the house painted, get blood tests done in February) and tasks within goals (lose 5 kgs, lose another 5 kgs, and another, and another...).

Besides, what can I say? I like lists, and I especially like ticking things off!

Write Heaps

Philly Barker and the French Connection will be coming at you in May (ish), Christmas at Kirby Farm will be in September, and there’ll be another Clementine Carter/Whale Bay towards the end of the year.

Next up, though, I’ll be writing something set in Wellington, NZ. I can’t tell you how long I’ve been wanting to write a story set in Wellington, but I had to have the right story and the right characters. I can’t wait to get into this one, and I can’t wait for you to meet Chelsea and Jim. I’m already in love with them.

Finally, I have a couple of other things rolling around in my head. I’ll write one of them later this year, but I’m thinking of approaching it differently and asking you, my subscribers, to help decide. Will we be in France, Scotland or back in Mannus Ridge?

In between all of that, I’ll finally convert my astro posts into mini e-books for Kindle Unlimited. I won’t go “wide” with these, and I’ll be publishing under a pen name to avoid confusion. Once I work out the details, I’ll pop them up on a new Substack publication so you can follow if you’re that way inclined.

This year, I’m committing to writing heaps.

Business Stuff

Confession time - as well as not reading my reviews (my skin is waaaaaay too thin for that), I don’t look at my numbers. While I see the (minor) $$ dribbling into my bank account each month, I don’t look behind the scenes to see what it means for sales. The way I figure it, if I were selling more, I’d see more money coming in. The other reason, though, is if I know what the numbers are, and I’m not happy with them, I have to do something about it. Something different to what I’m already doing (which, to be honest, is very little). I’m the same with scales - if I don’t see the numbers, I don’t have to see how far I’m drifting.

If the product is good (which I have to believe it is), the reason I don’t sell more books is simple: not enough people know about them. And while I love writing and have to write, I’ve chosen to make this my career, and publishing is expensive. That means I actually have to sell books to keep writing and publishing.

So, that’s what will be changing this year. This year, I’m committing to running my business like a business.

Other Stuff

Making Stuff

While my work is creative, I’ve had an urge to … make stuff …

I’ve crocheted temperature blankets over the past couple of years (and crocheted a baby blanket for a friend’s impending new arrival), but now I’m itching to make something more wearable. So this year, I’m getting the sewing machine back out from hibernation. It is, however, old (I bought it when I moved out of home in 1989), so I’ll be keeping my eyes open for something a tad more modern coming into the op shop.

This year I’m committing to making some clothes - and recycling, reusing or repurposing fabrics.

I’m also committing to buying less.

Project Excess Baggage

Yes, it’s back. And I have just as much weight to lose as I declared I did last year. I suppose that’s what happens when you talk about something, but don’t do anything about it. Go figure.

I do, however, have lots of travel to look forward to, so if that’s not an incentive, I don’t know what else is.

It’s not just about wanting to look better in clothes (because, yes, that’s exactly what my aim is), it’s also about staying mobile and getting stronger. Because we eat well (just too much of it!), my inner health is fine - cholesterol, sugars and all those other indicators are good. But thanks to scoliosis, I have a dodgy back. As I get older and fatter, though, the dodgy back is getting dodgier, and the pain associated with it more regular. As I intend to get older, it’s the fatter part of that equation that has to change if I want to remain mobile and relatively pain-free. Which, obviously, I do.

This year, I’m committing to getting lighter - for my back’s sake.

Last year, I focused on steps and blitzed my goal of averaging 10,000 steps a day. While I’m aware the number is arbitrary, it was about moving every day. I’ll keep up the daily movement, but improving my strength is one of the best things I can do for my body.

This year, I’m committing to getting stronger.

I’ve begun 2026 with terrible heel pain, a function, so my daughter has helpfully told me, of doing over 4 million steps last year, with at least half of them being done without shoes. While I wear proper supportive shoes for my daily beach walks, I don’t wear shoes in the house, so I do all my online walking (and other indoor) workouts barefoot.

This year, I’m committing to wearing shoes more often.

I’ll blog my progress (not the shoe-wearing part, though) and some healthy recipes over at The Excess Baggage Diaries. It’s my way of staying accountable to myself. While it’s free, comments, etc., will be subscriber-only.

What else?

I’ll continue to blog my travel journals and pics over at and anyways.

BKD is the place to head for new recipes and the monthly Kitchen Diary. It’s also the home of the BKD Cookbook Club. The schedule for the next few months is as follows:

January 21, 2026 – We’re off to Scandinavia! For those of us in the southern hemisphere, the challenge might be to cook summer Scandy… I can’t wait for this one.

February 18, 2026 – Let your next (or your most recent) holiday be your inspiration this month. Whether home or abroad, a short break or an other side of the world odyssey, we want to read about how it inspired (or is inspiring) your cooking.

March 18, 2026 – We often refer to our favourites, but this month, let’s look at something new. I’m talking about a cuisine or recipe you haven’t tried before, or a cookbook (either on your shelf or from the library) published no earlier than 2025, perhaps a new-to-you recipe website.

2026… I’m coming at you!

I’m not a big one for the whole rear-view mirror thing, but I like to close out the old year before I commit to the possibility of the new (you’ll find last year’s edition here). It’s a great way to see what has been achieved and put the rest into perspective. Grab yourself a brew – we’ll be here for a while.

TECHNICAL NOTE: There’s a lot to get through, so this post might not fit in your email. If so, just hit VIEW ENTIRE MESSAGE at the end of the email, or head to the app or online version.

What did you do that you’ve never done before?

This year, I started a podcast … although when I say I started it, I pretty much just convinced my fellow classic book club members to allow me to press record on our Zoom meetings. We didn’t want to make it into a “thing”, more of a fly-on-the-wall as we chat about our classic reads. If you’re interested, you’ll find it here. As our meetings are dependent on schedules, so is the frequency of the podcasts.

This year, I also stepped back from a couple of almost friendships because the people in question either:

a) showed no respect for my work or interest in my life while wanting to talk only about themselves. It was the whole, “well, you’re not really working, so you can meet me at any time and it won’t matter if I keep you waiting” sort of thing, accompanied by, “it’s not like writing a book is hard,” and “it’s not like you have a real publisher or a real job, so really, you’re retired, and it’s just like a hobby, isn’t it?”

or b) left me feeling bad about what I do and who I am.

As my daughter said when I told her about it, I’d normally have smiled, felt sorry for them, and made room on my “bus” for them. Now, though, I’ve decided that life is too short to spend time with people who make me feel that way.

What was your word for the year? How did you go with that?

My word of the year was Accomplish.

In my post announcing it, I said:

Yep, it’s boring. But so were the other contenders - CONSISTENCY and COMMITMENT. And I’m alright about it being boring. This is, however, probably the last you’ll hear about it until the wrap-up at the end of the year. I won’t be blogging about it in my monthly wrap-ups; I will be ticking off the checklists behind it.

The checklists are boring too - about as dull as task lists on any project plan are. But this year, I need them to happen. This year, I need to accomplish things, I need to tick them off. This writing gig is my career; it’s my business, and it’s about time I treated it as such. It’s also about time it began making a profit.

How did I do? Mixed.

My personal and adulting to-do list is full of ticks. My business and health goals? Yeah and nah. While I write and I publish, I’m still making a financial loss, and that needs to change. Somehow, I need to find the mindset to make myself as accountable for my goals as I used to be for work goals. It seems I’m capable of achieving for other people rather than myself. And yes, I know exactly how that sounds.

Did you keep your New Year’s Resolutions?

Sort of… but again not really. This year, my resolutions were more to-do lists than actual resolutions.

I’ll finish 2025 having averaged over 11,000 steps a day (over 4,000,000 steps) and almost 2,000 miles, and having (for the first time) done all the required health checks when they’ve fallen due.

I’ve gone backwards in the weight stakes, though. My husband said I wasn’t clear enough about my intentions, given I’ve lost (and regained) the same 5 kgs at least three times.

Having said that, I quite liked the to-do list format and will probably attack 2026 in the same way.

Where did you travel to in 2025?

Everywhere! It was a good year for travel…

Grant and I spent five weeks in the UK in March. We travelled from the bottom to the top, via every place Mum has named a corgi after in Wales. I blogged each stage of the trip here.

I was home for just a couple of weeks before pulling the passport out again at the beginning of May - this time to go to Vietnam with Sarah and my sister-in-law. I haven’t yet blogged about that trip, but I will.

In June, I ducked down to Sydney to see my parents and Grant, Sarah, and I had an overnight stay at Lennox Head/Byron Bay.

While I remained at home in July, my bestie and her husband came to visit, so we had a day trip to the vineyards of the South Burnett region and a whale watching adventure.

I was off to Hobart in August for the RWA (Romance Writers of Australia) conference. While I was supposed to be conferencing, I also took a look around Hobart and visited MONA.

September saw me back in Sydney to see Mum and Dad, followed almost immediately by ten days in Wellington with my bestie for WOW.

The year in travel was rounded off with a 2000+ km road trip to Orange for my niece’s wedding in late November.

Did anyone close to you give birth?

No.

Did anyone close to you get married?

Yes. My niece was married in Orange in November.

Did anyone close to you pass away?

Yes, a close friend (the wife of Grant’s childhood bestie) from Canberra passed away quite suddenly in May. As Sarah and I were in Vietnam at the time, Grant attended the funeral without me.

How did you spend New Year’s Eve 2024?

At home. I cooked a nice dinner for the two of us. On the menu was venison with a red wine sauce, followed by Cranachan - a Scottish dessert of oats, whisky, cream and raspberries.

How did you spend your birthday in 2025 and how old were you?

I turned 58 in 2025. It was a Wednesday, and we were staying in Betwys-y-Coed in North Wales. It had snowed overnight, and the high for the day was just 5C, although the “feels like” temperature was flipping freezing.

We spent the day exploring Caernarfon and Beaumaris, with lunch in a great pub in Beaumaris and dinner at a hotel in Betwys-y-Coed.

The scenery was epic… it was a good day.

What would you like to have more of in 2026 that you lacked in 2025?

This answer is the same as last year’s (and the year before and the year before that): book sales – and someone to do my marketing for me. The problem is, of course, that I don’t earn enough from book sales to pay for services like that #viciouscircle so I’ll need to teach myself how to do it and force myself outside my comfort zone. I said that last year too (and the year before, etc.).

While I ended 2025 with less back pain than I began it, I’d like to feel stronger—both physically and mentally. My primary goal, though, is to earn a living from my writing.

Did you tick anything off your bucket list in 2024?

Yes. I’ve always wanted to go all the way up to John O’Groats, and we did.

I’ve also wanted to be in the UK for spring, and we were.

What dates from 2025 will remain etched in your memory and why?

There were a lot of excellent days in 2025 - way more than not-so-good days - and I’m super grateful for that, and for being able to travel the way we did this year.

I’m also beyond grateful Sarah still wants to travel with me, and I treasured our time in Vietnam.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I’m still struggling with structure and imposter syndrome (I know, I know… I just need to get over myself already), and being away as much as I was, didn’t achieve as much as I would have liked.

That being said, I published Philly Barker and the Murder at Deverell Grange and Murder in the Mangroves.

I also wrote Christmas at Kirby Manor Farm and have completed the edits. I’m not yet as happy with it as I like to be, so I have held off publishing it until I am. It will be published for Christmas 2026.

I’ve also completed Philly Barker and the French Connection. After another pass through, she’ll be off to the editor shortly.

That means I’ve now written 18 books and published 16. How did that happen?

Also, in 2025, I had the covers for the early contemporary romances redesigned, but, as is typical of me, I only half-finished the job and haven’t updated all the images on websites, etc. Another job for January.

My Friday writing group – Maroochydore Writing Friday (for Queensland Writers Centre) – has continued to grow. We’re trying to put together a Writer’s Centre of sorts, but the process with the council has been quite frustrating. Baby steps.

BKD Cookbook Club was up and running this year too. You can find more info on that here.

What did you learn this year?

• That you can’t continue to do the same things the same way and expect, miraculously, a different result. When an opportunity for change comes up, you have to take a leap of faith and grab it – there is no perfect time.

• Consistency and commitment are the keys to achieving long-term goals. We’ve never been great friends, but I’m learning to respect them.

• Another thing I’ve learnt is that movement isn’t just essential for my physical health, but I’m in better shape mentally when I’m exercising regularly.

• Life’s too short for people who leave you feeling badly about yourself and what you do.

Did you suffer illness or injury?

I’ve been in rude health most of this year, somehow, despite the air travel, avoiding even my usual head cold. Long may it last.

The dodgy back is still dodgy, but that’s a given. I suspect it will only get worse as I get older – especially if I don’t drop some weight.

I’m also finishing the year with plantar fasciitis, ie heel pain. Sure, this is probably a function of not wearing shoes as often as I should, doing my Get Fit With Rick workouts without shoes, and standing for long periods without shoes. It’s also probably a function of all the steps I’ve done this year. Anyways, it is what it is, and I’m trying to get in the habit of wearing shoes in the house - even if they are just arch-support (and very ugly) flip flops and wear trainers even when I’m doing walking workouts inside.

What was the best movie you saw all year?

I didn’t go to the movies this year – nothing unusual in that. I did, however, indulge in some romcoms (and, more recently, holiday movies) on Netflix – none of which have left lasting memories.

What song was on high rotation this year?

According to Apple Music Replay, I was deeply entrenched in the 80s in 2025, as far as my listening preferences went.

Pet Shop Boys were far and away the most listened to artists, followed by George Michael, Dire Straits and Abba. Obviously, these are my musical comfort blanket.

Sure, there was some new stuff too, but not as often as I listened to old stuff.

Where did your money go this year?

Travel, of course, and books. Again. One day I’ll learn to restrain myself…but where would be the fun in that?

We also bought a new car in May to replace my ancient RAV.

Compared to this time last year, are you:

Happier or sadder?

Happier. This time last year, I was grieving Kali, and while there’s still a cocker spaniel-shaped hole in my heart, time is doing what time does.

Thinner or fatter?

Fatter. I’m two kilos heavier than I was at this time last year.

Richer or poorer?

Poorer – on account of the travel and the new car.

What do you wish you’d done more of?

Same as last year: writing, marketing more effectively, and selling more books.

What do you wish you’d done less of?

Same as last year: beating myself up for spending too much, eating too much, drinking too much, not being productive enough and not marketing well enough to sell more books. The only thing I’m not beating myself up about is the amount of exercise I did.

How did you spend Christmas 2025?

We had a full house for Christmas this year so I was like the proverbial pig in the smelly stuff with the chaotic catering of it all. The daughter of some friends we’ve known since pre-natal classes (i.e., 28 years ago) has recently moved back to Australia from Dorset, so she spent the week (and her first Christmas away from her parents) with us.

After a walk, we cracked open the bubbly to have with our traditional breakfast of potato scones with smoked salmon and pinwheels.

This year we had eight for lunch, and, in addition to a turkey crown, we did a pork roast and the usual veggie sides. My pudding and Grant’s trifle rounded out the meal.

I backed up on Boxing Day with nine more for lunch. I made a pesto risotto salad, a bean salad, and a potato salad to go with the Christmas leftovers. I also made a lemon curd pavlova (using the egg whites leftover from the Baileys ice cream I’d made earlier in the week).

What was the best book you read?

My 2025 bookish round-up will be out in the next couple of days.

What TV shows did you watch?

I watched lots of cooking shows (no surprises there), and I loved the new seasons of Masterchef, Great British Bake-off and Great British Sewing Bee.

Other than that, there were new series of Shetland, All Creatures Great and Small, Slow Horses and the usual cosy crime on Britbox and Acorn (too many to mention).

Who did I miss this year?

While I saw the people I love in 2025, I still miss Kali @adventurespaniel being by my feet. Maybe once the big trip is done this year, we’ll look to get another dog. With so much travel planned, it would be unfair to contemplate before then.

What kept you sane this year?

My walks along the beach with hubby, followed by coffee on weekday mornings, highlight my working day. It sounds trite, but having the physical reminder of sunrise is a positive thing.

What has 2026 got in store for you…so far?

So far, the following is booked:

• Grant and I have two weeks in Malaysia in March. We’ll be visiting Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi and Penang.

• We have a massive trip booked in September. We’re off to Barcelona, and will board a Med cruise there that will take us around to Rome. We then have a couple of weeks in Tuscany - Siena and Florence - before heading back to Rome and boarding another cruise that will travel around Spain, up to Portugal and through to Southampton. There’ll be a few days in London before we head home.

In terms of novels, there’ll be a new Philly Barker in May; a new Clementine Carter towards the end of the year, Christmas at Kirby Manor Farm, and something else set in Wellington.

There’ll also be a podcast where I talk creativity and ask my guests to “bring a plate”…

I’ll be back in a day or so to talk goals and intentions.

Okay, so that was my year. All that’s left to say is thanks for your support and for following along in 2025. Cheers to 2026.

At this time of the year, one’s thoughts turn to closing it down and wrapping it up. While that’s at the back of my mind, there’s still to much clutter in the front for me to reflect the way I need to reflect. That, I suspect, will be something for Twixtmas … or is it Betwixtmas… or something else entirely. If I was writing myself as a character I’d probably say something like ‘Jo shrugged…’ to which my (fantastic) editor would write something in the margin like, ‘there’s a lot of shrugging happening, show us how she feels,’ to which I’d mutter under my breath something like, ‘she doesn’t care much either way which is why she shrugged.’

I wish it could be Christmas every day …

Since we last spoke, the Christmas tree has gone up, and the Christmas baking has commenced.

At Chez Tracey, the Christmas tree putting-up ceremony is held each year with some fanfare. Always on the first Sunday of the month, the three of us will gather at home. There’ll be a new ornament (this year’s is a sad-looking pottery gingerbread person that we bought at a photographic gallery/gift shop in Tenterfield when we stopped there for breakfast pies a few weeks ago), proper champagne and a sort of Christmassy lunch/high tea of nibbly bits.

This year, Grant prepared cucumber, prawn, and egg sandwiches. I made sausage rolls and tuna pringles (which I’ll tell you about below), and Sarah brought in some Mr Kipling’s French Fancies.

We’re hosting Christmas lunch this year, and a friend is staying as well. We also have more friends over for Boxing Day, and I’m so excited to be doing all the catering. I’m like the proverbial pig in smelly stuff. I have food lists, shopping lists and to-be-baked lists. No doubt, closer to the day, I’ll also have a run sheet.

If you follow my Facebook author page or my author Instagram, you’d know I’ve been watching and reviewing Christmas movies. There really are some woeful ones out there, but I love them anyway. In case you’re wondering, this year’s favourites have been Oh. What. Fun, Champagne Problems, Jingle Bell Heist and Tinsel Town.

I’m taking a mini break from them at the moment and indulging in rewatching my favourite Christmas specials (especially Gavin and Stacey), the Christmas Bake-off and Sewing Bee Festive shows, along with all the foodie ones – Nigella, Jamie, Rick, Gordon, and James, I’m looking at you.

What gets me with these, is how easy they make it all out to be when in the background there are food stylists, home economists and production assistants making sure every surface has been lit by fairies and none of the candles catch fire to anything they shouldn’t, and nobody leaves anything on the kitchen bench that shouldn’t be there (“I just tidied that bit!!!!!”) That being said, I continue to fall for it, the fantasy of the perfect Christmas lunch. I’m sure that on the day, rather than being serene like Nigella, I’ll be running around like Uncle Bryn on Gavin and Stacey.

I’m also that person who has to go into Christmas with a clean house – especially since we’ll have guests - so yesterday I got stuck into the kitchen cupboards and pantry. The pudding was steaming away for eight hours so it’s not as if I could leave the house anyways. Well, that’s what I told myself.

At my desk …

I don’t do many in-person signing events - I don’t hold the stock or the merch - but a couple of Fridays ago manned a table out the front of the Caloundra Bookshop with the lovely Sara Hartland for the Caloundra Christmas Street Fair.

Last year we did well; this year, I spent more money in the bookstore than I made in sales. It really wasn’t worth my time or energy. Thankfully, though, it wasn’t as hot as it was last year, and I enjoy Sara’s company. #alwaysanupside.

Another upside is that I now have paperbacks in stock to sell directly to the public. I’ll spend some time over the Christmas period updating my website to support sales and give it a whirl. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for ages.

Philly Barker and the French Connection is almost done. I’m still not sure whodunnit, but I have a fair idea of who and why. It will go off to my editor in January, and while I haven’t determined a release date yet, I’m thinking May. Watch this space.

Since visiting the Burgundian village of Châteauneuf-en-Auxois in 2018 (I wrote a bit about it here), I’ve wanted to write a novel set there. I even had a title in mind - Queen of the Lilacs – and a couple of lead characters. This isn’t that book, but Philly and Robbie have found themselves there, and I’ve left a few breadcrumbs behind for when I do write that novel.

In the garden…

Back in August, I planted six zucchini seeds and six eggplant seeds in my Vegepod. All of them germinated, so when the time was right, I transplanted the zucchinis into a garden bed (where I battled Ralph, the possum) for the flowers and moved the eggplants to pots.

Strangely, the zucchinis have all grown at different rates – some have thrived and others have struggled – but what worried me more was that I wasn’t getting any female flowers. Well, I’m delighted to say I finally have a zucchini on the vine. Whether or not I get to pick it or if it will become possum food is, of course, still uncertain, but I do have a zucchini. I also finally have eggplants.

The cherry tomatoes are continuing their generosity, so the other day I dried a heap in the oven and popped them into jars with herbs and oil.

In the kitchen

Last week’s offering for the op shop was chocolate crinkle cookies, while this week I took in some Caramilk fudge

… and another batch of Nigella’s white chocolate, oat, pistachio and cranberry Christmas cookies.

A batch of sausage rolls was made to take to the early morning beach walkers’ Christmas breakfast (yes, there are more people than us who get up at sparrow’s fart to walk) and for the tree ceremony. I also made Tuna Pringles for the Christmas tree ceremony.

These were a revelation. The recipe is by Katrina Meynink, and I found it in the SMH. They have a paywall, but if you sign up, you can read a certain number of stories for free.

BKD Cookbook Club

Each year, I look forward to list posts – especially those that feature the best cookbooks of the year. Interestingly, this year, the publications I follow have mostly agreed. Sure, there are some outliers, but a few books have appeared on each list. Sadly, it’s too late for me to add them to my Santa wish list – that was finalised and sent to the North Pole for consideration back in November.

Anyways, this month’s theme was Christmas cookbooks, and I wrote about my favourites here.

and some music …

Because it’s nearly Christmas, I thought I’d leave you with one of my fave scenes from Gavin and Stacey. I dare you not to sing along.

Until next time …

Jo x

Alrighty, we have a lot to be getting on with, so grab a brew and settle down.

TECHNICAL NOTE: There’s a lot to get through, so this post might not fit in your email. If so, just hit VIEW ENTIRE MESSAGE at the end of the email, or head to the app or online version.

Travel …

My niece got married last Friday in Orange, so that meant a mini road trip. Mini in that we were only away for five days, but maxi in that we travelled 2,500 kms in those five days. We loved Orange, but unfortunately, with all we have planned for next year, Sarah and Grant don’t have enough available leave to stay for longer. We will be back.

Day 1 - Buderim to Narrabri with stops in Toowoomba, Milmerran (for a sausage roll) and Goondiwindi (for the best ever road trip salad sandwich). It was 40 °C in Goondiwindi … ridiculously hot … but Sarah realises she hasn’t packed a jacket and it’s forecast to be 12°C overnight in Orange, so she attempts to buy one at Kmart. She comes out without a jacket, but with a Christmas vest. That’s my girl.

We stayed at the Midtown Motel and walked up to the RSL for dinner. It was still almost 40°C.

Day 2 - Narrabri to Orange with stops in Mendooran (after watching an over-sized truck get stuck under a bridge), chatted with the local grey babblers, and Wellington for a road trip pie. And yes, I am that person who can work in the car.

Our Airbnb cottage is fabulous.

We caught up with Mum and Dad when they arrived, had dinner at the RSL with my brother, his wife and daughter, and then later joined my sister and the rest of the wedding party at a pub for pre-wedding drinks.

Day 3 - Wedding Day in Orange.

The reception was at Rowlee Wines, and it’s lovely, although there are too many people for the venue, and it’s very hot and noisy as a result. Such is life.

The best part of a wedding is seeing the love, hope and optimism in the couple as they make promises to each other that they fully intend to keep. Even thirty-something years down the track, it reminds us of the promises we made.

Day 4 - Orange to Armidale with stops in Mudgee and Tamworth. Armidale is always a good stop, and the White Bull is always a good place for a meal.

Day 5 - Armidale to Buderim with stops at Tenterfield (for a breakfast pie from Federation Pies) and Aratula.

Writing …

Philly 4 now has a title - Philly Barker and the French Connection, and is coming along well. I’m now confident of making my deadline and should have it finished before Christmas.

I included a few little behind-the-scenes segments in posts during November - research, inspiration… that sort of thing - but am not sure whether people want to read about that or not. No matter, I’ll continue to do so in December.

Reading …

In case you missed it, you’ll find the monthly book post and podcast where we discuss Much Ado About Nothing below

Watching …

Mostly Christmas movies. This year, I’ve been reviewing them as I go on my author Facebook page, so if you’re interested, pop over there.

Also on the list during November was The Forsytes (ABC TV), which I wrote about in my book post (the link is above).

There was also a new series of All Creatures Great and Small (Britbox), a special Harry Wild (Acorn) and a reboot of the Inspector Lynley mysteries in Lynley (Britbox), which we’ve been watching an episode a week.

The current series of Great British Bake Off has just begun, and I can’t wait to get into it.

In the kitchen …

You’ll find the Kitchen Diaries here. In the BKD Cookbook Club, the theme was giving thanks (as opposed to Thanksgiving … see what I did there?), and I cooked from Robert Carrier’s Feasts of Provence. You’ll find the post here.

Coming up: In the immortal words of Noddy Holder from Slade, “It’s Chrisssstmas!” Let’s celebrate the season! Whether it’s a fully Christmas (or holiday) themed cookbook, family faves, a festive bake, or even party food. The choice is yours. The link will be live on December 10.

Over to you …

Alrighty, that’s enough from me … what’s been on your calendar in November? Perhaps you’d like to update us on your word of the year or intentions? I’d love to hear about what you’ve been up to…

Behind the scenes with Philly Barker

I think I now have a title… drumroll … Philly Barker and the French Connection. What do you think?

It came to me as I was researching one of the antiques that Philly deals with on this outing - a pair of Old Paris porcelain greyhounds.

This pair is in perfect condition - not bad considering they’re a couple of hundred years old. The style is simple, but the colours bright - as was the style of Vieux (Old) Paris porcelain.

The term “Vieux Paris” refers broadly to the production of porcelain by Parisian factories between 1770 and 1850. The French industry developed in much the same way as the porcelain industry did in England - in response to the highly prized china that was coming out of, well, China. Just as they did in England, French craftsmen took inspiration from Chinese porcelain but developed their own style.

Thanks to the discovery of kaolin (the soft, white clay used in porcelain) near Limoges, by the end of the 18th century, there were more than twenty porcelain factories in the capital. It was, however, a short-lived boom as by 1850, most of the Parisian factories had either closed or moved.

While you can sometimes pick up items like this for a few hundred dollars (the paint is usually quite faded), I’ve taken some artistic licence with the value of these in the book.

It’s a long way to the top …

This story made me smile … almost fifty years since AC/DC filmed their iconic film clip for “It’s A Long Way To The Top” (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll) … (or should that be, it’s a long way to the shop if you wanna sausage roll…?) … a world record breaking number of bagpipers (or do they simply refer to them as “pipers”?) gathered in Melbourne’s Federation Square to play the song. You can see them here … and here’s the original. As an aside, apparently their Melbourne concert shook the city so hard (get it?) the soundwaves were picked up on earthquake detection equipment.

A little Christmas cheer …

One of my favourite things about the lead-up to Christmas is the British Christmas ads. We don’t do them nearly as well as they do.

I wasn’t sure Waitrose could ever top last year’s Christmas ad…

But then, somehow, they do with Joe Wilkinson and Keira Knightley in this year’s Waitrose Christmas ad. The Christmas mini romcom we all need. You can see it here.

More Christmas…

The annual Festival of Christmas Watching is well underway. If you’ve been following me for a while, you’d know just how much I love Christmas movies and each year devote hours when I should be doing other things to watching them.

So far this year there have been no duds (who can forget last year’s Hot Frosty or the truly dreadful Christmas in Switzerland). You’ll find the reviews here.

Reading …

It’s a resounding yes from me.

The Simply Stunning Classic Bookclub got together to discuss Much Ado About Nothing the other day. It was a fantastic discussion, and the podcast will be up next week.

BKD Bookclub

This month’s BKD Bookclub post is up. The theme was a doozy this month - all about thanksgiving, either literally as in Thanksgiving, or laterally, as in the cookbooks or dishes that are about giving thanks. My post is here.

Listening …

This fabulous newish thing from former Little Mix member, Perrie Edwards. Have a listen … here.

In the kitchen…

Another batch of peanut butter cookies was baked to take in for my op shop shift. Other than that?

I made Paprika chicken from Tom Kerridge’s Lose Weight & Get Fit for dinner on Monday night. It’s a winner, winner, chicken dinner, and you can find the recipe here.

When Jill Dupleix’s weekly recipe dropped, I had to make it for lunch on Thursday - even though I’m supposed to be limiting my carbs (#projectexcessbaggage).

We had friends over for dinner last night. On the menu was roast pork belly with a heap of veggie salady sides, including a French-style herby potato salad, beetroot and feta, and Recipe Tin Eats’ spicy maple carrots with crispy chickpeas.

Dessert was Recipe Tin Eats’ Tiramisu. Something I think I’ve made at least six times this year. A few months ago I found the perfect Corningware dish on the shelf at the op shop for it. Sadly, I didn’t get a pic of it all cocoaed up and on the plates.

For befores I made a batch of Kathy Slack’s pea hummus, which we served with veggies, radishes and anchovy mayo (from Angela Hartnett’s The Weekend Cook) and seasonally spiced nuts from Nigella’s Christmas.

Finally, on the menu tonight is a ricotta and zucchini pasta from Julius Roberts’ The Farm Table.

Alrighty, that’s been my week!

Until next time…

Jo x

Behind the scenes

This week in behind the scenes, I’m taking you to a daffodil-filled churchyard in Westow, Yorkshire.

Westow is, as regular readers might know, my inspiration for Philly Barker’s Chipwell. When I saw the daffodils in this churchyard, I knew it had to feature in Philly’s latest adventure.

This is what I wrote in my travel journal:

While Grant spent the afternoon taking it easy, I went for a walk down the lane. It’s blue skies, but blustery. The temperature is supposed to be 9, but it feels like 2. Just when we were getting used to the warmer weather.

As I walked down the lane, I met a lady walking a black and white cocker spaniel who could have been the model for Bally on the Philly covers. We chatted for a while, and she suggested I walk down to the church as the daffodils were out.

Out? They carpeted the graveyard. There was not a spare inch of ground that didn’t have daffodils growing. It was one of those moments that made me gasp aloud. In the wind they really did appear to be dancing as Wordsworth had described them.

And this is the passage from the novel (remember, it’s a first draft…)

Churchyards have never worried me, not even at night. On the contrary, I’ve found them to be profoundly peaceful. Perhaps it’s because the spirits are sleeping peacefully, perhaps it’s the history they’ve seen, perhaps it’s something else entirely, but even on the busiest of days, simply walking through the gates of the churchyard with its weathered grey gravestones usually is enough to make me exhale.

Balthazar, my cocker spaniel, feels the same. While he might strain at his lead as we walk down through the fields, wanting to chase after this scent or that (especially at this time of the year when rabbits and hares are at their most active), he’ll fall into heel and walk calmly beside me the minute we step through the gates, the very model of a well-behaved dog.

While it was still cool enough to warrant a jacket, and the sun hadn’t quite accepted that the equinox had been and gone, the signs of spring were everywhere, from a faint green smudge in the hedgerows to reddish-brown buds on the horse chestnut. Mostly, though, late March was about the daffodils - and Chipwell’s churchyard was carpeted with them, their hopeful golden dance a promise that warmer days were on their way.

It wasn’t just the daffodils that had a spring in their step. Everyone we’d passed this afternoon, from dog walkers we’d met as we walked through the village to the horse riders we’d met coming up the field as we were going down (poor Bally took some time to recover from that one), agreed that it was definitely warming up, and before we knew it, summer would be here.

Although it was after six, it wasn’t quite dark - the clocks would be changing back this weekend (or was it forward, I could never quite remember) - but it was dark enough that if one was inclined to see shadows where there were none, one could see said shadows. Bally, like me, was used to the shadows in this churchyard; they were our old friends.

This evening, though, it felt as though the spirits were restless. Bally leaned in close to my legs, his tail low, its characteristic wag gone, his floppy ears twitched forward, his breath coming in little pants.

‘I know, buddy,’ I said. ‘I feel it too.’ The hairs on the back of my neck prickled - and not in the way they did when I picked up an object I just knew was special, or spied a valuable painting peeking out of a box of odds and sods I picked up at auction for not very much. This prickling was a warning.

What will happen in the churchyard? You’ll need to wait for the book to come out for that. Speaking of which, the book is coming along well, although I still don’t know who did it… but suspect I know why.

In the garden

Something’s up with my tomatoes. I’m not sure whether it’s early blight (look at me go with the gardening terms) or last weekend’s storms, but the leaves on a couple of the container plants are the colour they shouldn’t be. I’ve given them a feed of nitrogen so let’s see what happens.

In other news, I still haven’t had any female flowers on the courgettes/zucchinis (Mum tells me I need to be patient), but the aubergines are growing well.

What I’m reading …

All I can say is, I wish I could write (and sell) like Richard Osman.

What I’m listening to …

The Indie Writers Club. Thanks, Janine from for the tip on this one. I’m lapping it up.

What I’m watching

It’s November, so that means Christmas movies. I’ll add reviews to notes as I go.

Celebrity Traitors has now come to a close, and what a finale it was. If you haven’t yet seen it, no spoilers.

The Wool Game … yes, you read this correctly. Hosted by Tom Daley, this one is on UK Channel 4 so I’ve had to use a VPN to watch it… but that’s our little secret. All I’m saying is it’s like Bake-off for knitting and every stitch counts. Contestants don’t leave, they’re cast off. Get it?

Storycrumbs, The Podcast

I’ve been thinking about and talking about doing this podcast for at least three years, but I’m now ready to hit record on it.

The delay has been due to my inability to pinpoint exactly what I want to talk to people about. I change my mind too often. So I’ve decided that just as I can’t stick to one genre to write and tend to follow my curiosity, I’ll do the same with this.

I’m planning on an episode each fortnight with:

· One episode a month about writing – maybe a chat about indie publishing, or with an indie author, and

· One episode a month featuring a midlife creative. Someone who is following their curiosity. They might be working with fabric, paints, food, words, or even creating the perfect workout.

I'd also love to feature aspiring and emerging authors, particularly those on the indie journey. We indies don’t get enough love, and I’d like to change that.

True to my brand, there’ll also be a recipe each episode – I’ll be asking my guests to share their favourite thing to bake or make.

Anyways, more on this as I feel my way through, but watch this space.

In the Kitchen

This week’s offering for the op shop and Writing Friday was Peanut Butter Cookies. I’ll pop the recipe up in the next couple of days.

It’s BKD Bookclub week this week, and I’m featuring Robert Carrier’s Feasts of Provence. For the story behind the book choice, you’ll need to tune in on Wednesday.

I’ve been cooking out of it the last few days - just a few Provencal-themed salads (like this Nicoise Salad for lunch) and Saturday night’s dinner - whiting fillets with rouille (a sort of garlicky, paprika-y mayo) and perch with sauce vierge. We ate it with braised lettuce and peas.

I’m having a bit of a thing about braised lettuce at the moment, and made Kathy Slack’s Lettuce and Leek Gratin from her fantastic book, From the Veg Patch. (As an aside, I have the beetroot and tahini brownies earmarked to make this week.)

What else? We also had Ottolenghi’s Spring Salad as an accompaniment to a pork cutlet on Tuesday and made Saltimbocca alla Romana on Wednesday night. It sounds fancy, but really it’s a super-quick cook, and as neither Ralph the possum nor any of the other critters in my garden seem to like sage, I have heaps of it available.

Alrighty, that’s been my week!

Until next time…

Jo x

I was going to write this week about respect, in particular, creative respect. Instead, we’ll be talking about my current addiction - The Traitors.

Before I say anymore, you need to know that the only reality TV I watch is Bake Off (both the Aus and UK versions), Sewing Bee, and MasterChef. I’ve never watched an episode of Big Brother, Love Island, MAFS, I’m A Celebrity or anything like them. But ever since I watched an entire season (yes, the whole lot in one sitting) of Traitors UK on an overnight long-haul flight, I’ve been addicted. I don’t know if it’s Claudia Winkleman (perhaps I have a girl crush) and her wool and tweed (now termed Highland Gothic—check the look below), the Scottish Highlands setting, or the whole murder-in-the-dark, trust-no-one premise, but it’s got me.

I’ve even braved the ads on Ten Play to watch it, that’s how addicted I am.

Now, thanks to Paramount, all seasons of the UK, Australian, NZ and US versions are available ad-free. Be still, my beating heart.

I’ll backtrack … what’s it about? Well, essentially, a group of people converge in a Scottish castle. Of the twenty or so who come into the castle, Claudia will select three to play “traitors”; the remaining players are known as “faithfuls”. While we, the audience, know who is a traitor and who is faithful, the other players do not - and that’s part of the fun.

The object of the game for the traitors is to “murder” the faithful under the cover of darkness, and be the last one/s standing at the end. The faithful have to attempt to identify the traitors and banish them. Along the way, they perform “missions” to build up the prize pot.

At the end, if there are only faithfuls left, they share the prize; if, however, there is a traitor left, they get the lot, and any remaining faithfuls miss out. If there are only traitors left, they can choose to “steal” the prize from each other or share it with the other traitors. Even this can have a twist—as was the case in the explosive season 2 Australian final. In that one, Blake and Sam (who had convinced himself that he was the puppetmaster) recruited Camille to be a traitor with them for the run to the finals. They perceived her as an older woman and a mere housewife, and therefore incapable of thwarting their plans—a mistake that had devastating consequences for them. All I’m saying about that is never underestimate a woman. It really does have all the hallmarks of a Greek tragedy.

The Traitors was created by a Dutch documentary maker and producer, Marc Pos and was inspired by his observation:

that humans have become less “trusting of institutions and each other”… and “can’t stand” not being able to trust those around them. “I wanted to watch people like David Attenborough does with animals,” he explained. “I wanted to watch people who don’t trust each other.” (From The Times)

The Dutch series was first broadcast in 2021, and it’s now been adapted by 40 countries.

While the Australian, Kiwi, and US series (although I’m yet to watch that one) are peppered with minor reality TV personalities and social media “influencers”, the contestants in the UK version are ordinary people. That’s possibly why it’s my favourite - other than the Scottish castle and Winkleman’s wardrobe, of course.

At least it was my favourite until Celebrity Traitors began a few weeks ago.

Such is the appeal of the show in the UK that instead of having C, D and E listers, real stars were clamouring to be in it. I’ve heard of everyone except a “content creator” dude and one of the comedians. Alan Carr, Jonathon Ross, Stephen Fry and Celia Imrie are the standouts. The phrase “national treasure” gets bandied about at least once each episode.

From what I’ve read, the celebrities signed up to the same conditions as the civilians. Each night, they’re driven away from the castle to a budget-ish hotel (supposedly) near Inverness airport. They have no access to phones or the internet and no contact with each other away from the castle or when they’re playing the game.

While I might fantasise about being on Great British Bake-off (the Australian version doesn’t have the potential of a Hollywood handshake) or Sewing Bee (hello, Patrick Grant), I don’t have any of the same inclinations regarding The Traitors. Why? I’m glad you asked:

• I have the worst poker face in the world

• I trust everyone all the time, even when I know they’ve previously lied to me

• I’m a hopeless liar

• I have this awful habit of smiling at inappropriate times

• Alan Carr said that on the celebrity version, they’re restricted to two alcoholic bevies a night. Where’s the fun in that???

Mostly, though, the reason I could never be on Traitors is this: I go to bed at 8.30 pm, and they don’t leave the castle until midnight and then have to be driven all the way back to their hotel. If you’re a traitor, you have to stay up even later than this to murder people. I couldn’t be doing with that.

You can watch Celebrity Traitors in Australia on Ten Play, and previous seasons of the UK, Australian, NZ and US series on Paramount.

Ummm what happened to 2025? I still have so much I haven’t done! In other news, November means I can now legitimately begin planning for Christmas and watching Christmas movies. You have been warned. In the meantime, this was October.

TECHNICAL NOTE: There’s a lot to get through, so this post might not fit in your email. If so, just hit VIEW ENTIRE MESSAGE at the end of the email, or head to the app or online version.

Travel …

None! Aside from a weekend in Orange at the end of November, I’m not planning on being away from home until March next year.

I am, however, actively planning next year’s holidays:

• Malaysia in March - KL, Langkawi and Penang

• The biggest trip we’ve ever taken in September 2026. I’m still ironing out the final details of the itinerary (and the budget!) so we can book flights in December, but it will include Spain, Italy, a Mediterranean cruise, and possibly some walking in the Cotswolds or a few days in London to finish off.

The to-do list …

I ticked off another few things on my 2026 to-do list during October:

• replaced the media room TV projector with a new TV

• got a sparkie in to switch all the lights across to LED, hang a new ceiling fan in our bedroom and replace a rusty one outside, fix the disco lights in the hall (they’re not really disco lights, they just go on and off randomly), fix the powerpoint where the switch stays on even though it’s off.

• averaged over 10,000 steps a day in October

Out and Abouting …

It was Grant’s birthday last Sunday and we celebrated with lunch at Ethos at the Alsahwa Estate at Palmwoods.

It’s a gorgeous spot and quite cool on a hot day (as Sunday was). Ethos is a farm-to-table type of place with as much as possible coming from their own gardens, those at Falls Farm (who also supply Mapleton Pub amongst others) or local suppliers. Just as they are at Mapleton Pub, the veg dishes are the stars of the show here.

The three of us shared some bread and dips (a spiced hummus and eggplant romesco) to start, followed by chorizo with aioli dip and the best burrata we’ve ever had. Served with fresh tomato, balsamic balls and a basil sorbet, it was like the ultimate Caprese salad.

To follow, we ordered two mains - the chicken breast with asparagus and hazelnut truffle pesto and the wagyu brisket with black pepper and falls farm brassicas - and two veggie sides - roasted carrots with yogurt, puffed grains and sumac dressing and a mixed beetroot salad also on yoghurt.

Writing …

Philly no. 4 is coming along nicely. The first couple of weeks were spent catching up with the characters in Chipwell, checking in on what’s been happening since we last met them. However, Philly is calling the shots now and has taken over. I have no idea yet who will be murdered, or who will be the killer, but I think I know what it’s about now.

I’ve got the edits back for Christmas at Kirby Manor Farm, but there’s quite a bit of work to do on this. Also, I haven’t yet decided on the cover brief. What does this mean? Simply that I won’t release this book in time for Christmas this year. Instead, I’ll be aiming for a Christmas in July release. When I furst embarked on this indie lark I made a deal with myself that I wouldn’t publish anything I didn’t think was as good as it could possibly be at that time. This one doesn’t yet meet those standards, so I’ll hold it back until it does.

I’m planning something a little different in 2026 … something a little challenging and, dare I say it, potentially interactive. I don’t want to say too much in case it doesn’t come off, but watch this space.

Reading …

In case you missed it, you’ll find the monthly book post and podcast where we discuss The Great Gatsby below:

Simply Stunning Classic Book Club

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I was SOOOOOOO excited for this book and still can’t believe I’ve never read it before, particularly since I’ve watched the movie (the most recent one) a million squillion times…

Listen now

7 months ago · 1 like · 3 comments · Joanne Tracey

Watching …

The Hack (Stan), starring David Tennant and Robert Carlyle, this one is about the News of the World phone hacking saga and the journalist who exposed it. Despite what the critics have said (let’s face it, I never listen to critics), I really enjoyed this.

I’m almost embarrassed to say this, but I was riveted by the Victoria Beckham (Netflix) documentary. While I was a Spice Girls fan (#popmusictragic), I’ve never been a Posh Spice fan. This shows a different side to her, and even though some can argue that celebrities are fair game for public scrutiny, my heart broke for her when she spoke frankly about what had been said and written about her. Cruel beyond words. Her work ethic also inspired me.

Celebrity Traitors (TenPlay). I told you about my obsession with this show last week.

Maryland (Britbox). This was an absolute gem of a mini-series and had me wondering just how well we know our parents’ stories.

Karen Pirie Season 2 (Britbox). Based on Val McDermid’s novel, A Darker Domain, it’s as twisty as the first season was. I love how the flashbacks to the original crime mirror Pirie’s thinking so we all arrive at the answer together.

In Case You Missed It …

I’m still blogging my travel journal from our UK trip. You’ll find the latest posts from Edinburgh, Yorkshire and Lincoln here.

I also posted something here about my ongoing battle of wills with Ralph, our resident possum …

Over to you …

Alrighty, that’s enough from me … what’s been on your calendar in October? Perhaps you’d like to update us on your word of the year or intentions? We’d love to hear about what you’ve been up to…

My co-hosts are:

Deb at Deb’s World

Sue at Women Living Well Over 50

You can link up (and see what everyone else has been up to) here.