Hello! I’m writing this from the airconned library. I haven’t written a blog post in a long time because I’ve been away, and I’ve been busy writing something new! After thinking about the new name for my book Alice in Wheelchairland as Foreverland, I think I’ll change the name back. But I’m shelving that project for now, because I am midway through writing the first draft of a book called Wolf Eye. I’m still hoping it turns out the way I hope, but so far I think the concept is really good. Once I get this first draft down, I can get to work polishing the story. My gut feeling is that this concept will make a better debt novel than Alice in Wheelchairland, so I’m hoping the ending lives up to the concept! Currently I don’t know what will happen. I’m discovering as I go along.

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Wolf Eye is about a girl who finds out she can See the Shadow Wolves, even though she does not carry the mark of the Wolf Eye. She reluctantly joins the Wolf Eye to fight the Shadow Wolves, but when she and her friend find out where the Shadow Wolves come from, she is dragged further into the darkness than she expected. Something like that. I haven’t got to the second turning point yet in the writing, so my pitch is just hopes and dreams at this stage!

In January, I started a new notebook to write down ideas for a new novel. I didn’t have a title, I just knew I wanted to write a new book in 2026. I became really interested in the area of London called Cripplegate, and visited the church of St Giles there, named after the patron saint of disabled people. The name Cripplegate comes from a gate in the London Wall which once enclosed the City of London. The name probably doesn’t refer to cripples (disabled people) but probably refers to a very small or narrow gate. “Cripple” derives from the Old English crypel which means “to be bent over” or “bowed down,” and so the meaning for a disabled person and a walkway which you have to bend over to access probably come from the same place.

Not that this seems to have a lot to do with Wolf Eye, but it does! In my dreams, the book will be part of a trilogy called The Crippling Gate. The Crippling Gate will be the portal where the Shadow Wolves come from (I hope!). This is because I want to discuss what really cripples people: physical disability or fear. How do we stop the Shadow Wolves from attacking us? Yes, I have ulterior themes, but will they surface? We’ll find out!

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I’m trying to put everything I’ve learned about writing and pitches and the industry into practice, and be wise about the kind of story I try to sell. This means I haven’t been doing any querying. I don’t think it’s sensible right now. Sometimes being wise means giving yourself space to grow. Let’s hope my subconscious is putting into practice all I’ve learnt! Yes, I’ve been putting ideas down in a new notebook, but does the story have an outline? Well, I’ve written down what I want the emotional arc to be, but the world-building is growing as I garden.
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(Featured Image is edited from an illustration from In The Shadow of the Wolf Queen by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, 2023)