In 2012, I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, a chronic illness that comes under the IBD umbrella.
Living with this has been difficult, sometimes painfully so, and it impacts my writing too.
Here is my story.
arsenicandcoldcase.substack.…#chronicillness#chronicallyillwriter
ALT Image shows a purple ribbon in the middle, surrounded by a pale grey circle on a paler grey background. Top left aligned, in white serif font, is "Writing with a Chronic Illness, and why we need chronic illness and disability representation in fiction".
The wait is almost over for the #UV26 longlist announcement 🙌 Watch this space for news very, very soon...
UV really does help writers' dreams come true. The first crop of #UV24 books are out this spring. Congratulations @LAustinAuthor, @stephendaly and Esther Scherpenisse 👏
THE MALACHITE QUEST, book 2 of The Cursed Weapons trilogy, is being republished on 16th January with @elsewhenpress and I can't wait!!
Check out Amazon for the pre-order links💜
ALT Image has a plain, pale grey background upon which is a squarish wreath (with rounded corners) made of eucalyptus, surrounding the words Happy New Year cut out of mid grey paper. The wreath and letters are central to the paper taking up almost all of the image. Overlaid on the image in white text, aligned to the top left corner are the words "Goodbye 2025, Hello 2026! My review of last year, plus my hope and goals for the next twelve months".
When life throws you a curveball, or you're waiting for the other shoe to drop, it's easy to lose your creative impetus. What's important is how you get it back, and that you acknowledge your success when you do.
arsenicandcoldcase.substack.…#writing#resilience
ALT Image shows hands gently holding a textured cream mug containing hot chocolate that has been topped with many little marshmallows. The background is blurred neutral colours. Overlaid in white text is: Writing through turbulence and uncertainty; may the creative odds be ever in your favour.
The path to publication can be long, winding and highly variable. But what do you do when you get a publishing offer? And how do you assess whether it's right for you?
Read my latest substack to find out what I did, why, and whether it worked!
arsenicandcoldcase.substack.…
ALT The image shows a scene at sunset, where the blue sky is darkening from the top down, and the clouds are reflecting the sun in hues of magenta (middle), cerise pink and orange (bottom). In the lower right part of the image is a signpost in silhouette, with two signs pointing to the left and two to the right. Overlaid in the top left of the image, white text says Assessing Publishing Offers, How to decide which editor and publisher is right for you.
If you're in Blackburn on Tue 21 October, I'll be talking about "Northern Boy" at Blackburn Library @BwDLibraries. Thank you @BlackburnLife for the great feature, below! I'll be speaking from 1015 to 1145 - tickets are free and available from the library
blackburnlife.com/local-news…
This is the last edition of A Lens Unclouded... before I rebrand my blog, and everything else in my writing life.
But what is rebranding, why am I doing it, and is it really going to make a difference?
alensunclouded.substack.com/…#blogpost#substack#rebranding
ALT Image shows a stylised design of a quill dipping into the top of a bottle. Quill and bottle are both navy blue. The background is mid grey. Overlaid at the top is white text saying: Rebranding. Creating my brand, changing my handles and updating my blog.
ALT Image shows a large number 2 candle taking up much of the right hand side of the picture. It is mostly white, with the number outlined in dark burgundy and filled with multi-coloured dots. The candle wick sticks up, unlit. The candle is pressed into a cake covered in white icing then multi-coloured hundreds and thousands. The background is out of focus, perhaps a table with a lamp on it, or something similar, but all in shades of forest green. Overlaid is white text in the top left corner saying: Two-ish years of Substack, or, what I should have learned by now (but probably haven't).
"Don't be scared to put yourself out there!" - the words of the amazing #UV26 Honorary Chair @Louiestowell
Take her advice before it's too late - competition closes this coming Monday.
undiscoveredvoices.com/@SCBWI_BI@SCBWIIreland@scbwi
In my latest blog...
What it's really like to go on submission, how what actually happens compares to your plan, and how to stay sane when everything is outside of your control.
alensunclouded.substack.com/…#pathtopublication#submission
ALT Photo shows a tabby cat with a slightly concerned expression sitting in a box with its chin resting on the edge. The cat has pretty green eyes. The box is standard corrugated cardboard and is side onto the photo with the left flap up. The box rests on a pale wood surface with a beige background. Overlaid is text in white serif font saying: Going On Submission, how to keep your head when publishers are reading your book.
I am beyond surprised, and thrilled, to be on the @guppybooks open submission longlist!! 🥳
Thank you so much.
Congratulations to my fellow longlisters - all the titles sound amazing! ⭐️
#kidlit#mg#ownvoice
KLAXON! The Guppy Open Submission 2025 longlist has been announced - check out the Guppy website - what a list of talent! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ guppybooks.co.uk/news-and-ev…
KLAXON! It’s competition time! The portholes are open once again - head to the Guppy website for more information about the 2025 Open Submission Competition - this time open to middle-grade authors. Good luck and please spread the news far and wide! guppybooks.co.uk
We are delighted to announce the longlists for the 2025 WriteMentor Picture Book and Novel Awards, sponsored by David Higham Associates.
Congratulations to all who listed and a huge thank you to all who entered!
write-mentor.com/2025/05/05/…
Winning this made such a difference to my confidence- and getting professional feedback on what was really just a rough idea was a game changer.
You’ve got absolutely nothing to lose.
Go for it!!! 🥳
Our Idea Idol competition is open for entries - to help motivate you & craft your entry, here's advice from 2024 winner Kirsti Sinclair on crafting a pitch: bit.ly/430zddC
Enter Idea Idol: bit.ly/3SaFE7z
#HappyValentinesDay It’s love day and I wrote TWO dystomance books and guess what they are both ON SALE on the bad place today so go grab a LOVE-ly bargain:
❤️My Love Life and the Apocalypse: amzn.eu/d/1IjSMIu
🧡Soulmates and Other Ways to Die: amzn.eu/d/6OX0hs5