Third novel is in, so I’m really plowing through the reading this summer. Congrats to Kate Manning for this Western epic of a dirt poor girl and the richest family in the company town. A dark Cinderella!

Sometimes new novel ideas just come so easy. But do any of these folks see they are already casting themselves as the villains? theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/j…

Help. So flustered by the greatness of this book I keep losing my Tweet! A new David Copperfield in outline, & a Huck Finn for modern day Appalachia to add to the American canon. All writers must take a moment to bow down. Trying to read slow but will stay up til dawn to finish

Take out South of France style. Buying our paella lunch in the town market straight from the giant skillet. This is why my Mum loves it here in the Pyrenées foothills.

Plenty of great reading for August. My hammock awaits! Let’s see if they stand up to Demon Copperhead which was left off the list. theguardian.com/books/2023/aug…

When your Mum keeps everything - her Nottingham lace mini dress from Carnaby Street, London, circa 1965. Of course it only fits on my elbow!

Helen Simonson thank you. I am reading aloud Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand to my mom (87 years old, practically a child) these days, and every time I lift my eyes from the pages you have written, I see her smile. And they are priceless memories that I will cherish forever.

Wishing I had a tower to write in!!!

When you think your French is better than it is -again! Sorta missed the word ‘jar’ when ordering fancy room service snacks. Now eating cold soup but the view is amazing.

Lahaina is our Maui place. Devastating to see it gone. All we can do now as visitors is donate and stay away. Heartbreaking.

Fool me once. Was not fooled by this menu of jar food in Toulouse airport. Hubby says baby food jars were a diet fad inthe seventies! What’s with the jars, France?

Can’t wait to see Enright in person at Brooklyn’s The Center for Fiction on Sep 27th. I’m a total fan!

My new novel, out May 2024, just went live for preorders through your local bookshop and all internet sources. Thanks ⁦⁦Random House Group⁩ for the great cover!

‘Sigh…no Shakespeare for your schools then, Greg Abbott ?? No Lolita, no Handmaids’ Tale, no Beloved? No written sex…just everything on TV, video and internet? Oh, and guns…shelf-awareness.com/theshelf/2023-…

Tweeting this because a Conservative MP used the word ‘resile’ which is a completely new word to me. Happy days! Not that it makes losing the planet any easier! theguardian.com/environment/20…

PLEASE feel free to supervise what your children read but it’s a free country so please don’t take the freedom of books from others. Free libraries are the very soul of civilization. No kid was ever harmed by reading a book. This is insanity. The New York Times. nytimes.com/2023/09/21/boo…

This does not really count as ‘gift wrap’ folks. I’d pay extra for fancy. Or maybe just a ribbon and store branded sticker? Bricks and mortar independent shops - we support you, but give us back some love. Sigh!

I know it feels shallow to be worrying about trees right now but it seems like a metaphor for a merciless world. We have all lost our minds… theguardian.com/science/2023/n…

Leaving Twitter. Find me on Instagram and Facebook (let’s see if that Threads thing ever gets going too!). I try to love and understand everyone but I can‘t hang out with Elon and his cartoon Nazi friends anymore.

Me too Ron. See you on Insta, Facebook and Threads.