The path to my new novel… The Black Funeral Hat - To be published 1 August 2026
If you'd told me years ago that I'd one day write a full-length comedy romance involving a runaway hat, a missing lover and a grieving would-be author, I probably would've laughed. But writing has a way of sneaking up on you. It taps your shoulder, whispers an idea and before you know it, you're knee-deep in characters who refuse to behave and plot twists that show up uninvited.
Long before The Black Funeral Hat existed, I had been quietly plotting a sit-com in the background of my life. I kept promising myself that one day I'd gather all the ridiculous, perfectly timed, utterly human moments that had tickled my humour over the years and amass them into a book.
I hoarded these moments like treasure. A stranger's bizarre comment. A friend's accidental confession. A family mishap that absolutely should not have been funny but really was. I kept them all, convinced they would one day become scenes in a quirky little project I'd write "when I had time."
Spoiler: time never politely presents itself. You have to steal it.
My writing journey didn't begin with confidence. It didn't even begin with a plan. It began with a feeling that itched to be captured. I've always been fascinated by the way humour and heartbreak sit side by side in real life. One moment you're crying, the next you're laughing at something you shouldn't find funny but seriously do.
The Black Funeral Hat idea grew whilst having a coffee with friends one Saturday morning. One of them mentioned that they had attended a funeral a day or two previously, only to discover that they had turned up at the wrong one. We giggled. We giggled with guilt, but still giggled. Those stolen giggles became the seeds of my writing.
Writing this novel taught me that creativity isn't tidy. It's not linear. It's a tangle of doubt, excitement, procrastination, breakthroughs and the occasional existential crisis. But it's also magic. It's the moment a character surprises you. It's the sentence that lands exactly right. It's the quiet thrill of realising you've made something that didn't exist before.
My writing journey is still unfolding. I'm still learning, still experimenting, still chasing ideas that make me laugh or ache or both. But there came a time when I no longer wanted to stop the words in my head. I wanted to get back to my computer and write. I realised that I am a writer.
And honestly? I can't wait to see where the next chapter leads.