Fifteen years ago, on August 1 2011, For The Love of Books was born. While I've been writing for over 40 years', the past 15 have been quite something. So much has happened in that time. It feels like both a whirlwind and just yesterday. Turning my mind from working for someone else to working for myself took some time.

I went to my very first meeting thinking I had to tell someone where I was going and I kept looking at my watch to make sure I got back to the office in good time. Conditioned since aged 16 when I first started working.

The freedom of freelance and working for yourself isn’t an easy choice but, for me, it was the only choice.

You might not have any income one month but another month will be like Christmas and your birthday in one! This ‘feast or famine’ lifestyle takes some getting used to but with a good personal support network and the writing community behind us, we know where to go for answers.

In that time, I’ve added to my backlist of fiction and non-fiction books published. I’ve self published, indie published and traditionally published. I’ve given talks at book fairs, festivals and conference, taken on gigs that would have been alien to me 15 years ago, and watched the industry change and morph into something else entirely.

It’s been a trip, that’s for sure!

Aside from writing my own books, one of my favourite things to do is coach new or reluctant writers so much so that between August and December 2026, I’ve reduced my coaching fees. Clearly, this won't last forever, so if you've been putting it off, now is definitely the time to take advantage. Check out my site for details.

Watching writers develop, feel empowered and find their confidence is amazing. Some have even go on to publish their books and include my name in the acknowledgements.

With many books under my belt, a degree (earned much later in life than most), several writing residencies, leading community group, organising events, and giving talks at fairs and festivals. I’ve given my everything to the business but I hope to give many more years yet.

Before I go, one of my freebies - my newsletter - is filled with information, exclusives, benefits and opportunities. August’s Featured Author was James Batchelor and September’s will be Patrick Forsyth. If you want to be considered for the section, why not subscribe? It’s free. Just go to www.loveofbooks.co.uk ‘Free To You’ tab and hit subscribe.

Until next month, I wish you many hours of productive writing.

sjb 😊

15 Years!

On August 1 2011, I started my business For The Love of Books and I’m proud of what I’ve achieved in that time.

Aside from writing my own fiction and non-fiction, coaching new writers has become my favourite part of the business with editing as a close second. I adore watching new writers develop and find their confidence. It’s something very close to my own heart as it took me a lot of years to find confidence in not only my writing but presenting courses, public speaking, and …just being seen.For someone who isn’t naturally confident, it’s all been quite the whirlwind but I’ve relied on my passion for writing to speak for me as, when under pressure to speak to an audience, my voice stops and my mind goes blank. Aah, the joys of anxiety!

My own writing has developed too over the 15 years. Sometimes, when I feel stuck with a story, I remind myself of the tips I give those I’ve coached and end up coaching myself.

Since 2006, I’ve self-published, independently published and traditionally published. With fiction and non-fiction under my belt, a degree (I earned much later in life than most), several writing residencies, leading community groups and organising events, and giving talks at fairs and festivals, I’ve given my everything to the business but I hope to give many more years yet.

July’s Featured Author was author, Lynne Hackles and August’s will be author, James Batchelor. If you want to be considered as a Featured Author, why not subscribe to my monthly newsletter. I’m looking for authors to fill 2027. Just go to www.loveofbooks.co.uk ‘Free To You’ tab and hit subscribe.

It’s also my birthday month and I’ll be spending the day before tutoring at Swanwick Writers’ Summer School. It’s certainly a career highlight!

If you’ve not already booked your place at this Derbyshire venue, you’ll have to get in quick. I’ll be running two courses on Wednesday12th August so if you’re there, be sure to come up and give me a hug. I’m very much open to photos too and please tag me in when you post them.

Until September, I wish you hours of productive writing.

Sjb

I’ve been out and about this month sharing in the delights that is writing. I’ve been to London twice, the first time to meet the other members of the Society of Women Writers and Journalists ( www.swwj.co.uk ). Recently the Society appointed me the role of Editor of their Journal, a publication that's published quarterly. The SWWJ provides professional support, encouragement, and community for women writers and journalists. There is a membership category for men too, so nobody is excluded. The Society was created for women writers, many of them suffragettes, in 1894. With that weight of history behind it, why not consider joining? Details of the different memberships are via the website www.swwj.co.uk

The second time I went to London was to attend the Society of Authors prize-giving. The awards ceremony was held at Southwark Cathedral, a venue I’d not visited before and as a history and architecture enthusiast, it’s a lovely place.

Also this month I attended a book launch, organised the summer meetup of Writers of Essex which is supported by Society of Authors, and a Meet The Authors event at my local Costa Coffee shop.

But the events don't end there. For the next 6 months, I have a full diary of those I'm attending and those I'm organising. So do keep an eye on my website and socials to keep in the loop. To be even more in the know, and have the opportunity to participate, why not sign up for my monthly newsletter? I offer lots of subscriber exclusives and you can pull out at any time. Check out the website for details: www.loveofbooks.co.uk

My Featured Author for June was Morgen Bailey and next month it's Lynne Hackles so if you've not signed up, you won't get to read some brilliant background from them OR have the opportunity of being a Featured Author in 2027.

Lots to think about and lots to do. Before I sign off, here's a tiny selection of events to whet your literary appetite over the next couple of months:

19 July - Book Fair, Dragon's Nest, Brightlingsea CO7 0BX
21-31 July: I'll be Writer in Residence, Costa Coffee, Clacton Shopping Village CO145TL
12 Aug - Swanwick Writers' School, Derbyshire. Tutoring two courses + 1-2-1s
Plus several panel talks online with Morgen Bailey's #SelfPubFest so go check it out.

Until next month, happy writing. 😊
sjb

May saw a lot happen, too much to mention here so I'll keep it brief.

I finished writing my second book of the year, helped another writer promote their new writing group, continued with Dedicated Writing Time - an online space exclusively for newsletter subscribers, shared news of a new role in my freelancing career, organised a bunch of book events and participated in others, and highlighted this month's Featured Author David Roberts.

If you've not yet subscribed to my newsletter, you're missing out on a lot. If you want in, go to the Free To You tab and sign up.

I'll give you a taster of the upcoming book events, just to whet your appetite:

Meet The Authors, Costa Coffee, Clacton Shopping Village CO154TL 5th June 10-2pm
Writers of Essex, kindly supported by Society of Authors. This is our summer meet and will be held at Berryfields Cafe, FirstSite, Colchester from midday until 2pm on 6th June.

I hope to see some of you there.

Until next month...
sjb 😊

If you’ve been following my novel-writing progress this year, I’ll be returning to the first book in The Danbury Road Series soon. It needs development so I’ll ensure my brain joins me for that writing adventure.

Before I return though, a story that had been following me around since 2022 needed to get out of my head. A Parting Gift, a romance/dark romance, is a passionate love story that sits on the periphery of Hollywood’s social scene and gossip mill.

Here’s what I said last month: ‘I began in earnest on 9 March 2026 and finished on 6 April after 29 days with 87.5k word count. Draft 2 took me to a whopping 112k word count within 19 days, making it the longest novel I’ve written in the shortest amount of time, and I’m about a quarter of the way through Draft 3.

This month I’ve been getting my ducks in order. My website is having an overhaul, I’ve got the Human Authored logo ready and waiting, and there are events a-plenty going on. Here’s just a few of them:

Morgen Bailey’s SelfPubFest expert panels. These online panels invite you to watch as well as post your questions. There’s usually quite the selection of writers too so you can be sure of a fully-rounded answer to your question.

You can find out more via: Self-Pub Fest – Morgen Bailey's Non-Profit Book Festival ~ Celebrating Self-Published Authors Worldwide (OPEN TO EVERYONE!)

I’ll be participating in:

Tues 5 May 6pm: Juggling work with writing – Time Management
Tues 19 May 6pm: The Therapy of Writing
Tues 16 June 6pm: Writing Podcasts

Local Events
Sun 5 May Makers Market 9-5pm Dragonfly Lounge, Colchester
Sun 31 May Sudbury Book Festival 10-4pm St Peter’s Church, Sudbury
Fri 5 June Meet The Authors 10-2pm Costa Coffee, Clacton Shopping Village
Sat 6 June Writers of Essex 12-2pm (Location TBC)

My Featured Author this month was @James Batchelor. You can find his work here: Facebook

If you don’t want to miss out on opportunities, dedicated writing time via zoom, and so much more, why not sign up to my free monthly newsletter? You can unsubscribe at any time.

Just go to www.loveofbooks.co.uk ‘Free To You’ tab and hit subscribe.

See you next month 😊
sjb

Last month, I published my monthly newsletter which was jam-packed with 13 events, at least 3 opportunities and an exclusive offer for subscribers. This month I still shared a lot but I kept it shorter.

But it occurs to me...what do you want from a newsletter? Opportunities? Events you can attend? Reading about Featured Authors? Behind-the-Scenes info from my business and personal life? Or just a few lines about where you can buy my books?

I've been writing this newsletter for around five years now and it's evolved. My subscriber community has grown too, and I'm thankful for that. But if less is more, or more is fine, I won't know unless you tell me. To be fair, I do a lot every month and I love to share it but I also don’t want to overwhelm you. 😊

I’ve always been mindful not to fill my newsletter with hard sales of ‘buy my stuff’ because I’m not a fan of being sold to that way so why would I treat you like it? If you’d like to be kept within the loop, why not sign up for my newsletter here You can always unsubscribe if it’s not for you.

My Featured Author for March was Debbie Young, www.authordebbieyoung.com author of a many books and published by Boldwood. If you want to see what she shared, you still can. Sign up to my newsletter and I’ll do the rest.

For me, March began with a week of back to back book events, then writing a new novel that appears to be falling out of me at supersonic speed! This is in addition to the first novel in a book series that I began last month. It’s a busy old time.

Let’s see what excitement April brings.

Sjb 😊

Hi,

Last week I published my monthly newsletter which was jam-packed with 13 events, at least 3 opportunities with an exclusive offer for subscribers. If you’d like to be kept within the loop, why not sign up to my newsletter. You can always unsubscribe if it’s not for you.

My Featured Author for February was Angela Halliwell of Angel Editing and I shared an opportunity from Pop Publishing too.

For me, February was about organising (what felt like) a million community events and being accepted as one of the tutors at Swanwick Writers’ Summer School this year. I also wrote a few short stories, edited for authors and proofread for publishers. Some of the 13 events I mentioned in my newsletter are:

Mini Courses in March and April at Artisan Alley in St Osyth, Essex:
4 March Finding Inspiration for Creative Writing
11 March Getting to Know Your Main Character
18 March From Acorn to Oak (Fiction)
25 March From Acorn to Oak (Non fiction)

6 March 10am – 2pm I’ll be with 4 other authors at Costa Coffee in Clacton Shopping Village (CO154TL) where we’ll be signing and selling our books. Free event.

7 March 12-2pm Writers of Essex (supported by Society of Authors) online meeting with speaker, author James Batchelor who’s talk is entitled: Taking Nerdy to Non-Fiction. Contact me for details.

8 March 10-3pm Kelvedon Institute, Kelvedon CO59AA. Fourteen authors will be signing and selling their books. This is a free event with parking available. Please support your Essex-based authors and buy local.

It was a busy old month so let’s see what vibrancy March will bring.

Sjb 😊

Now that the festivities of 2025 are far behind us, we can focus on what’s happening in 2026.

I’ve been dipping my fingers in a lot of pies lately so thought it’d be cool to share some of it. One of them is some courses I’ll be delivering locally (St Osyth, Essex) at Artisan Alley through Toosey Arts and Crafts. I’ll be delivering a two-hour taster session every Wednesday in March and April so if you want to book a place, now’s the time. You can do that via their Facebook page: Click here

In January, I worked on my latest project which, as you might have seen on my socials, is the first of a series of books. I finished the bare bones and sent it to my beta readers. It’s funny how you believe instantly that the story is completely finished then realise it has a fair amount of plot holes. Fortunately, my betas are pretty good at pointing out what needs attention. So, I’ll be distancing myself from it until April while I work on client gigs.

If you subscribe to my monthly newsletter, you’ll know that I offer a lot of goodies including opportunities, ‘subscriber only’ info, and my Featured Author section which, this month, is Nina Jervis-Green. Nina shared a snippet of her biography and her upcoming book. You can find out more about Nina via LinkedIn Click here

If you don’t want to miss out on exciting things like this – or the chance of being a future Featured Author, why not subscribe now? Details on how to do that are via my site www.loveofbooks.co.uk.

I want to share with you this month is that The Versatile Writer podcast will recommence from March for Season 16. I’ve produced 8 bite-sized episodes that would go perfectly with your coffee break. You can download it for free anywhere you generally receive them. Click Here

One last thing to share – best to get ahead of the game - on Saturday March 7, I’ll be hosting the quarterly Writers of Essex online session, which is supported by Society of Authors. My speaker for March will be author James Batchelor. If you’d like to attend this free talk, you’ll need to join Writers of Essex to register. www.facebook.co.uk/groups/WritersofEssex

Attendees don’t have to be members of SoA (although they offer some great perks and I can give you a discount code if you do want to join), but I’d love it if you either lived/worked in Essex or had very strong ties.

I hope the start of the year has been good to you and I’ll ‘see’ you next month for March’s business blog.

Until then, I wish you plentiful hours of productive writing.

Sjb 😊

The fact that it's the first official day back in the office for most people after Christmas and New Year means it's often a slow start. It takes a few days to get those cogs moving.

Add to that, the snow we got in the UK when we opened the curtains today. It's likely going slower than we expect.

Hi, Sarah here. It's 2026 and it's a fresh new year. Although, the weird thing is, the celebrations and fireworks people had was last week and we've had a weekend since, so it doesn't really feel like 'the fresh and shiny new year' anymore. It just feels like another day. I even worked all day yesterday (Sunday) thinking it was Monday, but then I never really know what day it is!

That said, I didn't really stop working over Christmas or during the celebrations leading us into 2026. Once I completed the two big family projects in November last year, I focused what energy I had left into getting the next shiny new project off the ground because...well, because that's what I do and we all need some entertainment and escapism, don't we?

This project is different from anything else I've ever written. I know I tend to say that at the start of a new project but it's never been truer. Not to sound too grand, but it's kinda, sorta my life's work.

I wanted to put all those amazing stories I began from as early as 1995 but didn't finish due to inexperience. I knew they deserved a better chance so I waited...and waited...and waited. But now is definitely the right time. With several decades of experience behind me now, I can complete them and create an overarching tale to tie them all together. It's working - honest. 😉

However...what that structure produced in its new-born moments can only be described as 'a nervous breakdown in book form'. *I giggle at this now but it was no giggling matter at the time!*

Then I had an impromptu chat with another writer (thanks, Ruth) who had clearly brought along her brain while I'd left mine at home. She suggested I turn this literary nervous breakdown into a book series. OMG! What a brilliant idea. From a structural point of view, it means I can focus on one book at a time which makes it an easier, more exciting read for you.

So, I've been working on BOOK ONE of THE DANBURY ROAD SERIES. So, from a writing point of view, that's how 2026 is looking so far. 😊

sjb 😊

Hello One and All!

Late last week I sent out my final newsletter of the year. I don't issue one in December - who has time to read extra email this month?

Within it, I listed my achievements of the year. This isn't done in a conceited way, it's more about reframing New Years' resolutions.

I mention this because many of my subscribers responded with congratulatory emails which was lovely.

The thing is...

New Years' resolutions aren't for me. Somehow, they seem to set us up to fail especially during the coldest, darkest time of the year which seems a little unfair. So, instead, I record the things that happen throughout the year. It makes for a happier me which is what I try to do daily.

I'm curious to know if anyone else reframes resolutions? Why not say in the comments?

Until next year, I wish you a peaceful and healthy Christmas and a bright and productive 2026.

sjb

It’s November!

Last month I talked about carrying out unbelievable research and continuing professional development, so I’ll bet you want to know what’s been happening this month?

Well, it’s been a time of endings, beginnings, and recognition. The endings came in the shape of finishing my parents’ memoirs. It’s a project I’ve been working on since 2011. Within that time I moved house, there was the pandemic, and we’d said goodbye to a lot of relatives mentioned this part because I’d included a timeline at the start of the book that highlights all the personal and worldwide events that took place, just to give readers some context.

This book will not be available to the general public, it was written purely for my family and future generations. It’s odd completing a book that isn’t going to be seen by the wider community though, especially as most of mine are written for the eyes of the world. But that’s what also makes this project so special: it already has an audience – and the book is about them!

Often you hear from readers of your book that they related with the main character or that the content helped reignite memories. Writing a memoir (or two in this case) is wonderful because you learn so much about the main characters. I learned a huge amount from this project, and I now see my parents as not only my mum and dad, but people too. I saw their photos, read their handwritten notes about their childhoods, teen years, first jobs, meeting each other etc and I feel like I’ve known them their whole lives. It’s been such a privilege to write this book.

Now that project is complete, I’ll be focusing on my next one: an anthology of short stories and poetry. This is a new beginning. I’ve had a few different ideas on how to approach it and one of those ideas stood out…but it might also be too complex. It’ll take some thrashing out to get to the final decision on how to present it but I’m happy to do that. It helps my brain get into ‘new project’ mode after so many years working on one book.

The recognition in October came from being mentioned in Essex Life magazine, being a guest writer for author Ruth Loten’s blog, and from someone telling me they listen to my podcast!

You might not see me about much in December or January as I’ll be focusing on the new project. I do have a couple of book fairs/author events I’ll be selling at throughout November and December though, so keep an eye out for the promo info online for details. I'm also providing courses throughout February and March locally. I’ll post details of all the events on Facebook, Instagram, and Linked In so do make sure you keep checking if you want in. 😊

I wish you heaps of happy moments throughout November, so until next month...
Sjb ????

First and foremost – how the heck did that happen? Secondly, now that we’re here, so let’s enjoy it.

July, August, and September have been pretty tough months to wade through for us as a family, but we’ve made it. In addition, lots has been going on behind the scenes at For The Love of Books towers 😉

Unbelievable Research

We attended an archaeological dig! With the intention of helping my mum tick off an item on her bucket list, I was also able to research it in the flesh for one of my short stories. It’s all very well reading up about stuff or watching it on TV, but having your hands knuckle deep into the soil was brilliant.

Years ago, before my husband had a motorbike, I needed to understand what it felt like to ride pillion so I could accurately describe it in a story. Fortunately, a friend accommodated me on the back of theirs.

There are times when we have to rely on our imagination, or photos, something else to do the job but when you have an opportunity to experience it first hand…that’s gold!

This month has also been about making important business decisions. I’ve been pitching ideas of books and courses, so much of that will be received in the new year.

I’ve been doing a bit of CPD too. Continuing Professional Development is a massive part of running a modern business. If you want it to survive, you’ve got to keep feeding it. What this means for my clients is assurance of my skills to help them succeed.

The Versatile Writer Podcast

Yes, it's back. My podcast makes a reappearance from Monday 6th October 2025. You’ll be able to download (for free) Season 15, Episode 1: Writing Residencies. It features authors Julia Stone and Ruth Loten.

If you haven’t already downloaded the podcast, please do and tell your friends. Search for The Versatile Writer on your usual platform.

The Versatile Writer aims to provide encouragement and support for writers and creatives.

Until next month, I wish you hours, days, and weeks of unstoppable writing moments.
Sjb 😊