Triggered in the Good Ways...

New year, new me! That's my vibe today. It's the first day of my 47th year, what with me turning forty-six several hours ago. And what of this brave new world? Well it's early days. What I do know is that forty-six is the new eighteen because I feel exactly the same on the inside as I did back then. On the outside? Well, there are a few aches and pains but that's superficial stuff. The inside is where it's at.  

Remember feeling
 like this or just me?

Despite this, there's something slightly triggering about having a birthday mid-March. Remember four years ago? That's when the first national lockdown was announced. On my actual birthday eve! I'm still taking it personally. Last week, like a masochist, I deep-dived through my March 2020 photos and blog posts. It wasn't pretty - not for a second - but it was fascinating to see how I handled the unwelcome clash of global pandemic and birthday joy. Click here to see see for yourself. It reads like I'm full of gung-ho optimism and determined upbeat vibes. The reality? Putting on a brave face was probably more accurate.

Happily this year, I didn't have to put on a brave face. I was optimistic with upbeat vibes for real. And because of the events of that year, I relished every second of this year. I left my house, I stood within two metres of a variety people, and I spent happy times in a pub, restaurant, and cinema. It's good not to dwell on the difficult past, but we can still use it to be grateful for present day joy.

Writing News

The plot of my next book continues to percolate. And that's as much as is needed right now. Meanwhile the marketing of my current book is where it's all happening. I've got a social media timetable. Yep, a timetable! I planned it in February and it tells me when to post, where to post, and what to say when I do. Of course, it's flexible and open to adaptation. Nothing's set in stone. But having the framework in place means I tend stick to it. Writing: it's not just plots, characters, and themes, you know. If you want to see for yourself, check out my Linktree. It'll signpost you to all my social medias, should you be overtaken by the urge.

Johnny Flynn, on the
table, as Richard Burton

Culture

I'm up to series seven of my The American Office rewatch. Woohoo! It's such good writing and I'll be gutted when it's over. I've also started Girls5Eva, which is on Netflix. It's from the stable of 30 Rock and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, so it's solidly written with lots of lols. Then, last Thursday, I took myself to the cinema for an absolute treat. National Theatre Live were showing The Motive and the Cue. It's a Jack Thorne play about the turbulent rehearsal period of the 1964 production of Hamlet. Mark Gatiss plays Sir John Gielgud and Johnny Flynn plays Richard Burton - both performances are spectacular. I sat back in my seat and ate up every scene. Nothing can replace being in the room for live theatre but when you're miles away from London, NT Live is very welcome. I'd never have seen this play without it and I'm all the better for having done so. More please.

Birthday olives

Food and Drink

My birthday week required birthday food. I crammed in loads of my favourite recipes during the buildup - homemade patatas bravas, anchovy and prawn bruschetta, scrambled egg bagels, prawn tortilla toasts, and excessive Prosecco - but the main event was a birthday Basque cheesecake. Not usually one for a sweet tooth, I made an exception for this. It was delish! 

Out and About

A birthday meal at the Liverpool Malmaison and drinks at the Sky Bar were what I got up to over the weekend. Before that, there was my writing group, my Wednesday brunch, and my Costa writing sesh. They all reminded me how different things are from 2020. Isn't it marvellous!

I'm in good company. A quick Google tells me that Mary Berry, Grayson Perry, Alan Sugar, Harry Houdini, Jessica Chastain, Malcolm Muggeridge, and the guy who played Howard's Way's Ken Masters share my special day. So does my nephew, who turned eight this time around. Let's hope they all had/would have had a happily triggering time like I did. More next week, yeah? See you there.

Have a lovely week, folks.

Aunt Bants...

I can only assume this is 
what my baby neph is
thinking whilst he sets about
learning the ways of the world. 

Unto us a nephew is born! Yes, an excellent thing happened in my family. I'm an aunt for the fifth time! Even though I'm happily free of my own spawn, I do enjoy the role of Aunt. Of course, if any of my nieces or nephews ever called me Aunt or Auntie, I'd laugh in their face. It's just Nicky, you see. Why put up unnecessary barriers? In reality, it's probably not that simple. There'll be generational barriers regardlesss. Even with my bestest efforts, the fact I'm almost forty-six years older than my newest neph means he'll only ever view me as old. I doubt he'll ever truly see me as one of his mates, which is a shame because I'd be excellent at that. The kid doesn't know what he's missing! Hey ho. I'll still work hard at being down with the new born kids just incase we smash through the generational divide and go on a road trip. (Or something.)

Writing News

Well now. So much writing news I can hardly breathe. First of all, the online promotion of Leeza McAuliffe Has Loads More To Say continues apace. If you follow me on social media, you'll have seen an increase in my posts recently. As I said last week, sorry about that. But there's more. Because of the Cheltenham horse racing shenanigans, I've just had the best part of a week, home alone. And when I'm alone - like, truly alone, where my own internal timetable can freely fly - my creative juices start bubbling. They bubbled so much that I sat in Costa and spewed out eight sides of ideas for my next book. I've bought a pin board, I've plotted out a storyline on notecards, and I've even arranged them in a coherent manner. It's a bit of a relief to be honest. I'd not really known what I was going to write next, and as time ticked away, I worried I'd never think of something. Now, even though it's rough and ready, I've got a starting point.

Three of the Pod Save America hosts.
They're single-handedly keeping me
informed and mostly calm in
this US election year.

Culture

I've got a book, a TV show, and a film for you this week. First off, I heard the authors of The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents With Commentary talk on Pod Save America. By the time Jon Lovett had finished interviewing Melissa Murray and Andrew Weissmann, I'd ordered their book. (I was proper frigged by the US postage!) Ngl, it's a nerdy read. The legal docs are there in full for lawyerly types to decipher. But the commentary? That's pure layperson. I'm dipping in, a bit at the time - I'm not a masochist - but it's really satisfying to digest.

Ok, moving on from terrible people, my TV rec is Things You Should Have Done. With all six episodes on the iPlayer, it's a flight of fancy, laugh out loud take on a twenty-something woman having to adult for the first time. The premise sounds sad (double parental death in a car crash) but it couldn't be less so. At least not in the way you assume it'll be. I binged the series in one go, and loved it. 

American Fiction - deliciously
skewering the world of
worthy white publishing.

Finally, here's my film of the week. Possibly still showing in some cinemas, and now on Prime, American Fiction was one of the Best Picture nominations at the Oscars. It didn't win but walked away with Best Adapted Screenplay. (The writing awards are always my favourite.) Jeffrey Wright plays a stuffy highbrow writer, who abhors the stereotypes of Black people in popular fiction. But after a whole series of events, he finds himself selling out and relying on offensive trope after offensive trope in his new book. It makes sense when you watch it. Not only funny, it's moving and poignant as it gently depicts a myriad of Black experiences that counterbalance the stereotypes it lampoons. I watched it with three other people on Thursday afternoon, and felt buoyed up as a result. (And the soundtrack is stunning.)

Tofu bacon, omelette, and 
tomato ketchup on a wrap

Food and Drink

I've got a cracker for you. Well, it's a cracker if you choose not to eat bacon but still wish you could eat bacon and don't want to eat processed facon from supermarkets. A niche group of us? Perhaps. But veggie or not, this is lovely. It's a recipe for tofu-bacon, that when paired with the right things, tastes just as good/almost the same as the real thing. Here's the recipe in full but if you've got a block of smoked tofu, some soy, maple syrup, olive oil, sriracha, and cornflour, you're good to go. I had it with an omelette and tomato ketchup in a wrap and it was delish! 

Out and About

I hereby declare my birthday season open! Yep, we've made it. Next time I post this blog, I'll have reached the big 4-6. It doesn't really come with any new rights, responsibilities, or perks. I've currently got sciatica in my left arse cheek, and I'm once again toying with letting my hair dye grow out, but apart from that, it's the same old same old. No matter, I'm alive! In order to celebrate another year on the planet, I went for drinks at the Sky Bar in Liverpool. The group of friends I was with included two other birthday celebrators, and as a result, we got spoilt rotten. Free drinks, a round of shots, and an extra pudding! Woohoo! Were they fishing for reviews? Of course. Did we care? Naaahhh. A fab day was had by all and I posted my 5* review the following day.

The week ahead is always a happy time for me. Just knowing my birthday comes at the end, gives me a spring in my step. (Sciatica permitting.) As is tradition, I'll be rewatching a ten-second video I've got where my Grandma tells me to have a happy birthday next week, and I'll be rewatching the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest. (It's the best!)  So many plans, so little time. On top of that, I've got to bond with the new baby neph. He's probably never going to want to be BFFs with me but I might just convince him I'm excellent fun. Wish me luck!

Have a lovely week, folks.

Busy Annoying Everyone...

When my last book came out - October 2021 - I had a clear realisation. Autumn is the perfect time to publish a book. It's the run up to Christmas so you can piggyback onto the gift market, it's a clear few months before the festivities begin, and as you finish up the promotional activities surrounding the release, you can relax into the end of year and start the next book in January. It makes perfect sense. 

Therefore, it's unfathomable to me why my new book is coming out in May. May 23rd to be precise. The months running up to May - i.e now - are mad. In my family, it seems everyone has a birthday. Or it's Mother's Day, or Easter, or the annual family caravan holiday at the end of April. Promoting and publishing a book in the Spring is far from ideal. BUT HERE WE ARE. IT IS WHAT IT IS. WHAT CAN YOU DO? and other meaningless phrases like that. Look, Leeza McAuliffe Has Loads More To Say is coming out this May, and timing aside, I'm ecstatic about it.

Writing News

Well, you know the big news. There's a book available for pre-order. (I'd love it if you gave it a look.) But there's more to writing a book than writing a book. Mad, eh? I'm currently in the middle of a social media frenzy. I say frenzy, but I'm trying to strike a balance. It's a fine line. I want to post pictures and links regularly enough so that they pique interest and grab attention, but not so much that they bore everyone senseless and turn people off. Anyone trying to hustle their wares via the Internet has the same struggle. Whichever side of the fine line you fall on, I hope my Insta, Threads, Twitter, Mastodon, Facebook, and TikTok posts don't annoy you too much. 

One of my favourite scenes in
Poor Things. Bella has been dancing 
unselfconsciously and with freedom.
Duncan can't handle that, so comes
over to try and force her into the confines
of a traditional dance. Ladies
and gentleman, the Patriarchy.
I found the diminishing of the 
character of Duncan 
particularly satisfying.

Culture

I've been blitzing the Oscar nommed films recently. The Holdovers, Past Lives, and Poor Things all got seen off in the run up to yesterday's ceremony. Ready for my reviews? Excellent. I thought that The Holdovers was sweet without being saccharine. I thought Past Lives was beautiful and mesmerisingly shot. And I thought Poor Things was fiercely feminist and funny AF. As is my personal tradition, I stayed up for the ceremony last night and despite everyone involved being a worthy winner, I'm still stumped as to why All Of Us Strangers wasn't up there for the big awards. It's been over a month since I saw it and I think about it daily.

It mightn't be pretty, but
oh the flavours!

Food and Drink

Two words. Homemade tapenade. Yep, I've gone there. It has all my favourite flavours, you see. (Admittedly, many of them an acquired taste.) You want a recipe? I got you! I whizzed up a tub of mixed olives, anchovies, capers, parsley, garlic, lemon juice and zest. I kept it slightly chunky, and spread over warm crusty bread. As an extra lovely thing, I added some room temperature goat's cheese that had started to ooze. The creaminess of that balanced the zing of the lemony olives. What can I say, it was FIT. 

Out and About

Folks, I've had a lash lift. Now my lashes point perkily skyward and I look fresh and awake when I stumble out of bed. On top of that there was a family meal in the pub (Happy Mother's Day to me ma!) a Costa writing sesh, and a dash to Warrington Bank Quay after my brother's train was cancelled. No two weeks are the same, amiright?

Once again, if you stumble across me on social media, I'm sorry for the onslaught. There's only so many ways to word BUY MY BOOK but I'm trying to find them all. If you can preorder it, fantastic. If you can't, any likes, reposts, or shares would be greatly appreciated. 

Have a lovely week, folks.

Breaking News...

Finally, FINALLY, we've made it. Yes, the day I've been banging on about since January 2022 has arrived. No longer under my weekly Writing News heading will you read, 'We're nearly there,' or, 'Just a few more read-throughs and then we're finished.' No more of any of that. The day is here. We have BUSINESS to deal with. Business that comes via the answers to three pressing questions.

1. What's the title of your new book, Nicky?

Why, thank you for asking! It's called LEEZA MCAULIFFE HAS LOADS MORE TO SAY and is a sequel to Leeza McAuliffe Has Something To Say, from 2019. You don't need to have read the first one - it can stand alone narratively. You'll just know the characters a little better if you have.

2. What does the cover look like, Nicky?

So kind of you to ask! It looks like this... 

Isn't it a beauty! Fair play to Gary. He's boxed me off once again. I love how Leeza has aged ever so slightly since Book One. Plus, I never say what I want her to wear and yet it's always spot on. I love it.

3. But tell me, Nicky, I beg of you, when will it be published?

All this attention is too much, really! It'll be published on Thursday 23rd May 2024. But... and here's the most marvellous thing of all... YOU CAN PRE-ORDER IT HERE! Yes, get your orders banged in. It's the perfect present for the young person in your life. They may have recently started high school, and are dealing with angst, feelings and LIFE. It's also the perfect present for anyone who remembers starting high school and is STILL dealing with angst and feelings and life. If, as an adult, you enjoy rewatching - for example -Dawson's Creek (amiright!) this might be up your street. Set slightly younger than the Capeside gang, it's still emotionally literate youngsters navigating life. I think that's my favourite genre, and the one I love to write. 

That's the Q&A over for now. Thank you for coming. In summary, pre-order the paperback on Amazon here, or Waterstones here. Alternatively, you can preorder the ebook here. Do it now, then come back for the rest of this post. Don't plan to do it later, you'll get sidetracked. Do it this minute, then it's sorted. Right then, off you pop. I'll be waiting.

You back? Great. Now spread the word! Tell everyone you know. Go through your contacts and send a blanket email. Or maybe share the link in all your WhatsApp convos? Every little, literally, helps. Thank you, in advance, for all your excellent marketing efforts.

OK, let's wind this up. Enjoy your day, safe in the knowledge you've made me very happy by reading this. Two years, guys. It's a long time to have a story in your head. Finally, FINALLY it's being let out.

Have a lovely week, folks.