Daily smiles.

Hello everyone. How are you? I’ve finally sent book two back to my editor for the second round of edits and am starting book 3 in my most recent series, which is based in Cherry Blossom Lane. I’ve been trying to be more active on social media and have been making lots of Instagram, Facebook and TikTok posts, which has been a learning curve. It’s given me the chance to chat to some new readers and subscribers, so I’m really enjoying it too.

The next writing buddy session I’m hosting with fellow author, Chris Penhall, at Fete cafe in Chelmsford, Essex, will be on the 16th March. Details can be found here.

Here are some memes I’ve made to hopefully make you smile today. Feel free to drop me a message or comment to let me know what you’re working on, or reading, at the moment. Have a great week! From Lizzie. x

Writing buddies.

Hello everyone. I’m excited to have been invited on to Chelmsford Community Radio this evening, with the lovely Christine Penhall to chat about the FREE writing buddy session we are running at Fete café in Chelmsford on the 5th July.  It’s always fun to try something different and we are hoping to encourage local writers to meet up, get writing and enjoy some coffee! 

Fete Cafe. Chelmsford. Lizzie Chantree

I’ve finished organising my seminar for The Essex Book Festival on the 11th June and hope any writers who attend will find it useful. I’ll be talking about how to make the most out of categories and keywords, how to use stacked promotions in the run up and the time after launch, and how my books got into the bestseller lists even when I was an unknown author and publishing my first book.

I’m currently writing book twelve, which is the first sequel I’ve ever written. I’m finding it a bit daunting, but also great fun. The characters are making me laugh and I can’t wait to decide on a publication date. The book is the sequel to, The little ice cream shop by the sea.

Platinum Jubilee photo. Lizzie Chantree

We had neighbours round for a Jubilee celebration at the weekend, so that was a good way to relax and enjoy being part of the local community. It was brilliant to see photos of the parties that people were having all across the country. We were lucky enough to sample the famous Jubilee pudding, as my neighbour followed the recipe and brought it round. It was delicious!

Jubilee pudding. Lizzie Chantree

Wishing you all an amazing week and I hope that it’s productive and full of books and sunshine. From Lizzie.  x

Writer’s room. Behind the scenes.

Hi everyone. How are you? I added a post to my book group about providing a “behind the scenes look” for readers to our blogs, once or twice a month and it has made me think that it’s been a while since I added some photos about my own writing routine!

As you might already know, I write from a small office at home in the evenings and a studio in a nearby town, during the day.  My writing buddy, Pepper, is usually asleep by my feet, or creating unusual hairstyles by rolling around in the mud outside.  I thought I’d show you some photos of Pepper today. She is twelve now, but everyone we bump into, thinks she’s a puppy. She’s gradually slowing down, but still has a spring in her step. When I’m writing, her favourite place to be is snuggled on my lap with her nose on my keyboard, which isn’t that helpful at all, so I usually pull up a chair and put her dog bed onto that, so she can keep a paw on my knee.  Occasionally she’ll see a squirrel out of the window and dashes across the field, but she slows down before she gets near, to let them get away.  Then that wears her out, so she lays down and snores for a couple more hours to replenish her energy!

Coffee is also a usual companion to my desk and looking at my photo reel makes me realise how often my snaps of my writing in progress have a coffee cup beside them. I found a photo of the children’s activity books and phonics cards that I designed with my mum, who is also a writer, so thought you might like to see them too. We have written stories about a magical little dragon called Sydney and his family. My mum used to tell my sister and I these stories as children and Mum and I worked on them together, over time, to create a range of products. We are hoping to publish the children’s stories that are part of this range, in the next year.

Have an amazing week! From Lizzie.