First one of 2026, a year that seems to be continuing 2025’s trends. Depending on what you’re talking about, that’s either good or bad. Still, holding onto hope and the ways we can uplift each other, eh? On that note, I’m going to be tracking my own writing in a simple tally way as a new section of this newsletter, something inspired by other writers, something I meant to do last year.

Things I did

My first event of the month was Tim Burgess’s Merch market, a place for music artists and labels to host stalls. There was so much to see and I only checked out one venue, Troxy - a venue I’d been to once before in 2018 to see jacksepticeye’s tour. It seemed so much smaller now I was older, but with that fond familiarity. I was there though to see Nadia Sheikh who I saw support Bastille in November. It was lovely to meet her and buy a bundle of her CDs which then came with a handwritten lyric sheet, some other little goodies - and a song played just for me!

Later that afternoon. I headed to the wonderful Blighty cafe for a filmmakers meetup organsied by Sarah Nocquet. Maybe it’s me changing, but it was definitely the best one of these events so far. Maybe the cafe made it feel more relaxed, but I met so many fantastic creatives and potential collaborators. And I couldn’t believe it when I recognsied Georgie Henley - who I knew mainly as Lucy from the Narnia movies I grew up watching!

And perhaps the most miraculous thing to happen to me since unknowignly meeting (at Stonehenge!) the archaeologist who studied the ‘long barrow’ I based some of my first novel on, was finally finding some online proof of the nearby cave I visited at age 10 which also features in the story. In the story, I added a cave art prophecy… and apparently there is some art in the real cave? This was a forum thread from 2012, with attached photos tantalisingly lost to time, but with a grid reference. Reader, I am going to find the cave and document it all, and that’ll just be the start.

I don’t know how in all my research since I was 18, I didn’t find it. Maybe I somehow doubted my own memory. Really it just wasn’t searching hard enough, using a combination of key words, and maps beyond the big Google.

Back in London, and I visited the Darwin Centre part of the Natural History Museum. I could faintly remember the inside of the Cocoon and all the glass enclosed specimens. I didn’t remember being able to see scientists at work though, through lab windows.

The thread of finding real life locations in my novel continued. In November, I spotted the above sculpture on a walk across Kensington Gardens to the Natural History Museum for my first big visit. This time, after a little bit of online research, I investigated and photographed it like crazy, a perfect gold-painted rendition of the lightning struck tree so central to dream sequences in my book, imagery that existed since I was 10…

Sadly, it’s being moved in March, or so the staff at the Serpentine Gallery said. I visited the south gallery, only having time for a brief break from the rain in Peter Doig’s House of Music exhbition.

Then it was a brisk walk across the park to an Everyman cinema - my first time in one - for a screening of the BAFTA-nominated Nostalgie. It was a masterclass in short storytelling, the character introduction, emotional ups and downs, twists, ending. Hearing from the film’s director Kathryn Ferguson and the writer of the short story it was based on Wendy Erskine was so educational, especially about the film’s backdrop of the Troubles.

Plus, Dan Smith sung the two full songs he wrote for the short, original 80s-inspired hits. This fact meant I caught up with so many of the Bastille fan community, a real highlight of the month to be part of that crowd.

A week later, I attended a table read showcase at The Groucho of ‘PARADISE’, a script by Amelia O’Loughlin, one of the Table club’s founders. It was such a funny, snappy, well-structed script. I loved how the actors really went into their roles just sitting at the table. Some nailing the dialogue, or others, like a delivery guy, heaving up his chair for effect. Someone else grabbed some mini pretzels in place of crisps…

I was very kindly invited by actress Josie Middleton who I met at Sarah’s meetup, and arrived at the members club not knowing what to expect at all. Luckily, I was rescued at reception by Table’s other founder, Edward Zorab. I felt quite out of place in such an establishment, but quickly found likeminded creatives in the queue and seated around me - including someone who worked the same day on Gladiator II as me, and another screenwriter/novelist.

Had a lovely day in Canary Wharf with my parents, checking out the Secrets of the Thames exhibition at the Docklands Museum, which focussed on the incredible finds - and stories - of mudlarks. Some great story ideas brewing from that, and so many fantastic finds to see up close.

There were so many artefacts of interest, including an abundance of Roman finds. In the above selection we have Aphrodite and Mercury, a 1500s leather bookcover and some Medieval Christian souvenirs, a bishop and a couple of Beckets (7, his peacock mount). And as it was my first visit to the museum in general, we explored the many displays top to bottom.

Then, another first, the Winter Lights walk. It was so much more well organised and busy than I’d thought and some of my favourites were light shows put to music - a spectacle, but relaxing at the same time, like spinning flowers or a hovering grid of rods projected through.

Other favourites included the photogenic door, a piece which mapped people’s hands to a large 3D display, somewhat reminiscient of my favourite cave art, and the glowing planets suspended in a rooftop garden.

Today, as this goes out, I will be on the way back from the Futures Festival at Pinewood Studios!!!

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Things I wrote

This newsletter…

The month started a little leisurely as I used all the notes I’ve gathered to really plot what turned out to be a seven page short film script. Finding that outline was really rewarding, as was diving back into the screenplay format. With that script, a bunch of emails were also written and sent out into the hopeful ether.

In the latter days of the month, I’ve also created a mini pitchdeck for the short - a lot of powerpoint fun!

I can also reveal this month that I’m contributing to GLUE, a zine made up of illustrations, writing, photography… anything, everything! Here’s our website, with more about the zine. This will be updated soon with info on Issue #2, which is a work in progress which we’ve had three calls on this month. The theme for the issue is Systems but the real themes for me have been inspiration and collaboration. As Harry Hill says, #selfexplanatory

In that process, I’ve given fresh coats of paint to two of my older poems, making them stick this time. (That’s the zine’s slogan of sorts, ‘The bits that stick’.) Plus in part of that inspiring, collaborative process, I wrote an outline for another possible short story, and… may be working on another two-part collab.

Plus, I provided a fresh bio for their Meet Our Contributors post, linked here. Please go and read about my fellow contributors, such brilliant and inspiring creatives each one!

I also gave some fresh paint to ‘hype up’ the Steam page for The Diamond Adventures, based on advice from someone in the industry I met at Develop last year, and studying more similar pages for upcoming games, available to wishlist. The new text won’t be implemented until we update the page with new images and videos.

I attended the first monthly Poetry Comics hang with Chrissy Williams. Her collaborator Tom Humberstone was also there, and we looked at a few inspiring pieces before diving into creating as artists and writers, based on prompts or not! I produced some page layouts based on hello/oh hell and variations. Let me know if you’d like to attend the next one in February.

In this month’s WIP Comics meetup, we also had a lot of fun brainstorming theme and format for this year’s anthology. I found myself loving so many ideas, and putting forward ways to combine some of them. We’ll see what’s decided…

Just as I write this, I’m also finishing off a story on the theme of ‘Play’ for this year’s Writers’ & Artists’ Short Story Competition.

Now, onto the addition to this year’s letters.

2026 Projects Written

Mini Pitchdeck: I

Poems: II

Short Film: I

Short Stories: I

Steam Page: I

Things I gained

This month’s Star Wars comics delivery saw the end of the brilliant Jedi Knights and Boba Fett series, two very different anthologies. Knights had a serialsed aspect which wrapped up nicely!

The Star Wars fun continued with the brilliant bookshop Station Books providing the beautiful Inkstone edition of Master of Evil, with Vader’s saber as the sprayed edge design, and a red foil image of the new newly-minted Darth.

I treated myself to two lots of two books this month. Two were short story collections I eyed in Forbidden Planet. I can’t wait to read some more Gareth and complete my Rick Riordan collection - and discover a bunch of great other authors who’ve been published by his ‘Presents’ brand. The second lot of two are signed and with special goodies from Fox Lane Books! Another Jendia I know I’ll love - and after meeting Gemma Amor at last MCM, I couldn’t resist her ant-based horror Itch?

And to finish, here’s the Nadia Sheik CDs and lyric sheet!

Thank you so much for reading, as this newsletter moves towards three years of updates!