Forgive me readers...

it's been goodness knows how long since my last newsletter but, phew, what year its been...!!

I don't know about you, but autumn always feels like the perfect time to take stock of the year that's just been and to start to put plans into place for the one that's rapidly looming head... and so here is a little recap of what has happened this year and what goodies are still to come...

It's been an incredible year for me, with four books written and published - the last is out on the 26th October (but more about that later) and now, looking back, I'm not entirely sure how I've done it! It's been incredibly hard work, seven days a week, and I've pushed myself further than I've ever done before, but I have also loved every minute of it - and if all the wonderful comments and reviews from you lovely lot are anything to go by, so have you. It really is the best thing when someone takes the time to contact you and tell you how much they have enjoyed your writing, it makes all the difference and, on the odd day when I really think I'd rather take up scorpion taming as a career, has persuaded me otherwise.  So thanks to each and every one of you for all the support you have given me, for your reviews, for buying and reading my books and for your friendship. 

So, just in case you've missed them, this year has been all about my Little Cottage series, one book for every season of the year...

It won't have escaped your notice that there are quite a few mentions of food in the Little Cottage series - well when you have a cook who's as talented at Trixie, what can you do? She's always coming to me with new ideas for recipes, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to share a few of her autumnal favourites with you... and I can vouch for these personally!

1.Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large pan, add 1 chopped onion, then fry for 5 mins until softened.

2.Stir in 1 tsp ground coriander and 1 chopped potato, then cook for 1 min.

3.Add the 450g peeled and chopped carrots and 1.2l vegetable or chicken stock, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat.

4.Cover and cook for 20 mins until the carrots are tender.

5.Tip into a food processor with a handful of coriander then blitz until smooth (you may need to do this in two batches). Return to pan, taste, add salt if necessary, then reheat to serve.

1.Preheat the oven to 180°C(fan)

2.Cream together the butter and sugar.

3.Beat the two eggs and add them slowly to the butter and sugar, stirring continuously.

4.Sift in the flour and baking powder and stir gently.

5.Add the walnuts, cheese, apple, sage and salt and stir.

6.Divide the mixture between 6 muffin cases and bake for 20 minutes.

1.Grease and line an 8in (20cm), deep cake tin

2.Sift the flour with the salt into a bowl and rub in the margarine

3.Stir in the sugar, sultanas, and apples

4.Stir in the eggs with a spoon, but do not beat

5. Put the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 50 mins until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean

6.Dredge with caster sugar while still warm. Alternatively sprinkle with demerara sugar before putting into the oven. 

Feeling thankful...

On a personal note.... Not only has it been a very busy year, but one that's also seen its fair share of ups and down too. Some of you may have noticed that I haven't been around much on social media, certainly since the summer, and that's mainly because my closest friend had a sudden and unexpected heart attack in July, which resulted in him having to have a triple bypass. He had a few complications post surgery, but thankfully is now very firmly on the mend. As neither his wife nor son drive, we made the four hour round trip every day to see him in hospital for about six weeks in total, but I am incredibly grateful for all the well wishes from people who got in touch, and for the unending support from my family too. I'm also incredibly grateful to him for not dying! It meant I missed all the delivery dates for my last book, but I'm happy to report that my amazing publisher, Bookouture calmly moved all my deadlines when real life got in the way of mine, and so Christmas at The Little Cottage on The Hill will still be published on schedule. And here it is! Isn't it gorgeous? I'm so excited about this one, I think you're going to love it!

As Christmas day approaches and a blizzard sparks a power cut across the entire village, Ruby must force herself to believe in Christmas miracles again. Was she right to put her trust in Angus? With only flickering candles to guide her through the darkness, will she ever find her way back to the light?

Published on the 26th October, Christmas at the Little Cottage on the Hill is available to preorder now!

And with perfect timing the Bookouture fairies have just made Christmas at the Little Cottage on the Hill available on Netgalley, so if you have an account, head over there now and get requesting!

It's a wonderful time of year to physically and metaphorically have a clearing of the decks, ready to start something new... which brings me to my plans for next year. Obviously I can't say too much about this just yet, but I can tell you that there will be three brand new full length books coming your way over the course of next year. I have loved spending this year at Joy's Acre and I will really miss all my wonderful characters, they've become such a part of my life but, I'm so excited about these new stories and i think you're going to love them too. Watch this space! 

And before I go...

I'd just like to say thank you again for your continued support, and for reading my newsletter. I'll leave you with a few of the books that I've been enjoying over recent weeks. I can heartily recommend them all.