Some news from me (features a radical reset for my burnt out writerly self)

How switching genres (and names) has given me my writing spark back.

I’ve been a bit quiet on here lately as some seriously exciting things have been happening behind the scenes and I haven’t had a chance to focus on a post… until now!

So, whats been going on? Well, as many of you know, after years of writing full-time (a privilege I’ll never take for granted) I decided to get a freelance p/t job. Basically, I’d accepted the market wasn’t what it once was. Like so many authors, I’d watched advances shrink and sales soften. I needed a financial security blanket. First at Relate, which I loved, and then a couple of days a week at a digital agency (which… oh I won’t get into that!). I still had time to write, and I knew I was lucky for that. But I’d quietly adjusted to the idea that writing wouldn’t be the full-time centre of my working life anymore.

And then my agent got in touch earlier this year.

She’d read a popular romance novel over Christmas and instantly thought I could write something in a similar sub-genre. She knows I’ve always loved romance—reading it, writing it—but I’d tucked that side of myself away while I built my suspense brand.

But now I was ready to bring that side of me out. So I wrote a new novel in a flurry of excitement. My agent loved it and started drawing up a list of editors to contact. We decided it was best to go out under a pen name. I loved that! It gave me a clean creative and emotional slate, like I had permission to step into this new world without baggage, to write with joy rather than second-guessing how it would fit alongside my other books.

When my agent sent it out to editors, I told myself not to expect much. In fact, I was so focused on wrapping my head about the digital agency job, I didn’t have time outside my writing days to think too much about it. So when we had an offer from a UK publisher within a few days, I was surprised.

And then, one by one, more deals came in: European publishers, and then some fab offers from major US houses. The kind of offers that, for the first time in a year or so, have made me feel like the ground is steady again. Suddenly, I was on Zoom calls with editors who not only loved the book but spoke about it with the kind of passion that reminded me why I started writing in the first place. It was a whirlwind—the best kind—not just because of the financial security these deals bring, but because it’s proof that there’s always something around the corner in this wild world of publishing and taking risks – like this wild genre pivot – is worth it.

I’m not abandoning my Tracy Buchanan work. I’ll be working on a rebrand, and I’ve got plans for another Tracy Buchanan book next year. This pen name isn’t about walking away… it’s about creating space; a reset.

So, if you’re feeling burned out, here’s what I want you to know: it’s not the end. You don’t have to quit. You might just need a reset.

I have two ways to help with that. First, I’ve opened up a couple more spaces on my day retreat in September. So if you need a beautiful, peaceful place to escape to and reset, join me and other authors. More info below

I’ve also done a guide to accompany this for paid subscribers about how to fall back in love with writing when you’ve forgotten how. I also give more details about the deals I got. Check it out below…