After hosting a number of delightful tales from lockdown from several of my Honno sisters, it’s now my turn.

Initially, the brief was to describe what we had missed about book fairs specifically. This would tie in nicely with the upcoming Honno Authors Book Fair in Narberth on Saturday 7 May. It soon became clear however, most of us have written a book – or seen one published – during lockdown and that became the focus of most of the pieces. As there were no physical launches, and because there were few – if any – book fairs, our books were left to languish in boxes.  

Around the time my third novel, Wild Spinning Girls, was published, just weeks before the first lockdown, I’d ordered two boxes, imagining myself attending several book events. They’re still sitting in the corner of my study. Unexpectedly (and with the requisite startled surprise on my part!) the book was shortlisted for The Wales Book of the Year 2021. Sadly, there were no book outings to show it off at. It was disappointing but I consoled myself with the knowledge that at least I’d been able to have a small physical launch. So many authors were about to be denied this.

One of the things I have found most exciting about being involved with books fairs is the great British public. From the start, it was the people who made book fairs for me. Discovering, from behind my books and postcards and promotion paraphernalia, that people wanted to talk to me about my stories was eye-opening. Gregarious by nature and interested in people; in their views and opinions, I chatted and signed books; dedicated them to individuals who seemed genuinely delighted. Initially nervous, I agreed to appear on a few panels and discovered I enjoyed them. And I realised: this is what I do now. I write books, people read them; I do author stuff and I don’t want it to end.

Only it did.

A great many writers struggled during lockdown. I was lucky, I’m an old hand at my own company, and in any case I already had an idea for a story that was to become my lockdown novel. Although it began life as one of those ‘What if?’ moments several months before the word ‘pandemic’ became endemic in our language, the bulk of the story was written in hibernation. And it became my saviour; a book I adored writing, not least because it was something of a departure. However hard I tried to write it in my usual third person narrative, my central protagonist’s voice insisted otherwise. Perhaps because I was writing under the shadow of the pandemic, I felt blasé and brave enough to acquiesce to her and take the risk.

The majority of this book is written in first person present and it’s been an interesting challenge. It’s also a small, intimate story, taking place over a single month; another departure for me. And unlike my previous books, there is no ghost with a compelling story of her own. The ghosts in Only May lie peacefully in the chapel graveyard, or else they haunt May in the shape of lies and secrets; and in particular, a lie at the heart of her family.

My fourth book for Honno will be published on 19 May. And I shall be at the first Honno Authors Book Fair with pre-publication news and information.

As a group of women writers we are very excited about the forthcoming fair. After two years, we’re back – Honno authors – hosting our very own event and we can’t wait to see you – old friends and new. Readers, browsers, the curious and the questioning. You can even ask me where I get my ideas from. . .

This week, it is my pleasure to introduce Liz Jones, who will be appearing at the first Honno Authors Book Fair in Narberth on Saturday 7 May 2022. Liz writes creative non-fiction and is the author of the ‘Eminently readable and meticulously researched‘ biography, The Queen of Romance: Marguerite Jervis.

Yet another author who saw her book published during lockdown, Liz was also denied a physical launch. Invited to share her thoughts about lockdown and the things she has missed, Liz sent this delightful essay. Over to you, Liz.

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I am writing this in my back room at home. It’s a small, sunny room, lined with books. At the end sits a pair of drafty French windows (I must get them insulated) overlooking a large-ish, storm-ravaged garden.

There’s nothing unusual about this room. There are plenty of small, square rooms like this, in my road alone. But it’s become my special place, where I come to escape and think more clearly.

I never used to spend much time here, had never got round to adding those loving finishing touches – those special rugs and cushions – that give a room its unique personality.

Then came spring, 2020, and lockdown. All that we love about the outside world was closed, while many of us were cut off from the people we love. My daughter Rachel was grounded in Bucks. , where she had moved to for a job only a few months earlier. She was alone in a tiny village, while her partner, her friends, and her parents, were all far away.

Our other daughter, Sian, had given up her tiny room in London and moved in with us for the duration. Sian is a painter and quickly requisitioned this back room as her makeshift studio. It was here she painted portraits (via Zoom, of course) of everyone from NHS staff to poets, creating a body of work that is about to be exhibited.  

It was a busy time for my husband, Simon, too. A teacher of English for speakers of other languages, he moved his laptop into the living room, making it a virtual classroom by day.

Like Simon, most of my life took place in front of a laptop. When I wasn’t buried under rewrites and final edits of my first ever book, The Queen of Romance, I was teaching lifelong learning classes online, or zooming in on what remained of my social life. As lockdown dragged on, there would be days when the only ‘real’ faces we’d see would be each other’s. We were, of course, among the lucky ones – at least we had each other.

For escape, I took to walking, familiarising myself with my ‘milltir sgwar’ (square mile) in microscopic detail. I also tried my hand at gardening, resulting in a glut of courgettes, closely followed by an outbreak of pumpkin rot.

More productively, I took to the sea. It made the perfect escape from those endless edits and attacks of first-time author nerves. Our little group of sea-dippers grew exponentially and today there are around fifty of us to be sighted off Aberystwyth beach. If the pool hadn’t closed, it would never have happened.

In 2021, the world began to open up, then it closed, before gradually opening up again. By March, with the final (final) edits and the multitude of last minute revisions behind me, I could luxuriate in a brief respite before the 6th May publication day. But it was far from over. As my publishers Honno informed me, promoting the book would be a full-time job. They were not wrong. Radio and television interviews, magazine features and reviews, a blog tour, and a flurry of Tweets followed. It was thrilling, and also exhausting.

As Covid put paid to a book launch, I celebrated at home instead with Simon and Sian. We treated ourselves to a takeaway from our favourite middle-Eastern restaurant (Medina, in Aberystwyth), some extremely rich cheesecake, and a bottle of Morrison’s finest Prosecco. (Oh yes, we can live!)

And it was wonderful. Although I was sorry not to have a launch, our little private celebration – without the pressures of fretting about how it would all go – was a joy.  

That was almost a year ago. Now Simon is back in the classroom. Rachel has moved to Norwich, where she lives with her partner. Sian has moved to Bristol, where she has acquired a better-equipped studio. And I am still at home.

But it is not the same. No longer Sian’s studio, I have reclaimed the back room as my retreat. I love to sit here and stare out through those drafty French doors and, well, just think. I love to browse through the half-read books on the shelves. I also love to write here. After two years of edits, proofs and promotions, and all the anxiety that comes with being a novice author, I am ready to start again. This room feels like a good place to begin.

It sounds perfect, Liz. Thank you for talking to us.

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Discover more about Liz here:
Twitter: twitter.com/lizjonesaber
Amazon: tinyurl.com/4dxk5dus

Sara Gethin writes fiction for adults, but as Wendy White she is known for her children’s books. As Sara, she has published two novels for adults with Honno. You will find them at the first Honno Authors Book Fair, scheduled to take place in Narberth on Saturday 7 May.

Like so many writers, Sara saw her latest book, Emmet and Me, published during lockdown. As part of this ongoing thread featuring Honno authors, she agreed to share some of her thoughts and observations about the past couple of years. Over to you, Sara.

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What a start to the new decade we’ve all experienced – seemingly endless lockdown isolation, and Covid bringing devastating heartbreak to so many. I’m extremely thankful that my family stayed well, and we managed to see each other as often as possible. I was very fortunate. Still, the ‘new normal’ of the last two years has been strange to live through, for all of us.

My new normal began with a phone call from my GP in March 2020, advising me to shield. That month – and the next – went by in a blur of navigating online food shopping, and long phone calls to family and friends. I spent my allotted outdoor hour walking along the coast, staring across the waves to the horizon. (I’d read a newspaper article that said big vistas helped dispel the sense of a shrunken world. The tactic seemed to work.) I read a lot of books, although I couldn’t settle to write myself.

But during the beautiful weather of May ’20, my mind was suddenly overflowing with ideas. Every afternoon, I carried my laptop to the little shed in our garden and wrote. Months later, the result was a novel-length story for older children. I’ve provisionally called it ‘The Ghost of Greenvale Hall’. The story is darker than my usual offerings for children, taking in the pandemic, through to the Afghanistan crisis. It needs quite a bit of tidying up before it can be sent out to potential publishers, but I’m very relieved to have written something – anything – in lockdown. My urge to write didn’t abandon me. I’m extremely grateful for that.

During one of the times when indoor gatherings were banned, my second novel for adults, ‘Emmet and Me’, was published. It felt odd to have a new book meet the world in such weird times. As an in-person launch wasn’t possible, Honno, my publisher, organised a Zoom event with the help of Caernarfon-based indie bookshop, Palas Print. We invited Irish book-blogger, Mairéad Hearne, to chat with me about the background to the book, and we were delighted to have so many friends join us. Thank goodness for Zoom! (Now, that’s a sentence I never thought I’d type.)

It was a lovely launch evening, bringing together Britain, Ireland, and even some countries further afield in a way that would have been difficult in person. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and as we thanked and waved goodbye to our online attendees, I felt there had been only one thing missing – serving up slices of cake. How I miss book events with cake, and booklovers in the room to eat it with!

Two years on from my GP’s first phone call, my new normal hasn’t changed so very much, due to my unruly heart and the news that Omicron has a particularly nasty effect on cardiac rhythms. I’m longing to meet up with my writing groups in person, visit schools to talk about writing as I used to, and be part of the thriving book fair scene once more. Hopefully, all these will be possible for me soon – I know I will certainly never again take them for granted.

So, I’m looking forward, with huge excitement, to the Honno Book Fair on May 7th. It will be inspirational to meet readers and writers visiting the fair at beautiful Narberth, and to get together with fellow Honno authors – setting out the table, unpacking the boxes, getting a slice or two of cake from the café, and spending the whole day talking about books.
Cake and books. Now, what could be more wonderful?

What indeed, Sara! Thank you for taking part.

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To discover more about Sara follow the social media links:

Website: saragethin.com/                
Twitter: twitter.com/SGethinWriter
Instagram: www.instagram.com/saragethinwriter/          
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SaraGethinWriter   
Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/Sara-Gethin/