I am trying not to make a habit of writing and posting my monthly round-ups a bit late, but the end of May and beginning of June has been very busy and that is my excuse. I did manage to squeeze in a Zoom meeting with the West Surrey & North Hampshire CIEP local group, and it was lovely to catch up with them and have a general chat about editing-related matters.

We had a guest at Black Cat HQ for the end of May. Ella’s favourite friend, Mini, came to stay with us for a couple of weeks, and they had a lovely time being naughty little peas in pod. Here they are making sure that the neighbours aren’t doing anything they disapprove of.

What I’ve been working on

My long run of critiques has continued. I finished the report for a psychological thriller novella, and moved on to the critique of what I can only really term as transgressive fiction. Alongside this I proofread some contemporary fiction and a novel that is part coming-of-age story and part romance. Perhaps the most interesting project of this month was the proofread of a supernatural murder-mystery – a combination I would love to work on more.

What I read for fun

Confession time: I have no completed reads for May. I had planned to read Natasha Pulley’s The Kingdoms upon its release, but distribution problems mean that my copy has still not reached me. My disappointment is immeasurable.

Looking ahead

I have my first vaccination appointment booked for early June. I don’t think ‘excited’ is the right description for how I feel about it – I think it is something closer to relief and a little bit of hope.