Another year, another January. I don’t really do New Year’s resolutions, but I have the intention to get back into the habit of reading at least one chapter of a novel before I go to bed each night (unless I’ve had to go out and socialise or something). It’s easy to feel a bit of reading fatigue when you work with words all day, but books are joy, and I don’t believe you can be an effective fiction editor unless you read widely.

What I’ve been working on

I finished off two projects I started in December – the first was the proofread of a fictionalised memoir about growing up with multiple disabilities and the second was the developmental edit of a delightful YA fantasy novel. I moved on to the copy-edit of the second book (third, if you count the prequel short story) of a new series by one of my regular clients, and the end of January saw me take on the copy-edit of an account of an epic journey around the most picturesque areas of England, Wales and Scotland. Both of these will be with me until early February.

What I read for fun

I absolutely loved Legends & Lattes, so I was excited to return to Travis Baldree’s cosy fantasy world in Bookshops & Bonedust. Naturally, I pre-ordered the signed exclusive edition from Waterstones because I can’t resist sprayed edges (it’s still available at the time of writing). It did not disappoint. I think prequels can be hard to pull off, especially when we have to engage with a version of the main character before they went through all the character development of the original book. Here Viv is a young orc, desperate to prove herself and live a life of adventure, and Baldree has made the most of the opportunity to give the reader more insight into her. Like with Legends & Lattes, I would recommend acquiring a pastry or two before you curl up to read this one.