July brought us a brief heatwave in the UK, and I can’t say that I enjoyed it. It’s one of very few things that make me miss working in an office – at least there was air-conditioning and I wasn’t constantly worried my computer was going to overheat/explode. I bought my own air-conditioning unit last year, and while it is a bit noisy and it takes up a bit of room, it was money well spent (even if it only sees use for a week every 12 months).

What I’ve been working on

I was back to a full-on schedule in July. I finished the critique I’d started in June and moved on to the critique of the second book in a fantasy series. I critiqued the first book in the series, so it’s wonderful to see how the story is going to progress and to see that the writing has taken such a huge step forward. I’ll be working on this one until mid-August. There was only one proofread for this month – a new novel from a client I work with a lot. It was an absolute pleasure, as usual. My two copy-edits were also for long-standing clients. I’m currently editing (it’s a beast of a book, so I will be working on it in August too) the last book in an epic fantasy series, and I will be very sad to see our collaboration come to an end. There are also some character deaths I’m trying not to take personally… The other copy-edit is a psychological thriller set in the 1980s, and once I have finished that edit, I’ll move on to the edit of a much longer novel by the same author.

What I read for fun

I finally managed to dedicate some time to reading The Kingdoms, and I absolutely loved it. Natasha Pulley is one of my favourite authors, and I admire her writing so much. It’s always so beautiful. I’ve seen some criticisms of The Kingdoms for being confusing, but I didn’t find it to be so. If you’ve read the author’s other works (The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, for example) it won’t be anything you aren’t prepared for. It’s a historical adventure novel with wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey elements. Enjoy the ride.

Looking ahead

I’ve been allowed to bring forward my appointment for the second dose of my COVID vaccine, which is very welcome. It means I will be fully vaccinated before I – and this is not a joke – go ghost hunting. My friend was owed a birthday outing and this is what he has decided he would like to do. I will be going to Oxford Castle for an overnight ghost-hunting adventure – a sentence I never thought I would write. My sister has already drawn the line at using a Ouija board; I’m wondering what the included snacks will be.