I'm writing this in Devon. The sun is shining, today anyhow, and the sea is a glittering backdrop. There are cows chomping their way through the grass in the meadow below where I'm staying. Sailing boats are arriving for a regatta and we are surrounded by friends. I'm the last person to wish away August but I'm very excited about our new autumn salons, now live on the website and taking bookings. Over the next few months Emma Darwin and I will be chatting about a variety of writing topics with Monica Ali, Jill Dawson, Tessa Hadley and Maura Dooley.

So looking forward to meeting & chatting to our line-up of authors this autumn.

Also, as a heads up, I have a day time workshop in the pipeline with an emphasis on Creativity, in collaboration with editor and book doctor, Andrew Wille. Andrew was the first Words Away guest last September, with the How To Make Your Novel Shine: Self Editing Your Fiction salon. The workshop will be taking place at a venue in London Bridge on Saturday 18th November - so if you're interested please save the date. Keep an eye on the website for more details soon.

Have you had a moment to get stuck into a book or elbow in some productive writing time over the last few weeks? Sometimes the summer/school holidays are a juggling act but this year my youngest has just finished her A levels and been away travelling. So with a bit of time to myself I've been working on my novel, albeit at a snails pace, mindful of some of the nuggets gleaned from our Words Away salons from the last year. I've also been catching up with my teetering TBR pile as well as dipping in to read ahead for our upcoming events.

I hope to see some of you on the 11th September at the Tea House Theatre Cafe for our Imagining and Developing Characters salon with the award-winning writer Monica Ali. Until then, happy reading and writing and enjoy the long lovely days.

Kellie