I saw an internet meme not long ago that went something like “2020 needs to decide if it’s being written by Stephen King or Michael Crichton.” To which any of us could probably add a list of other authors who’d have a field day with the events of this year. Those who write thrillers or mystery or espionage or suspense or even fantasy and dystopia can immediately spin yarns based on what’s happening around us.

Paying it forward

It will be 2070, however, before historical fiction authors can tackle the coronavirus pandemic (according to the conventional definition of the genre that events portrayed should have occurred fifty or more years in the past). By then, so much of what feels immediate and intense to us today will have been forgotten. Those future authors will have ample research sources for the data and the rhetoric and the overall impact on nation-states and broader societies. But what will they turn to for a deeper understanding of how individual people experienced this time?

In the past, men and women – both the powerful and the ordinary – wrote letters, kept journals, preserved family and household records and accounts, and generally documented their lives. Contemporaneous accounts are invaluable resources when an author is trying to create characters and their world with all the nuances that make it feel real to a reader.

I freely admit that I’ve never been much of a journal keeper. When travelling, I’m slightly better at it; but my attempts at creating a regular journal always seem to fizzle out after a few days. However, as I consider new ways to think about things, I wonder if we have an opportunity now, in 2020, to be of service to those future authors who will attempt to recreate the world of this latest plague. Perhaps we should make an effort to document not just what the experience has been, but how it’s affected our lives and how it’s made us feel.

Those things will differ by geography, by social strata, by age, by attitude – from one individual to another. But I can easily imagine future authors discovering such accounts and considering them a treasure trove.

Food for my thoughts, at least. Perhaps for yours.

Support in the present

As the pandemic continues, it’s a great time for us all to support our fellow authors, regardless of genre. But if you’re reading this column, you likely have an interest in historical fiction. There’s so much to choose from and new titles appearing regularly.

Special thanks to those authors who have already contributed their time to this column.

• Alison Weir’s newest volume, Katheryn Howard: The Tainted Queen, will be released on August 6.
• From Bernard Cornwell, the 13th volume in the Last Kingdom series, War Lord, makes its appearance in October in the UK and in November in the US.  (I’ve also been binge-watching the TV adaptation on Netflix lately. Cornwell, himself, has a cameo role in the series – no spoilers here ?)
• Karen Brooks’s most recent work, The Darkest Shore, is now in its second printing and receiving excellent reviews. It’s in my TBR collection.

Some more titles that have recently come to my attention and been purchased for the TBR collection:

• The Dictionary of Lost Words, Pip Williams
• The Invention of Fire, Bruce Holsinger
• The Book of Lost Names, Kristin Harmel
• The Ragged Edge of Night, Olivia Hawker

Why not add your own favorites – or some titles you’re looking forward to reading – in the comments? (Just remember, this community is not about marketing our own work.)  But we can share ideas to provide mutual support and to find delightful new stories to entertain ourselves as we social-distance. 

Now there’s a thought . . . I wonder if “social distancing” will make it into the Oxford English Dictionary this year?

Pamela Taylor’s inspiration for her first book turned out to be that final straw that pushed her to leave the corporate world behind for the world of words and imagination. Now an author and an editor, she loves helping others polish their stories almost as much as she enjoys writing her own. She’s a member of the DFW Writers Workshop and the Editorial Freelancers Association and is in her fourth year on the judges panel for the Ink & Insights Contest. You can learn more about her books at secondsonchronicles.com, and about her editing services at editing4you.com. 

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But I found, just as likely you, too, that I couldn’t focus on anything other than the viral elephant in our global living room. This coronavirus, COVID-19, won’t let any of us ignore it. Constant news alerts about death, the reality of livelihood loss, and the often conflicting information on what to do next to stay safe makes it hard to live, much less write.

Early in my self-quarantine/social distancing, I noticed a push for productivity on social media and business networking sites. All penned by gurus, businessmen, companies, and yes, creatives. Articles posted about forging new paths and reinventing one’s company, brand, art, and self. There were also tweets about blessed solitude – finally! – and using the time away as a retreat, as an artist residency. It all boiled down to No slacking, people! There’s work to be done.

However, there’s been a social media wave against this ‘motivational’ pressure. On Facebook, Alaa Hijazi, a Beiruti trauma psychologist, reminded that “[w]e are going through a collective trauma” and  “[w]hat we need is more self-compassion, more gentle acceptance of all the difficult emotions coming up for us now, more focus on gentle ways to soothe ourselves and our pain and the pain of loved ones around us, not a whipping […]”. 

I have to admit a bit shamefaced that I was thinking about productivity too, albeit with a little slack allowed in. I decided I’d tackle a chapter of Denopath, my languishing sci-fi/fantasy novel. And maybe, also, write a few Writing Small articles ahead (to make Bess and Gabriela love me more).  

But…what I discovered was silence. Sensory deprivation-deep silence. During which the only writing I could/can produce was tweets, FB posts, AND daily poems for pinacasa, my poetry blog.

Habit Makes Good Enough

Habits anchor us, especially in crises. I am so thankful for my poem-a-day writing habit. It has given a structure to my writing practice as well as a bit of overall order in this uncertain period. What I began in April 2015 has also been the breadcrumbs leading me back to this article.

The unrealistic drive to perfection and the accompanying anxiety keep us from trying new things. A close-up brush with death made me willing to step outside my comfort. I took up writing a poem a day for NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month). I actually started 10 days late but that tardiness took the pressure off of writing those poems. I’d already ‘failed’ the challenge so I was free to be inventive, adventurous. A few years of daily poetry writing in months-long spurts have prepared me for this year’s full out effort. What a year to embark on my poetry expedition.

Writing every day doesn’t inoculate you from fear but it does remind you in your most anxious moments that you can write.

The Art of Distraction

But let’s face it, habit only gets you so far. Especially now, when we consider most of our usual habits have been derailed by our elephantine companion, COVID-19.

Don’t beat yourself up if your hard won routines seem in shambles. In stressful times, it’s difficult to acquire new habits or learn new skills. Thankfully, we humans adapt but it takes time. It’s ok if you take what you think is a little bit longer. It’s ok to go with the distraction rather than fight against it. It’s ok to do nothing productive. In farming, it’s called fallowing and necessary for the fields to become productive again. 

Below are a few ways to lie fallow productively. And it’s no mistake poetry is the star, it’s the perfect form for our pandemic-challenged attention spans.  

1) Watch

Poet Tara Skurtu (@taraskurtu) started #InternationalPoetryCircle on Twitter to share video poems by poets and poetry lovers. International Poetry Circle now has its own Twitter handle, @INtPoetryCircle, and YouTube account.

Sundress Publications hosts its Poets in Pajamas Reading Series to connect readers and contemporary writers – poetry and prose. 

2) Read

Two hashtags – #atlanticpoetrychallenge and #shelterinpoems (Twitter) – from The Atlantic and Academy of American Poets respectively offer a good place to start reading.  

Libraries too are great places to find digital material for free. They offer everything from movies, magazines, audiobooks, and craft instructional videos as well as music for the whole family.

3) Move

And don’t forget to move your body. However, it doesn’t have to be an exercise video, jumping jacks in the living room, or playing a game of H-O-R-S-E. A short walk in the neighborhood or improvising along with an improv troupe virtually can do the trick. Think of it as meditation and mindfulness training.

4) Journal

Simply paying attention to the way a stressful situation affects your mind and body can keep anxiety levels in check, says Danny Penman, author of Mindfulness: Finding Peace In A Frantic World. Journaling is one way to keep track of how you’re feeling. Author Suleika Jaouad’s Isolation Journals provide “an opportunity to pause, take a few moments to exhale and reflect, and to expand our creativity as a community during this extremely challenging time.“ Not ready to sign up for another community, list, or group? You can find an archive of the prompts here. 

The Rest of Your (Writing) Life

Ultimately, don’t sweat it if you’re not producing good stuff or any stuff at all. Think of today as you read this as the first day of the rest of your writing life. Then tomorrow think of that today as the first. And so on. 

There is no single first because each day is new. Each day gives us all opportunities for a first. 

Be kind to others. Be kind to yourself and your writing.  

Whatever whenever you start, start small.

Brenda Joyce Patterson is a poet, writer, librarian, and lover of short writing forms. Her poetry and flash fiction have been published in Vayavya, Gravel Magazine, and Melancholy Hyperbole. Along with works by Maya Angelou, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Alice Walker, her travel essay “The Kindness of Strangers” appeared in Go Girl: The Black Woman’s Guide to Travel and Adventure.

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I hope you are doing alright through all this, and I write this with the understanding that not all of you will be. My heart goes out to you. 

Regardless of the depth of your individual challenges right now, it can be easy to feel that writing stories—and sharing them with the world—is less important in the midst of all this. So before we get into today’s post, I want to say that this isn’t the case. 

Stories still matter. 

In fact, I believe it’s times like this that stories are most important. And not just because we’re stuck at home and bored. Stories give us the empathy muscles that we so badly need in these times to care for each other.

So with that in mind, let’s talk about ways we can connect with readers as social distancing continues, and well beyond. Because all of these digitally-driven concepts were already options long before it was our only way to connect with the world beyond our home. And rest assured, what’s happening right now is going to continue to shape how we interact long after social distancing is over. We’re building new habits and new possibilities right now. We’re building new skills. 

And our readers are changing, too. 

With that in mind, here are 10 ways to connect with readers virtually: 

1. Kickstart your YouTube channel
2. Launch your podcast
3. Hold an AMA
4. Go live on video via your favorite social media channel
5. Organize a panel discussion
6. Hold a reading or join an open mic 
7. Launch (or re-launch) your blog
8. Guest post for a website you admire
9. Run social media ads
10. Offer a freebie or sneak peek

It’s a Great Time to Try Something New

Have you noticed lately that, as we all adapt to a new normal that’s not normal at all, how open and forgiving everyone has become? Just look to these news anchors rolling with the punches. We’re all just trying to adapt the best we can here, and it’s got most people in a supportive mood.

If you’ve been curious about testing Instagram live or nervously tempted to share your work for the first time, I can’t imagine a better time to make the leap. You’re bound to connect, and perhaps even inspire. 

I challenge you to give it a try! And remember, as you do it, how much creativity means for the world. 

By day, E. J. Wenstrom is a digital strategy pro with over 10 years at communications firms. By early-early morning, she’s an award-winning sci-fi and fantasy author of the Chronicles of the Third Realm War novels, starting with Mud. She believes in complicated characters, terrifying monsters, and purple hair dye.

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Below, we’ll look at ways authors and illustrators are helping young readers and parents, and then explore some free or inexpensive resources currently on offer. But first:

If you’re struggling to create… you’re not alone.

In the first days of quarantine, there were a lot of people talking about it like a vacation–a period with lots of free time in which people could get things done. Surely writers, who prefer isolation anyway, would be writing up a storm now!

But that’s not always how it works. Sure, some people are able to throw themselves into their creative work–it can be cathartic, a mental escape–but for others creating right now is an uphill battle. COVID-19 is scary. The uncertainty is scary. And being anxious, worried, and uncertain is not necessarily a great recipe for creativity. Or productivity in general.

Rule #1 is to be kind to yourself. That means you shouldn’t berate or blame yourself if you’re having a hard time right now. 

What Kidlit Authors & Illustrators Are Doing For Readers

While parents and kids are stuck at home there’s a growing need for entertainment, comfort, and educational resources. The outpouring from creators has been overwhelming.

Writers are doing read-alouds and discussions, illustrators are doing draw-with-me sessions, and publishers are granting permission to teachers and librarians to stream or record themselves reading books. All in the name of helping our favorite people: kid readers! 

Rather than try to collect the myriad links for these online resources here, check out these articles with lists of where to find them: 

• BookRiot – Kid Lit Authors Stepping Up During the COVID-19 Crises and Quarantine
• LAist – Coronavirus Storytime: Here’s Where To Find Celebrities Reading Children’s Books Online 
• The New York Times – Home With Your Kids? Writers Want to Help 
• Publishers’ Weekly – How Kids’ Lit Is Responding to the Coronavirus 
• School Library Journal – Kid Lit Authors Step Up To Help Educators, Students, and Parents 

Indie authors are also getting creative. Many have discounted their books, or made them free. Sarra Cannon is reading a paranormal YA novella on YouTube as she edits it, an interesting twist for writers. 

Don’t Miss

LeVar Burton Reads – Yes, the same LeVar Burton who used to host Reading Rainbow on PBS now offers a podcast and Twitter streaming reading series for grown ups, and during the pandemic he’s expanding to multiple times a week with offerings for kids and teens! Including works by Neil Gaiman! 

Everywhere Book Fest – A virtual book festival designed to “bring the book festival experience to everyone.”  

Coronavirus: A Book For Children – A free book to help explain the virus to young children, illustrated by Alex Scheffler of Gruffalo fame, and written in consultation with psychologists and medical experts. 

Resources For Kidlit Writers

It’s not just love for readers being put into the world. Writers are helping other writers, too. 

Funds

Because time is a critical factor in addressing people’s needs, deadlines and thresholds may already have passed. There will likely be more, and these are listed as examples of what to keep an eye out for. Social media can be an excellent resource for finding similar opportunities. 

We Need Diverse Books Emergency Fund for Diverse Creatives in Children’s Publishing – A fund to support diverse traditionally published writers and illustrators, and publishing professionals. 

Maurice Sendak Emergency Relief Fund by the New York Foundation for the Arts – A fund for picture book writers and illustrators in need due to the crisis. 

Education

The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) is offering members free digital workshops every week. 

WriteOnCon Anytime Archive Access – This year’s virtual writers conference has passed, but access to four years of content for 30 days is now only $10. 

About Publishing

Authors, illustrators, agents, editors, and other publishing pros are all enduring this pandemic alongside us. Their reactions range from “Give me more manuscripts to read!” to “I made… more tea? That’s something, right?” to “I have kids I have to homeschool there’s no way I can work right now!” 

YA author Alexa Donne is a wealth of writing and publishing knowledge. On her YouTube channel she answers the question, “Should you query your book now?” She also talks about how other parts of the traditional publishing machine are faring. 

There are also a ton of resources being aimed at indie, and aspiring indie authors right now. A lot of them are very expensive. A lot of them are free. Start with the free resources so you can better judge which gotta-buy-now offers may or may not be worthwhile. 

While these are uncertain times, you can count on the kidlit community to prioritize young readers. And in the writing community at large there’s always someone offering a helping hand up. 

Take care of yourselves, Word Nerds, and stay safe.

Bronwen Fleetwood writes fiction for young adults, and nonfiction for writers. Bronwen studied creative writing at Eugene Lang,The New School for Liberal Arts, has acted as leader of the Princeton Writing Group, and as a Municipal Liaison for National Novel Writing Month. Bronwen currently lives on the Whale Coast of South Africa, between the mountains, the sea, and a lake. You can connect with her at bronwenfleetwood.com.

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As writers, any opportunity we get to write, whether inspiration has hit us or not, we take it. And it’s easy to get caught up in a story or our characters, and keep pushing ourselves until there is absolutely nothing left. But oftentimes, that can lead to a little bit of burnout. And that can sometimes even lead to stories remaining unedited or unfinished. So, just as it’s been important to preserve our creativity during social lockdown, so, too, is it important to preserve our creativity when it comes to our writing to ensure that our stories are getting the absolute best from us.

The following are a few things I’ve learned so far from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown that I’ve applied to my writing:

1) Don’t overwhelm yourself with too many tasks

In the beginning of the lockdown, it was incredibly easy to dream big about all of the things my partner and I could get done around the house now that we were both at home for the foreseeable future. Between his meetings and phone calls, we could definitely fit in a few new projects and quite possibly rearrange the whole house if we wanted to. 

But those dreams quickly gave way to the reality that though we were physically at the house, we were still expending the same amount, if not more, of mental and emotional energy that we would have if we were in our respective offices. So, we had to be more realistic about our task lists. The same could be applied to any writing project.

Though it is ambitious to pull together a massive to-do list for our stories, it’s alright if it all doesn’t get done in one go. We have to account for how mentally and emotionally taxing writing can be and adjust our tasks accordingly. This way, in the times when we actually put pen to paper, our narratives get the full attention they deserve.

2) Exercise different parts of your brain

Even before the lockdown orders came in, I often fell into the trap of doing the same creative exercises day in and day out. Sometimes it would lead to me not being as inspired as I would have liked. Whether those exercises have been journaling, writing in different genres or reading, my creativity was only being pushed so far.

So, in being relegated to our home, I’ve begun to explore different creative outlets like cross-stitching, painting, interior design and songwriting that have pushed me to think about my stories and characters, even worlds that I’ve built, in new ways. There are details that I can better visualize when I’m creating something visual and sounds of my created worlds I can better hear when creating something musical that is much harder to draw out of just the written word.

3) Be sure to take breaks

One of the most important things I’ve learned during this period has been the value of taking breaks throughout the day to give our brains and bodies adequate and ample rest. Much like when we were still physically interacting with the world the way we were before COVID-19, being at home has yielded new daily routines and patterns that we’ve all fallen into and need to take breaks from every now and then. That way we can be our most productive selves and our tasks get the best from us. The same should be applied to our writing.

Whether you’ve sat down for a marathon writing session or have just taken a small section out of your day to get some words down on paper, schedule in periods of rest where you can take a break to keep your mind refreshed. Sometimes, some of my best ideas have come about when I’ve stepped away from something and allowed the story (and myself) a chance to breathe.

In times of crisis or in everyday life, creativity is an incredible gift. And like any gift it deserves to be nurtured and taken care of. So take the time to manage your tasks, exercise different parts of your creativity and get good rest. Because when we can effectively preserve our creativity, we ensure that our stories and characters get the very best that we have to offer them.

Jenn Walton is a writer, editor and storyteller based in Washington, D.C., whose fiction works are housed mainly in the speculative genre. She has completed her first novel project that explores, through the lens of a failing utopia, what happens when society gives in to its fear of the other. She previously wrote for a communications firm where she drafted and edited sponsored and organic content for top-tier academic institutions, Fortune 500 companies and leading philanthropic organizations that has run in The Washington Post, USA Today and the Atlantic. For more from Jenn, please visit her at her website or on Twitter.

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One way I’ve found to settle my mind and distract it for a while from the terror I feel for my family, for my community, the nation and all of humanity, is to draw. When I draw, I don’t think of it as escapism. I think of it as essential therapy.

Drawing, for me, and I think for many people, came before written language. Somewhere in my boxes of memories of my kids as children I’ve tucked away the first circle my son drew and the drawings of dogs my daughter made, all drawn before they could spell their own names or write the ABC’s. Drawing has the capacity to return us to our child mind, before we recognized how big, complex and potentially scary the world beyond us could be.

Drawing takes us on a journey. It returns us to Neverland, the Hundred Acre Wood, Whoville, Where the Wild Things Are, and that place Just Around the Corner. 

Draw Anything

In graduate school at Cal Berkeley, I had two wonderful drawing teachers, Chip Sullivan and Joe Slusky. I was their TA for a freshman drawing course, but I learned so much from listening to them teach. Their way of drawing is collected in Impulse to Draw, including this poem fragment of something Joe said in class:

“To Draw is to take a poetic leap.

The leap connects us to the world,

The leap is the translation.”

Like Joe and Chip, and the many amazing drawing teachers I’ve had, I want to offer encouragement to draw. To draw anything. To draw nothing. To draw badly. You can draw alone, at home, under quarantine. You don’t need to share your drawings to have them work their magic on you. All it takes is a pencil or pen and some paper. You can draw digitally, if you have the technology at hand. If you’re isolated and without any of these materials, you can draw with your finger on your palm. I’ve watched enough National Spelling Bees to know this kind of invisible mark-making activates the mind and conjures memories.

Drawing is a joyful act. Even a person consumed by sorrow can appreciate this. Vincent van Gogh, for instance, no poster boy for happiness, said: “I sometimes think there is nothing so delightful as drawing.”

A Drawing Prompt

I’ve been working on a book, Doodling for Writers, that was going to be released through Books by Hippocampus this June, but has been postponed to the Fall, because the pandemic has given us all more pressing things to give our attention to. I’m sad not to have it coming out sooner, but trying not to die is more important than making a book right now. The book is designed to help writers let drawing be a part of their writing life. In it there will be doodle prompts. But why wait? If you’d like to give drawing a go, here is a doodle prompt from the book to get you started.

This one is a prompt to help you play around with drawing tools:

What you’ll need:

1. Pencils
2. Pens
3. Paper (a variety or one kind, can be in your doodle journal)
4. Permission to Play

Preparation:

Have you ever had a cat walk across your page while you’re writing/reading/editing? They dance over the work in an effort to seduce you into giving them all the attention you had been devoting to the paper under their paws. Think of this dance while you make a page of squares, each about the size of a cat’s paw.

Fill these small funny little kitty paw squares with doodles. For each square, you can play with a specific pencil or pen. You can use the white space around the paws to make notes about how you feel about each drawing tool.

You don’t have to draw anything in particular in the squares. Just play with what the tools can do in your hand. Press hard, be soft, try curly lines, go dark.

Try this prompt using different types of paper. Some choices to consider:

• Regular bond (plain copy machine paper)
• Rough toothy paper
• Newsprint
• Lined paper
• A thick smooth surface like a 100-pound smooth surface Bristol.
• Envelopes

Make notes in the white space (or whatever color paper you’re using).

I’ve been teaching myself to make fast-drawing videos that I post on Instagram (@rfishewan). I did one for this prompt to give you an idea of what you can do with your kitty paw squares. I grabbed what was at hand and didn’t pause or plan, because I want you to see that doodling can be done anywhere, anytime, with just about anything. It doesn’t need to be a masterpiece, just a delight in the making.

Draw, have fun, and find some peace of mind at a time when so little exists out in the world.

Wishing you all good health!

Rebecca Fish Ewan, a poet/cartoonist/writer and founder of Plankton Press, teaches in The Design School at Arizona State University. She grew up in Berkeley, California, and now lives in Arizona with her family. Her cartoon/free verse memoir, By the Forces of Gravity, was published in 2018 through Books by Hippocampus. You can connect with her at rebeccafishewan.com 

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In an effort to cope with the madness I declared a personal quarantine from social media, but just before I did, I came across a recommendation to help us through this mess. I think it’s brilliant, so I wanted to pass it along.

Keep a pandemic journal

If dwelling on the topic seems like adding an extra helping of misery to an already-full plate, let me offer three reasons that might make the project easier to digest.

1) Historians of the future will thank you

These are unprecedented times. Historians, whether professional or amateur (like your future kids or grandkids working on a school project), depend on primary sources to fully understand the ways major events shaped our lives. Consider writing down your day-to-day experience in the richest detail you can. Dig in. Complain with the ferocity of two Wal-Mart shoppers battling it out over the last 4-pack of toilet paper. Ask the scary questions bouncing around in your head, particularly if your alternative would be to voice them in an environment where others around you, especially children, might get frightened. It’s a safe place to vent your real fears and frustrations. Which leads me to:

2) It may help you cope with stress

Research shows that for certain categories of people, journaling your daily experience may help you mitigate depression and anxiety in the long run. For people who are “not suffering from PTSD, and not a first responder in the midst of living daily crisis [or] trauma, and [for whom] is writing feels cathartic and helpful, then writing about this is probably a good idea,” says Dr. Jennifer Plumb Vilardaga, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist affiliated with Duke University. 

She theorized that writing the experience down gives a person distance that allows them to form a new relationship to that experience. It becomes a narrative that can be evaluated, rather than a closed loop of thoughts in the person’s head. Dr. Plumb Vilardaga further noted that evidence suggests it’s particularly helpful to write about what feels meaningful and vital to the person in the context. For example, noting details such as, “I needed to get exercise, so I took a walk today,” or “I bought groceries for elderly Mrs. Smith next door so she didn’t have to go out,” may offer outsized benefits over writing about something more generalized or external.

That said, if you try journaling your experience and it doesn’t feel helpful, stop and seek professional help. Many therapists are offering virtual sessions during this time so check out your area’s options. Or, Dr. Plumb Vilardaga recommends Betterhelp.com as a source for online therapy. The site offers sessions with licensed, accredited psychologists, marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, and board licensed professional counselors so you can get support without violating important social distancing behaviors.

3) It can help you maintain your writing practice

I’m finding it hard to concentrate these days. If I can get 100 words on my WIP, I chalk that up as a win. Maybe you feel the same way. Writers who value a daily practice but struggle to maintain it under the current circumstances may find journaling their experience a good alternative that keeps the words flowing as they seek a new normal. 

I wish you all luck as you care for loved ones, pursue your work, and maintain your writing in these unprecedented times. Stay safe and well.

Helen J. Darling writes and publishes contemporary women’s fiction at her imprint, Bricolage Books. She published her first novel, I’ll Know Me When I Find Me, in January 2018. Her latest novel, Terms and Conditions, was published in November 2019. You can connect with her at itshelendarling.com, on Instagram, Twitter and on Facebook. 

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