November Book Club

Mourning Moon

This month is the Mourning Moon, which feels apt in so many ways. I am trying to remember now why I gave the chapter this name. Most people call it Beaver Moon, but I made a commitment to using only Celtic, Medieval, Anglo-Saxon and English moon titles - names that were connected to the landscape I was writing about. I think I might have been referring to the mourning that was taking place for my previous self. Or perhaps it was for the life I had envisaged for myself, that had so dramatically imploded. It wasn’t a sad kind of mourning, more an acknowledgement that scales had fallen away from my eyes. But under the Mourning Moon I also began to sense a new hope, and an optimism that a fiery and exciting future lay in store for me and my children.

If you haven’t read Twelve Moons, it is structured so that it covers a year in my life, and each chapter is named after the moon I write under. This bookclub has been created as a way to connect with readers and writers and share some special extras and inside information about the writing of my book, as well as further exploring some of the themes within it.

Lots of readers have told me they are reading the book chapter by chapter, under different moons, slowly and intentionally. Others have gobbled it up in less than 48 hours. Many of you are enjoying the audiobook, recorded on two chilly days in a Newcastle basement. Others have written to me to tell me they are going to read it with friends in a book group. So many different ways to absorb one story.

When I really get into a book I want to delve deeper, try to understand where the story came from and consider why it has affected me. What is it about these words that has made me feel this way? This Substack bookclub offers you the opportunity to meet other readers and writers and dive into a different world. Get cosy with a drink and maybe a cat on your knee. Join me every month to think about the big stuff. Ask me questions, tell me your stories. Each monthly bookclub includes the following:

• A video of me reading an extended extract from Twelve Moons

• Written words about themes within the book

• Background information about my creative process during the writing of the book

• Writing prompts

• Q&A opportunities

• Creative recommendations

• Archived book club episodes

A reading for you…