Places to go, places to see: who wants to go travelling?

I am a creature of habit and like visiting the same places over and over. I love familiarity. Despite that, there are places that I would love to visit, some of them just because they look so beautiful, others because of stories I've written or read, or others just because of books. Some are nearby, others further afield, but I know I can - and should - go to all these places - one day.

I've been to Fowey a couple of times this year, and I will never tire of it. It's my favourite place. And I can't wait to head back to Edinburgh this summer.

"I'm in love with places I've never been and people I've never met"

But I think the beginning of the summer makes me even more dreamy...

1. Dublin/Ireland
It's meant to be beautiful!

2. Scottish islands.
This is partly for research, but also the idea of a small island really appeals to me. Except it would be cold, but still, I want to visit!

3. Sweden
Again with the cold thing, but it looks so pretty!

4. Denmark - Copenhagen
Partly again for research, but also just because it looks beautiful.

5. Bronte parsonage
For obvious literary reasons.

6. Greece
Oh goodness. It just looks amazing.

7. Croatia
Looks absolutely gorgeous.

8. Hay on Wye
BOOKS.

9. Cardiff/Wales
Doctor Who. Torchwood. What more can I say? Plus I've never been to Wales. I really need to. It looks lovely.

10. Stratford
Shakespeare.

11. Oxford
I've driven through Oxford before, but never really stopped. It features in one of my books, but I've never actually seen it - I should!

And further afield... I would love to go to New Zealand and many places in America, especially as I have friends scattered all over the country.

Plus, I would love to revisit several places, including Italy, Vienna, and Prague.

Where would you like to go?

Series I need to complete

With the release coming up of Royal Wedding, and the Waterstones Piccadilly event with Ally Carter and CJ Daugherty, I have been thinking of some of the series that I have read, but don't actually own all the copies of, leaving my shelves a little sad (but maybe my bank account a little happier...). So here are the top series I still need to complete.

1. The Princess Diaries - Meg Cabot
I KNOW. I have remedied the fact that I never finished reading this series (due to being "too cool" as a teen for a while) but I still don't own books 7 to 10. I need to sort this!

2. Sarah Dessen
Not technically a series, but who cares. I have read everything Sarah has written, but mostly either from the library or on Kindle, which is problematic when you want to reread them!

3. Gallagher Girls - Ally Carter
Again, I mostly read these from the library. Sadly.

4. Night School - CJ Daugherty
I read some of these on my Kindle, which just doesn't feel the same.


Does anyone else own any incomplete series like this?

Why Pinterest reinvigorated my writing

So, recently, I started using Pinterest again. I'd used it a little bit before and liked the idea. But I'd never used it for my writing. I knew friends who did, and I didn't think that it would work for me. But then something, I can't remember what now, prompted it. I think I thought that I should look up some pictures as a guide for my Scottish island story. And so I thought of Pinterest, and just like that I was hooked.

So now I've created boards for all my projects, and scroll through them before I start writing, in order to take me back to that place. In a way, because I'm working on several different things at once, it helps me get back into that frame of mind and to the right place.

So I'm now a huge fan of Pinterest and using it for writing, in a way that I hadn't thought I would be. It's a great way to find inspiration and ideas - from landscapes to character outfits. I'm a very visual person and I see things like films in my head, if that makes sense, so of course it makes sense that it works for me.

Does anyone else use Pinterest for writing inspiration?