One of the best ways for me to get some work done is to sit in a cafe to do it. I love the buzz and energy of a coffee shop. But you don’t want it to be too loud, and you don’t want to feel like you’re hogging a seat and stealing electricity.

That’s why I contacted Barnaby’s Lounge in America Ground, Hastings and asked if I could use their upstairs space to run a weekly writing session for our many local creatives. Barnaby said yes, and it went so well that now we meet TWICE a week to sit for two hours in silence and write. It’s the perfect combination of buzzy coffee shop atmosphere alongside quiet, studious vibes. It’s like being in a library, so you feel like you can’t fart about on your phone, but it’s lively enough to go downstairs and chat to the bar staff while you’re waiting for your coffee.

I really recommend doing something similar if you struggle to write – or if you just want to meet people. I’ve made some lovely friends running the Writers’ Cafe and I look forward to the end of the Thursday session when we all hang around for a drink and a catch up in the bar downstairs.

The good news is, thanks to these regular sessions, my editor thinks my third Aldhill Mystery book is 90% done! I just need to get it all in the right order and delete all the extra blather.

Shout out to Nika Talbot ✨ Alan Durant fellow hosts!