Although the announcement has been made on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter I have yet to let you know that the sequel to Our Doris is complete.

Indisputably Doris will be released on Thursday 31^st August.

If you go to Amazon you will see that the book had a previous publication date of 1^st July, however, I unexpectedly have had a lot of overtime at work since I first submitted the book to Nielsens. Therefore, I had no choice to push the book back so as I could properly give it the attention it deserves.

The official blurb reads: The second in the series of monologues featuring Mrs Doris Copeland of Partridge Mews, atomic housewife, and owner of a rock bun recipe that can make the most secure dentures shudder.

Join her once more as she battles Pandra O’Malley for her position as chairwoman of the WI. Her campaign brings her up against flu, would-be elves, and a bake sale that may just be a cover for more nefarious means.

Told from the perspective of her long-suffering husband ‘arold, it’s no wonder he spends so much time down The Hare and Horse.

I’m very aware that this book has been a long-time coming. The first book only took me four months to write, yet the second has taken over two years. And with good reason.

Indisputably Doris was incredibly difficult to write. I received some strong comments about the first book, they were exceptionally good compliments that I’m grateful to receive, however they left me feeling as though I wouldn’t be able to replicate the tone. I had no idea how I’d managed to craft the book in the first place, and felt as though I were back at square one, as though I had never written anything before.

After I wrote the first book, there was question as to whether I would be made redundant from my job – eventually I managed to find a new position within the company, but those few months of uncertainty were enough to leave me feeling low – with the move came the guilt of having kept my job where others lost theirs.

We also had some bad news within the family at the start of last year and all of the things reached the point I call the period of unfathomable sadness. The very thought of writing left me exhausted and sad, to the point that I gave up writing to re-evaluate what I wanted to write.

I honestly believed I would never write again.

It didn’t bother me.

Once I allowed myself to return to writing, I only wrote poetry and short snippets of prose. After a few months of trying to figure out what sort of writer I want to be, I ended up returning to the world of Partridge Mews.

This time, however, I wished to include things in the book I’d been too scared to write about, matters I thought to serious to include in a series of comedic monologues. I have taken risks and although there’s some trepidation as I worry that folk will despise the book, I’m glad to have written what I wanted to write, rather than what some might have expected.

I’m currently emailing libraries to see whether they’ll let me hold readings there. You can check out my Events page for more details. If you’d like me to come to a library near you, please feel free to contact me or your library and I’ll see what I can do.

There’s also a Goodreads page if you’d like to add the book to your Want to Read Shelf.

I am proud of Indisputably Doris and am most excited to share the story with you.

Until next time, that is all.