In January I started writing a new novel and also painted this wintry watercolour with whimsical skaters. Writing in the week and painting at the weekend dovetail well. While I'm painting, inspiration arrives for the next scene. There are no skaters in my novel, no obvious connections at all, but somehow one creative pursuit feeds the other.
My novella, set in divided Berlin in the 1960s, is now available on Kindle at £2.99.
Sybilla won the inaugural National Flash Fiction Day Novella-in-Flash competition this year and is also available to buy from their website.
Updated: Nov 11, 2022
It is always a thrill to see your book in the shops. Here is Instructions for the Working Day in Waterstones, alongside new hardback releases in this gorgeous front-facing display, which was a fabulous surprise.
Another wonderful piece of news: it is now available as an audio book read beautifully by the divine John Sackville.
Instructions has also received some hugely gratifying reviews. As an example, it was shortlisted for The Independent's Book of the Month in August. Martin Chilton said: 'Instructions for the Working Day, a clever reflection on the ramifications of the Stasi era in East Germany, is an elegant, chilling reminder of what happens when people set out to deliberately disintegrate another person's spirit.'
I painted another scene from Marschwald, the setting for the book, by way of celebration.
