Since Halloween passed too quietly for my liking, I want to decorate my office space (half a small box room, but hey, it's my spot!? ). I'm going to potter around one of the only shops selling Christmas decorations tonight, since Ireland banned the sale of non-essential items for the last month. I doubt there will be much left though. I spent two hours yesterday trying to get my hands on Christmas lights, it's madness! ⠀ If anyone has spotted cute decorations for desk space online, please drop a comment. Trying to get decorations over here is impossible and I need to make my surroundings more festive ? ?

In FOUR DAYS cafes in Ireland will open again. I know it seems silly in the grand scheme of things, but I have missed writing in cafes soooo much ? They are my favourite place to write, my brain instantly goes into writing mode and there are far less distractions than when I'm at home. Netflix anyone? Yeah, I have zero willpower sometimes ? ⠀ We had to take all of our annual leave by the end of the year. I usually save some left over that I was hoping to keep, but since I can't, I'm taking every Monday off for the rest of December. ⠀ What do I plan to do with this free time?? ⠀ 1. Get more sleep 2. Write a little story I'll be sharing exclusively via my newsletter at the start of next year 3. Write & read in the local cafe ? ☕ ⠀ We don't have many cafes were I live, but I'll make the most of it. My favourite is a Starbucks in the city centre. I haven't been there in nine months now – which is crazy!? The staff there were so lovely, they even held on to my Kindle for me one time when I left it behind. ⠀ Where is your favourite spot to relax with a book, or to write?

Does anyone else find that when they watch shows, they often switch into author mode at the same time??⁠ ⁠ Taking some time out from writing and pulling back the pressure a bit has definitely helped my creative side. I finished watching #thequeensgambit yesterday and it's SO good. You need to go watch it, like now!?⁠ ⁠ I loved it so much, it has been a fantastic escape and the writing is fantastic. I haven't read the book it's based on, and I actually feel like this may have been one of those stories that was better told visually. Ana-Taylor Joy did a phenomenal job.⁠ ⁠ The ending is perfect, I loved the character's journey. I found myself babbling on about the structure and how the story flowed after to the point that my boyfriend was giving me weird looks ?⁠ ⁠ I suppose the point I'm making is that, while we writers tend to get lost in our own work, it's important to both read and watch other works. We can learn a lot.⁠ ⁠ Have you watched The Queen's Gambit?♟ Did you enjoy it?⁠ ⁠ Also, I'm looking for a new fix once I catch up on the new series of #Virginriver ?Comment with any recommendations please!⁠ ⁠ #thequeensgambitnetflix #anyataylorjoy #anyajoy #queensgambit #netflix #netflixandchill #netflixseries #tv #tvshow #watching #instachill

??? ??????? ???? ???? ?????!?? I want to alert you to an absolutely amazing YA I was lucky enough to ARC read recently. I'm normally more of an urban fantasy kind of gal, but ????? ????? by Ally Aldridge has reminded me just why I need to dip into YA more often. Ocean Heart follows the story of Mariah, a young girl who has yet to realise how special she really is. I really enjoyed watching her grow and find her feet (fins?). Her life becomes so complicated overnight, but she finds her fight and learns who she is throughout the novel. Teenagers always have plenty of drama, and Mariah's life is no exception. I have a new blog post up with background detail on the setting of Ocean Heart, and some inside info on the wonderful Ally Aldridge. ??, ???? ???? ?? ?? ???? (???? ?? ??? ??? ??? ?? ???) ?? ????? ??? ?? ???????? ?? ???? ????????? ??????? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ?? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ?????????! https://www.ciaradelahunt.com/post/ocean-heart-by-ally-aldridge ???‍♀️???‍♀️? ????? ? ??????? ?????? ? ??? ????? ?? '??'? ???????????.' High school teen Mariah's life is anything but simple. Between a crush on her best friend and a rivalry brewing with the swim team star, her powers awaken early. When Mariah's guardian meddles in her life with magic, she causes more harm than good. The soul reapers are coming and there's a werewolf hungry for merblood. All secrets wash ashore sooner or later, and Mariah's about to discover hers. Mixing a messy love life with deadly powers will whip up a storm of trouble. Can Mariah contain it or will she be swept up in its wake? A gripping story about a mermaid, self acceptance, and romance that literally sparks.

#NaNoWriMo always tests me. One day I'll be up, one day I'll be down. I think this month in general isn't my favourite because it's such an in-between kind of time. But, this challenge keeps me accountable and that's important.⁠ ⁠ My word count for today came to 2,208 ?️I'm still two days behind, but that's fine, I'll catch up.⁠ ⁠ I could have hit a higher word count, but I'm trying to be really caeful to make sure the words count this year. Yes, it's a rough draft, but sometimes in the past I found myself writing when I should have stopped to figure something out instead – and that ends up with me wasting scenes and time, so I'm focusing on quality over quantity this time. That's not really what NaNo is about, but NaNo is whatever you make it, so what works for me may not work for you ?⁠ ⁠ My anxiety was a bit all over the place today, but this little guy gave me all the cuddles I needed ❤️He was at the vet fort arthritis and she's super happy with his progress, so hopefully we're on the right track because it's mild and we've caught it early.⁠ ⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ ⁠ #nanowrimo #nationalnovelwritingmonth #nanowrimonovel #nanowrimo2020 #authorpets #authorpet #writingbuddy #familiars #authordogs #authordog #dogsarethebest #dogloverstagram #dogloversofig #dogsofinstagram #dogsofireland #indieauthor #indieauthorsofinstagram #indieauthors #indieauthorfantasy

Look what finally arrived! Cheers for the delays Amazon ?⁠ ⁠ It's been too long since I've read something by @hblyne ? In The Blood was fantastic and I've been so behind on my TBR, but I'm beyond excited to jump into this dark urban fantasy series. She always creates fantastic characters that pull me in and the worlds building is second to none. The perfect fit for dark evenings to give me my fantasy fix ?⁠ ⁠ Tonight I'll be curling up with a hot chocolate and diving into the Fate of the Blue Moon – after the real blue moon that appeared on Halloween, it would be wrong not to!?⁠ ⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ ⁠ #amreading #amreadingfantasy #bookrecommendation #reading #mustread #mustreads #mustreadauthor #ilovereading #ilovereadingbooks #readmorebooks #readingtime #fantasybooks #fantasyreads #currentread #currentreads #currentreading #bookworm #bookaholic

#Nanowrimo is in full swing! It's that time of the year again and I'm behind shedule... which is normal for me ?⁠ ⁠ For November, I'll be taking part in #NaNoOrNot20 hosted by @juliascottwrites and @btleditorial ❤️I like the prompts for this challenge, and we get Sundays off ? I want to focus on getting the words in this month after focusing on my website the past while.⁠ ⁠ I'll be spending the morning finishing the plot and outlining the side story I'll be writing for all my wonderful newsletter subscribers. This novella will take place when Ryan was a kid, and explain what made Donal hate hybrids so much... Not that he wasn't an asshole already!⁠ ⁠ As part of NaNo, I'll also be diving back into book 2 of my Hybrid Wolf Series. I'm excited for this now that I've hammered out an outline, and I came up with a new name I'll drop later in the month ?⁠ ⁠ My goal is to hit 50K between the two projects, though I'll be mixing in some rewrites so we'll see how it goes!⁠ ⁠ Let me know if you're taking part in the NaNoWriMo madness in the comments and what your project is ?⁠ ⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ #nanowrimo #nanoprep #nationalnovelwritingmonth #nanowrimochallenge #nanowrimonovel #nanowrimo2020 ⁠ #fantasywriter #urbanfantasyauthor #writer #aspiringwriter #aspiringauthor #igauthor #igwriter #writersofinstagram #writersofig #authorsofig #authorsofinsta #fantasyauthor

Weekends are for relaxing ?? Spending the day watching rugby, eating chocolate, and celebrating launching my website ? The link to subscribe to my newsletter is in my bio ? I hope you all have a fabulous Halloween ?? . . . #authorslife #lifeofawriter #writerslife #writerlife #indieauthorlife #authorlifestyle #authorlifeforme #writerlifestyle #writinglifestyle #writervibes #creativelifestyle #halloween #pumpkin #trickortreat #fall #happyhalloween #halloweeneveryday #everydayishalloween #jackolantern #halloweendecorations #spookyseason

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!?⁠?⁠ ⁠ To mark my favourite holiday of the year, my website has launched! It is now live and ready for all you lovelies to snoop around.⁠ ⁠ ?Website link is in my bio!⁠ ⁠ ✉️ My newsletter is also open for sign-ups, so please subscribe to stay up to date and be the first to hear about new releases, sneak peaks, and plenty of other goodies!?⁠ ?Follow me on Facebook for updates and random things I find musing ?⁠ ⁠ I hope you all have a fabulous Halloween, however you're celebrating ❤️ I'll be staying in with hot chocolate and horror movies!⁠ ⁠ All links are in my bio ?? . . . #fantasywriter #urbanfantasyauthor #writer #aspiringwriter #aspiringauthor #igauthor #igwriter #writersofinstagram #writersofig #authorsofig #fantasyauthor #indieauthor #indieauthorsofinstagram #indieauthors #indieauthorofinstagram #indieauthorsofig #indieauthorcommunity #indieauthorfantasy

I'll be finishing off my outline on Sunday, probably won't get writing straight away but that's cool. I always start #nanowrimo late anyways ? Tomorrow is rugby day, so I'll be spending the day screaming at the tv ? It's Halloween too, so I'll be throwing in some scary movies and chocolate! Halloween means website and newsletter launch day. I've spent the last few months designing the website myself and I can't wait for you guys to see it ? . . #nanowrimonovel #preptober #nanowrimo2020 #nanoprep #fantasywriter #urbanfantasyauthor #writer #aspiringwriter #aspiringauthor #igauthor #igwriter #writersofinstagram #writersofig #authorsofig #authorsofinsta #fantasyauthor