The Writer Blog Prompt Challenge – A for Achievement

Posted on January 31, 2026 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

This is the start of a 26 week blog challenge set by Ari Meghlan. I think it’s a great idea and have decided to play along. This week’s word is Achievement.

My big achievement is the fact I’ve been an indie author for 10 years!

This milestone passed by very quietly on 16th November 2025. I suppose I wasn’t feeling very successful and didn’t want to advertise the fact that I’m not yet a big name in the book world, nor am I able to support myself with writing alone.

But now I am ready to celebrate it, because although there have been a lot of challenges, it can’t be denied that I have achieved one of my dreams…

I am a published author with 4 full length novels and 4 short story collections to my name.

I have plans to write and publish a lot more over the next 10 years. My books have been downloaded by thousands of people and I’ve hit a few bestseller lists on Amazon, albeit briefly. My books have had lots of wonderful reviews, and I’ve even had the amazing experience of being called a reader’s favourite author. In 2021 I was a finalist in the book bloggers novel of the year with The Lost Sentinel, and the opening of my romance novel Secrets and Love Songs at The Mermaid Hotel came second in the flash 500 novel opening competition in 2023.

One of the biggest achievements came early on when I was contacted by a publisher and had my debut, Visions of Zarua, translated into Czech. I travelled to Prague, visited my publisher and the local bookshops to see my books on the shelves.

The last 10 years have involved a lot of learning, and plenty of tears, but I wouldn’t go back and change it. This is my achievement and I am owning it today.

***

Thank you to Ari for starting off this challenge. Here is a link to her post on Achievement where she shares her thoughts on the subject and also links to anyone else who has decided to take part. Please take a look and join in if you feel inspired.

Next week B is for Book trailer.

A new look for the website and questions on an author rebrand

Posted on January 27, 2026 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

I’ve been messing around with the website headers and how the site looks on WordPress. This is a snippet of its current new look.

It’s temporary because I will hopefully have some romance covers to share soon. I love all shades of purple, so this appealed to me and the sunshine reminds me of the happiness of spring.

What I’m finding really difficult is getting a look that says I’m a writer of both fantasy and romance. Maybe I need to split the header into two and showcase both sides of my writing. It could end up looking messy, so I will do some experiments and maybe share the results here to get feedback.

The next few months will be all about defining my author brand ahead of the launch of The Mermaid Hotel Series.

Whilst experimenting on Canva with graphics, I will need to ask myself: should I come away from my fantasy books completely for now and rebrand as a romance author? Is it viable to do both on the same website? Should I have two websites dedicated to each genre? These are hard questions, and I’d love to know what other authors have done.

Also, what other softwares are out? I’ve dabbled with the free versions of Canva and Book Brush. Is it worth the monthly subscription?

I thought it would be fun to look back on the banners my website has used over the years, starting at the beginning. When I first started out, I used my own pictures to make banners. These were a couple I played with.

When I started publishing books, they took centre stage for a while.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the evolution of my website. It’s been fun looking back, especially seeing all the pictures I’ve used and being reminded of the posts they relate to. I hope to do a post looking back at those favourite images soon.

Until next time…

Book Review Christmas at the Cat Cafe by Jessica Redland #romance

Posted on January 24, 2026 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

Well, this book just wowed me. I have to say it was probably one of the best books I read in 2025, though technically I finished it at the beginning of 2006.

Blurb

It’s the most wonderful time of the year on Castle Street, and there’s a paw-some new business opening….

It had always been Tabby’s dream to work with cats and an inheritance from her beloved nanna has finally made that a reality. Idyllic Castle Street in Whitsborough Bay couldn’t be a better place for pastry chef Tabby to open a cat café with her boyfriend, Leon.

But when Leon leaves her in the lurch, the pressure mounts for Tabby. With Christmas fast approaching, she has to open the café on her own – a daunting prospect, especially when she’s been hiding her health issues from the ones she loves.

Faced with local resistance to the café – and somebody seemingly determined that she won’t succeed – Tabby will need her friends, family and cats more than ever to recover her broken Christmas spirit and pull together for a Christmas miracle.

Will the cat café bring the festive joy to Castle Street as Tabby had hoped or will it be a cat-astrophe? And can the magic of Christmas on Castle Street mend Tabby’s broken heart as well as her business?

My Mini Review

I loved every moment spent with Tabby and her trials with both her health, heartache and opening a very special cat cafe. The slow burn romance, friends to lovers trope and lots of furry friends made for the purrfect festive reading!

I really enjoyed the friendship and chemistry between Tabby and Tom, and loved their cute nicknames for each other; Tabby-cat and Tom-cat. The cats were all stars of the story as well.

Learning about Tabby’s chronic heath condition was interesting and felt completely believable and integral to the storyline. At no point did I find it too much, it made the story more interesting and made the relationship between Tom and Tabby even more special. I loved their connection. I shed tears quite a few times reading this book, Jessica is a master at getting to you feel the character’s emotions.

It really was a top read for me and I highly recommend it.

Check it out on Amazon.

Book Review A Mistletoe Miracle Emma Jackson #romance #romcom

Posted on January 21, 2026 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

I know it’s not Christmas time anymore, but I still enjoyed reading this festive story. Well, actually I loved this book and it led to some late nights staying up reading.

Blurb

A Mistletoe Miracle is the cosy festive romance from best-selling author, Emma Jackson, guaranteed to have readers feeling the joy amidst the chaos of Christmas, and the heady rush of falling in love.

Heartwarming and hilarious, get ready for a generous sprinkling of snowflakes, mayhem and kisses…

Nestled in the sleepy, snow-covered village of Holinton, the Everdene Hotel should be the ideal setting for a perfect Christmas… But for Beth, returning to her childhood home looking for a chance to heal in peace after a disastrous break-up, it’s more of a fiasco than a festive fantasy.

With her mum stranded in a blizzard and most of the hotel staff off sick, Beth is forced to take the reins, impress a mystery hotel reviewer, and figure out if her attraction to Nick, the very grumpy – and very gorgeous – pilot who is staying for the holidays, is the real deal or a rebound headed for disaster.

Between mince pie emergencies, deadly decorations, and two dozen disgruntled guests, Beth needs to find a miracle under the mistletoe if she’s going to survive this Christmas…

Perfect for fans of Laurie Gilmore, Heidi Swain and Tarah DeWitt.

Mini Review

I loved the story of Beth and Nick, from the way they literally bumped into each other, right up to their last moment on the page together.

Beth has to cope with running the hotel when her mother is stranded miles away because of the snow. She does an amazing job of juggling a dozen tasks at once and still somehow manages to find the time to fall for one of her grumpy guests.

The festive feel to the story lifts your spirits any time of year. And as the blurb states so perfectly, there are plenty of mishaps to keep everyone, especially Beth, on their toes.

I’m pleased to find out there will be a sequel following two of the other guests, though I shall miss the Everdene Hotel and all of Beth’s antics.

This is my first read by Emma Jackson and it won’t be my last!

5 star read!

Check it on Amazon here.

New Year Plans 2026 #indieauthor

Posted on January 18, 2026 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

We’re already over halfway through January, so I’m a bit late with my New Year plans. I don’t like to waste an opportunity, so I’ve made myself a brief list of tasks that will help me reach the big goal – publishing The Mermaid Hotel Series in 2026. I have a rough publishing schedule in my head, though I’m not ready to announce it yet. Instead, I’m focusing on the steps I need to follow to reach my goals.

Book 1 – Get a cover, proofread, start the publishing journey including blog tours, ARC copies etc.

Book 2 – Get feedback from my critique partner, edit, get cover, send to my editor, edit, proof read, prepare to publish.

Book 3 – Read and edit prior to sending to a professional reader within the New Writers Scheme as part of my Romantic Novelist Association membership. Then the usual, edit, critique route as per book 2.

Book 4 – Send monthly installments to my writing group, edit and get a critique / edit etc.

Book 5 and beyond – Plan the books and prepare to write them as soon as possible.

Winter Warmers series – Write 8 to 10 cosy Christmas stories and publish in October / November.

Back catalogue – I want to go through all my published books and update the content, ensuring they all have links to my other books, social media etc.

Author profile – I need to improve my author presence on social media, work on my website and restart my newsletter. I’ve looked at Substack and want to figure out how it works before I start posting there.

I plan to attend some in person events this year, including ALLi Indie Author Lab in March and the Romantic Novelist Association bi-annual conference in July. I’m signing up to plenty of online webinars as well, trying to increase my knowledge of current indie publishing trends and marketing opportunities.

I’m hoping to have more time this year to dedicate to all things writing. I need it if I’m going to achieve this huge list. As much as I just want to write stories, I know I need to get a business head on and think about reaching readers. I hope to share more of this journey here.

Any tips will be greatly appreciated!

Have you set any resolutions or goals for 2026, realistic or otherwise?