HEIDI CIECIURA #thrillerwithlove

One… Two… Three… Ready to go! I have my 2026 diary for planning each day’s work, and my pie chart that I will fill in every 5k words I complete.

THINGS THAT KEPT ME GOING THIS MONTH:

Homemade pumpkin spice cappuccinos made in my new, cheap but effective, cappuccino cup – like being in a coffee shop, but at home! Top tip, if you don’t have a velvetiser for frothing the milk, whisk it really fast in a saucepan as it warms up.

Playing an online escape room to get me in the puzzling mood.

Watching the Stranger Things finale.

Getting comfy on the sofa over Christmas and New Year for a James Bond marathon (yes, I have never seen any JB films before, and yes, I did watch every single movie from Dr No to Spectre).

Reading Dan Brown’s latest novel, The Secret of Secrets, (which I pre-ordered and have been drip-reading in order to prolong the enjoyment).

Watching Christmas Romance movies in early January.

PROGRESS REPORT:

Created my first Facebook reel🥳 I’m excited to get out into the world. Writing is such a lonely endeavour.

Refined and clarified the genre this story fits into: Thriller with Romantic Tension and Speculative/Fantasy elements. I know this will help keep me focused and on track as I write.

I am reworking my rough draft and am about a third of the way through.