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Today is release day for one of the best books I've read in a long time, Remember My Royalty by Hannah E. Griggs! I am so thrilled this book is finally out in the world! Remember My Royalty is a 500-page middle-grade novel about the Texas Revolution which all ages will enjoy. This book combines Scottish history and characters with the story of the Alamo, the majority of characters being real historical figures. There is SO much I love about this book, and today, I'm excited to interview the author and one of the main fictional characters, who also happens to be my favourite! 
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Hi everyone! This isn't much of a usual post, but I wanted to hop on and get a post out anyway before the first quarter of 2026 totally slips away. To start with, the biggest writing news - I won a short story contest! I only decided to write a week before the deadline, and it took forever to figure out where I wanted the story to go. It was definitely one of the most difficult stories I've ever written. I changed it completely about five or six times, and even once it was finished, it needed about three more drafts to get it under the word limit and edited. I finally finished just a couple hours before the deadline and sent it straight in without any beta readers or many of my usual editing passes. I really didn't expect it to win anything, but I liked the story enough I had made up my mind that if it didn't, I would expand it a little and either publish it or send it to my newsletter subscribers. (I might still do that after the magazine releases, so make sure you are subscribed to the newsletter!) But to my delight it won in the Historical category! When the Mists Rise, along with the other winning stories, including two by friends of mine, will be releasing in the Clean Fiction Spring Magazine next month, so keep an eye out for that!  We're almost at the end of 2025! This year has been a big writing year in some ways, and one of the things that makes it special is that it marks ten years of serious writing for me.
There were various others over the years, ones I've mostly forgotten now. I used to tell myself stories in my head all the time, and occasionally would try to write something down. I hated writing school essays, although I did love the one time I had to write a short story with very few restrictions on what it had to be about! Writing wasn't really a career I dreamt of, it was just something always sort of there. But finally, in 2015, after my sister Bethany started writing more seriously, I became determined to really truly write and finish a book.
That was 10 years ago. And so, inspired by this post on Read Another Page, I wanted to wrap up this year with a quick overview of the last decade of writing.  I haven't been posting very regularly on here, and today's post won't be a regular one either. As many of you know, my dad passed away in June this year. Yesterday (the 24th) was his birthday, and I wanted to take the chance to remember him through a short blog post.
There's no question that my love of reading and writing began with my dad. Starting with the most basic picture books when I was too young even to talk, he would read to me all the time, going on to adventure stories, classics, and countless others as I grew older. So many of my favourite books are tied to memories of reading with my dad, practically every day, for most of my childhood. Even as I grew up, he would often read to the whole family, and he also read very much himself and always encouraged me to do the same. He taught me the value of books and reading, and I know he loved sharing his favourites with me as I got old enough to appreciate them!  This is it - the final day of Five Fall Favourites! I hope this week has been amazing for you, and that you've found tons of books for your TBR. I so enjoyed being on the blogging side this year, and I can't wait to see which of you lovely readers won the giveaway! Thank you so much to Rebekah and Kate for hosting, and for all the other bloggers and readers who came together to make this year a success. Read right to the end of today's post for a special thank you gift, and of course, visit the host blogs to see who won the giveaway!
Welcome to Day 5 of Five Fall Favourites 2025! We are nearly at the end of this year's FFF! How have you enjoyed it so far? Have you found a ton of book recs? I know I have! Today is the last day to enter the giveaway. The winners will be announced tomorrow on the host blogs (Rebekah and Kate), so make sure to follow the blogs and bloggers, comment, and add recommended books to your TBR for final entries!
Today's prompt is Books I've Reread.
The problem is, I reread a LOT. And the problem with the alternate is, I love a LOT of books. So today I'm combining them as five books I've loved for a long time and reread often - in other words, favourite books that I grew up on! And it was hard, but I made sure not to mention any books previously mentioned, which sadly means I won't be sharing Dunstan or A Sidekick's Tale again despite many rereads. ;) So, here are five of the books I've loved longest! Images link to Goodreads. We've passed the halfway mark!!! With over four hundred book recs already, your TBRs must be bursting at the seams, but we still have a lot more to go! Remember, you can enter the giveaway every day. But tomorrow is the last day to enter, so don't leave it too long! The host blogs Rebekah and Kate have all the info as well as the links to the other blogs participating. Are you ready for today's recs?
Welcome to Day 3! Hasn't this been a fun few days? I hope you're finding wonderful recommendations, and of course, new blogs to follow! Don't forget to enter the giveaway again today and check out the host blogs Rebekah and Kate to see all the other bloggers!
Welcome back!! I hope you enjoyed the first day of FFF as much as I did. Did you enter the giveaway yet? There are so many great prizes to be won, and the more days you enter, the more chance you have of winning! Once again, don't forget to visit Rebekah and Kate for links to all the other wonderful blogs participating!
Welcome, welcome everyone! I am super thrilled to be joining my favourite bookish event as a blogger for the very first time. And it's no ordinary year - Five Fall Favourites is celebrating its tenth anniversary! If you've missed the last nine years, Five Fall Favourites is an annual blog party and giveaway involving tons of book recommendations, prizes, and freebies. And with 28 bloggers, 840 book recs, and a two-winner giveway of 22 ebooks/audiobooks and a gift card, this is the biggest FFF has ever been! So grab a cozy autumn drink (especially if like me you're in the southern hemisphere and need help getting into the ambience XD), sit back, and prepare for your TBR to double by the time the week is over. Psst... if you make it all the way to the end on Saturday, there will be a special freebie from me on this blog! Most importantly, don't forget to visit our hosts Rebekah and Kate for a list of all the other bloggers and to enter our giveaway! Are you ready for the first five recommendations?
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Lydia Coral Willcockis a South African homeschool grad passionate about writing accurate and realistic historical fiction set in or centred around her own country. She is also an avid reader and strongly believes the two go together. Never happier than with a book in her hand or a WIP in her head, she also loves studying history, playing the piano, and knitting favourite literary characters. Connect with Lydia on:
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