My World Behind the Books

One thing I've realised more and more lately is that my writing journey seems to have become a mixture of all my different worlds. Obviously, I spend most of my days running Evening Owls Tuition, which has grown far beyond anything I imagined when I first started it in 2020. People are often surprised when they discover that alongside running a tutoring business, I also write books.

The conversation usually starts with, "Oh, you write?" and very quickly becomes, "How many books have you written?" followed by, "When on earth do you find the time?" and "Where do the ideas come from?" I always smile because the honest answer is that writing fits around everything else. It happens in the gaps between tutoring sessions, in the evenings, at weekends, over cups of tea, and sometimes in those moments when I should probably be doing something entirely different. Yet despite the juggling act, I absolutely love it.

What I hope comes across through my social media and website is that the books themselves are actually only a small part of a much bigger picture. There is, of course, The Towans Series, which grew out of my love of Hayle. I adore spending time there. The beaches, the dunes, the coastline stretching towards Gwithian and Godrevy Lighthouse, the changing colours of the sea, the sunsets and the atmosphere of the place have inspired me for years. Those stories are deeply rooted in Cornwall and in places that genuinely mean something to me. I also have a new series quietly bubbling away in the background which I'm very excited about, although I won't say too much about that just yet. Some ideas need a little time before they're ready to be shared.

Then there is The Stuff Series, my neurodivergent series, which comes from a very different place. Those books have been inspired by my studies in Educational Psychology, my years as a teacher and school leader, and the experiences I've had supporting children and young people through my tutoring work. They explore things that have always been important to me and allow me to combine my love of storytelling with my passion for education and understanding how young people experience the world around them.

And then there is everything else that sits behind the books and sort of envelops who I am as a person. Cornwall, writing, teaching, endless editing sessions, early morning beach walks, surfing, bodyboarding and swimming in the sea, watching the sun disappear into the ocean on a summer evening, getting lost in a good book, spending time in the garden, time with family and friends, far too many cups of tea and, of course, plenty of cuddles from Cookie and Fudge, who seem convinced that sprawling themselves across my keyboard is the perfect way to help me work. To be fair, they're probably right.

Recently I've been spending some time updating my website, adding a direct sales platform and refreshing some of the blog content. Seeing everything gradually come together has been really exciting, but it also made me stop and think about how much of the journey readers never really get to see. I published my first novel in July 2025 and, if you'd told me then that a year later I'd have four books out in the world, I probably wouldn't have believed you. When I published Between the Towans, I genuinely had no idea whether anybody would read it. I certainly never imagined that people would still be asking about the characters, looking forward to Book 3 or messaging me to ask where the series is heading next.

The reality is that life isn't always straightforward. Alongside running Evening Owls and writing, I've also had to navigate living with Ulcerative Colitis and Functional Neurological Disorder, both of which can be a little unpredictable at times. Oddly enough, writing fits around all of that beautifully. On the days when I'm not feeling my best, the stories are still there waiting for me. The characters are still there. The notebooks are still there. And there's something incredibly comforting about being able to disappear into a fictional world for a while and create something positive from it.

What readers see is the finished book. What they don't see are the years beforehand. The notebooks filled with ideas. The plans. The scribbled notes. The moments when inspiration strikes at two o'clock in the morning and you know you have to write something down before it disappears forever. They don't see the pages of notes about future stories, future characters and future directions for books that may or may not ever make it onto a page. They don't see chapters being rewritten three or four times, highlighted, crossed out, moved around and rewritten again. They don't see the amount of time spent searching for exactly the right word, trying to make sure a scene lands in the way you intended, or making sure a character's voice feels authentic.

If you've read The Towans Series, you'll know that many of the chapters are told from different viewpoints, and making sure each character sounds distinct and true to themselves takes far more editing than people might imagine. Then there are the characters themselves. Ralph is probably the best example. When I first started writing, I had certain ideas about where some of the characters would go and what their journeys would look like. Ralph, however, had ideas of his own. Writers often talk about characters taking on a life of their own and it sounds slightly ridiculous until it actually happens. Sometimes a character simply refuses to follow the path you've carefully mapped out for them, and suddenly the story starts heading somewhere completely different. Oddly enough, that's one of the things I enjoy most about writing. It's exciting. It's unpredictable. And sometimes the story becomes better than the one you originally planned.

I think that's been one of the greatest joys of writing The Towans Series. Cornwall itself is very much a character in its own right, as some readers have kindly pointed out in their reviews, but the people who live within those stories have become incredibly important to me too. Following their journeys from Book 1 through to Book 3, allowing them to grow, change and find their own paths, has been challenging at times but also hugely rewarding.

As I continue working through the edits for Beyond the Towans' Tide, I find myself thinking more and more about everything that happens behind the scenes. The books may be the destination, but the journey to get there is often every bit as interesting.

So, I thought that over the coming months it might be nice to share a little more of that side of things. Not just book releases and publication updates, but some of the Cornwall that inspires the stories, snippets from the writing process, thoughts from my editing desk, the occasional glimpse behind the scenes and perhaps a few insights into how the books come together in the first place. You may not be interested in any of that at all and simply want to read the finished books, which is absolutely fine. But for those of you who enjoy peeking behind the curtain, I thought it might be fun to open the door a little wider.

As always, thank you for reading, supporting, reviewing, recommending, sharing and championing my books. Whether you've bought one, borrowed one, passed one on to a friend, stopped by a signing, shared a post or simply paused for a moment to read something I've written, I genuinely appreciate it. Writing can sometimes feel like a solitary pursuit, but readers transform it into a conversation, and that conversation has brought so much joy into my life. If you'd like to be part of that journey, you're very welcome to join my reader mailing list and follow along as new books, new ideas and new adventures take shape. And if not, thank you for being here anyway.

Enjoyed reading this?

If you'd like occasional updates about my books, Cornwall inspiration, writing projects and future releases, you're very welcome to join my reader list: https://www.brenmooreauthor.co.uk/join-my-reader-list

Bren x ❤️