I’m a day late to the party, but yesterday marked my Blogger “blogaversary.”
It’s been fourteen years since I announced that my blog was changing from Clare’s Adventures in NaNoWriMo to Clare Dugmore Writes, and with it, my shift from focusing solely on NaNoWriMo to branching out as an indie writer trying to make connections within the writing community.
Those were the days of blog hops and challenges, and I met some wonderful people — many of whom I’m still friends with today.
So yes, it’s been sixteen years since I switched to original fiction, and fourteen years since I’ve been actively working as an indie author.
In that time, I’ve published three novels and a handful of shorter works, moved from Blogger to HubSpot, and learned so much about myself — both as a person and as a writer.
Where I’m At as a Writer
My passion for writing is stronger than ever. What’s changed is that I now understand that the ‘abandoned’ projects and periods where I vanished from the internet weren’t failures — they were symptoms of untreated ADHD, autism, and PMDD.
Those things are still part of my life, but I’m now receiving treatment and understand how to manage them far better. And because of that, I genuinely feel happy and settled with where I’m at as a writer.
In previous posts, I’ve talked about my decision to step away from contemporary romance for now, and instead focus on romantasy, fantasy romance, and paranormal romance. More recently, I also shared my decision to focus on querying and traditional publishing, at least for the foreseeable future.
So that’s where I am as we near the end of January 2026 — almost sixteen years on from my first NaNoWriMo, and from moving from fan-fiction into original work.
Writing Progress This Month
January has been a bit of a mixed bag — a gentle ‘re-entry’ after the Christmas break, alongside real-life responsibilities, including taking my Youngest to view a potential college. And to think, when I started writing original fiction, he hadn’t even been born yet!
My family really has grown alongside my writing career. 💜
In between everything else, I did technically finish Kiss Me After the Kill. I say “finish” because while the story is complete, I still want to add three sex scenes at different points in Lucia and Azrael’s relationship.
I’m waiting for the right moment — and headspace — to write those scenes in a way that truly does the story justice. That’s easier said than done with college visits (and another one coming up), ADHD and PMDD symptoms, and general fatigue.
That said, I still hope to write those final scenes by the end of January so that Hubby and I can move on to our read-through and revisions.
After that, I’ll be turning my attention to my piece for the Snowy Wings Publishing Nursery Rhyme Anthology, which is due to be published later this year.
As a quick recap: the story follows a young woman who discovers she’s marked for death when a red rose blooms in her window flowerbox. She finds comfort in the mysterious groundskeeper of the rose garden — the final resting place for all the village’s inhabitants — and eventually uncovers that he is the fae equivalent of the Grim Reaper.
It’s going to be gothic, a little sad, full of longing… and I can’t wait to get stuck in.
So that’s my goal for February: revising Kiss Me After the Kill with my husband, and drafting Roses Are Red.
Kindred Creativity Club & Community Updates
As you may have noticed, my website has had a bit of a facelift for the New Year. If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you’ll know I can’t help changing up my graphics every few months — much like some people decorate for the seasons.
I’m really happy with the current look of the site. It feels very me.
While I was updating things, I also refreshed The Kindred Creativity Club website. Unfortunately, both domains then came up for renewal at the same time.
What I thought would be a quick couple of hours switching domain hosts for my author site — and buying a proper domain for KCC instead of using a subdomain — turned into a week-and-a-half saga involving Hubby and FastHosts customer support.
But everything is finally stable, which means I can now announce The Kindred Creativity Club’s first event of 2026.
✨ Kindred Kindness Week (Feb 9–15)
From February 9th–15th, KCC will be hosting Kindred Kindness Week — a gentle, creative event centred on encouragement, community, and being a little kinder to others and ourselves.
How it works:
✨ Daily kindness prompts (shared below and posted daily on social media)
💜 Optional participation — join in as much or as little as you like
🌱 Focus on small, accessible acts of kindness
🎨 Open to all creatives and supporters
You can find more details here:
👉 https://www.kindredcreativityclub.com/kindred-kindness-week
Health & Life Update
Health-wise, things are largely unchanged. My GP agreed to increase my HRT from 50mg to 75mg to see if that helps with my PMDD. Unfortunately, I’m allergic to the adhesive on the patches, so I now need to speak with the pharmacist about trying an alternative, such as a cream.
I finally had my blood pressure checked at the GP surgery, and it was within the normal range — which suggests the home machine sent to me by Psychiatry UK was inaccurate. I’ve passed my correct readings on to PsyUK and am now waiting to hear about starting titration for ADHD medication.
Hubby — who’s with a different psychiatry service — had his pre-titration appointment yesterday and is now waiting for his first prescription.
Not going to lie, I’m a little jealous… but mostly I’m just glad he’s getting the help he deserves. I’m also very curious to see how ADHD medication affects him.
In my last post, I mentioned some health concerns involving my mum and step-dad. I saw her again last week, and not much has changed. One doctor she spoke to in early January was dismissive, and my step-dad is still waiting on tests. In the meantime, Mum is looking into additional support.
She’s taking a lot of comfort in her faith, which reassures me, and she has friends at church, so she’s well supported. We’ve told her that Hubby and I are here if she needs anything — for now, it’s just a case of taking things one day at a time.
Looking Ahead
That’s about it for this month, so I’ll leave things here.
Hopefully, next time I check in, I’ll have exciting progress updates on Kiss Me After the Kill and Roses Are Red to share.
Until then, take care — and stay creative.
T.T.F.N