Kristen Bailey

Meh, arrrgh, Christmas....what? It's December already? How in the hell of motherly Jesus did that happen? I swear I was just moaning about the summer holidays? It's been a busy old time recently. We launched Second Helpings and I did my first blog tour. Thank you to everyone who hosted me during this time, for all the likes and shares and RTs and follows. Writing sure feels like quite the solitary endeavour sometimes but recently, I've been thrown in the path of some tru

The first thing most people usually ask me about Souper Mum is whether she is me. I know the book doesn’t really stray too far from real life: Jools has four, I have four. We both married dependable if sweary Northerners. We both like a manic school run and can’t cook or bake for toffee. Geez, she even has a kid called Jake! The bare truth is there are similarities, I can’t lie but Jools is far braver than me. Life has thrown her many a curve ball, and she always manage

There are no words (mainly because I've been at the prosecco). But it's out. Souper Mum has been released into the wild. There are no words to tell you how fucking amazing that feels. So here's five dance scenes that express my insane levels of joy. Another glass and I will try to recreate these scenes in my living room. Join in, please do. I'll warn the dog to get in the kitchen. Take it away, Gene.... #publicationday #SouperMum #writing #fiction #happydance #GeneKell

Lots of people asking how to help Souper Mum, how can I get the message out, how can I help her get noticed. She's a classy bird ol' Souper Mum...she won't go for the naked selfie or some random sex tape to get her name in the papers. She'll hopefully get noticed on her own merits. But as a reader, there is plenty you can do to give her a nudge in the right direction. Can I just thank everyone for their unwavering support and love? I hope this will all still be forthcomi

A lot of people have asked me about my writing process. What shapes my craft? Why write? How do I find the ruddy time? I’m not sure there’s a succinct equation which explains how I do it. There are some answers here but in terms of genre, I’ve always known I wanted to write stories that relate to the experience of being in the thick of modern life. I only write at night like a little owl. This means I’m always in my pyjamas. I like to drink green tea and I keep notes

So what did I say yesterday? A blog post for every day until the 16th! I'm gonna write like a fricking maniac in the run up to my book's release....look at me go! Well, that was the plan and just like most of my life, the plan decided to do me over. I currently write this from Arya's bedside as doctors pump her full of antibiotics for a horrible eye infection that's gone a bit awry. And all at once, while I'm dancing inside because of writing and books happening, there is not

It's a weird one, writing. The fact is you do it from the age of four or five. Letters become words and words become sentences and we illustrate it ourselves with strips of blue sky, green grass and trees that look like broccoli. Case in point: this is something my #2 daughter wrote at the beginning of this school year. Look how ruddy skinny I am! And my 'glarses!' And the fashion forward yellow boots... love it. I loved writing as a kid - I loved writing poems that rhy