December 2024 - Farewell to the year, and a warm welcome to brand new energies
Life Updates
Hellloooo everyone and Happy New Year! Hope you all had a lovely Christmas whatever you may have been doing.
We had a bit of sad news just before the big day in that my Nanny Rose passed away at age 94, so once again this time of year feels quite bittersweet. Both Mat and I have lost a lot of people around Christmas over the last few year and it has meant that this becomes a really reflective time to think about everyone who is no longer with us. Nanny was the last of my remaining grandparents so it really does feel like the end of an era… I have been thinking of everyone in the family, and I like to think she is now finally reunited with my Grandad and her brothers and sisters. I was glad to spend Christmas Day with my Dad after the news and spend some quality time together.
We were originally supposed to be having M&S roast dinner at home with Mat’s Mum Vee and her husband Peter, but unfortunately they both came down with COVID and couldn’t make it. Instead, we tagged along to the curry house to chomp on Turkey Tikka with my parents, my cousin Erin and her partner Doody. All a bit last-minute and ragtag, but the curry buffet was gorgeous and we played games and had a right old laugh! Then we had a second Christmas dinner on the 27th with Mum and Dad to eat all the food we’d already ordered in lol! (So. Much. Eating…) We did get to see Vee briefly on the 28th once she was feeling better, but we now need to schedule in a THIRD Christmas dinner to make up for the one we lost! But hey, you can never have too many Christmas dinners, right??
The whole December was actually kind of crazy in terms of social gatherings and general feasting and merriment! I am so grateful to have so many good people in my life and this month was dedicated to catching up with everyone who was home for the holidays/visiting over the festive period. My bestie Sazzie came to visit for a weekend and we slobbed out eating pasta and watching the Strictly final which was heaven! Mat and I also went to Paul and Andy’s Christmas house party, and to a gig with Hannah and Ant - it was my friend Chloe’s band Brave Rival and it was her last ever performance with them so it was an emotional one!
Since I get lots of time off work over Christmas, I also had time to go up to Camden with my cousins Erin and Emma. This is the first time we’ve had a group meet-up in forever and it was sooo lovely to catch up over the food market and shopping. We even went to the Coyote Ugly bar and I got to sing Can’t Fight The Moonlight over the waitress’ roaming mic - bucket list achievement unlocked!
On Christmas Eve we went to our good friend Leo’s family home where he was visiting with his fiancée Samar - he recently moved out to Saudi Arabia where they are both starting their beautiful new life together! So happy for them and it was so much fun to catch up with them and the whole family/extended family of friends! (Even if I did get very squiffy on the endless shots of neat whiskey and Limoncello that Leo was pouring me… This is the nature of a Slovak Christmas or so I’ve been told, lots of shots in great abundance.)
I managed to squeeze in one last friend meet-up with my oldest school friends Katie and Leah who were down for the holidays - we went to my favourite tacky pirate bar Rapscallions and got seated on THE THRONE (bloody hell)… It was a great laugh and so lovely to catch up!
Which brings me up to date with New Year’s Eve - we had a chilled one with Paul and Andy at Staggeringly Good Brewing’s NYE party. We don’t normally go out for the occasion, but this event was so chilled and nice. There was a communal playlist where you could vote songs up and down and there was an evening-long rivalry going on between the pop divas and the metalheads which was hilarious! At the end of the night we rang in 2025 to “Like A Prayer” by Madonna (a song EVERYONE could agree on) and it truly felt like a spiritual cleanse of 2024 and a welcoming-in of brand new energies. Just beautiful.
I am so ready for the new year. I am so ready for new starts and good people and less worrying and more fun. Please and thank you. :)
Creative Updates
First things first… Querying updates:
Well, it’s been a month of being out in the query trenches and let me tell you, it’s BRUTAL out here… Every time my email pings, my heart leaps straight up to my throat and my pulse starts racing as I wonder if this is the big YES I’ve been waiting for or just another polite “no thank yewww”. The suspense is killing me, and this time of year has been understandably slow as everyone is winding down for the new year. However, I have had a trickle of responses… A handful of rejections (one of which was very encouraging!) and (drumroll please) a full manuscript request, woohoo!!
This particular agent is someone I added to my list as a bit of wildcard because #1 I thought they would be a bit out of my league and #2 they are based in America… But honestly, I would absolutely LOVE to write for the US market so this turn of events is incredibly exciting. Even just getting this far with him has given me a massive confidence boost, and I am keeping everything crossed.
I am hopeful I’ll hear back from more of the UK-based agents in the new year… But right now the most important thing for me is finding that person who really gets me and feels enthusiastic about me and my work. I know I’m a bit quirky and I might need to search for a while to find that perfect match, but it will be totally worth the wait for the exact right person!
And now for everything else…
In music news, I got my Artist Spotify Stats this month! And I know these aren’t huge numbers next to many other indie artists, but I was still really proud and grateful to see streams and listeners in the thousands! To anyone who has streamed The Songs You’ve Never Heard album or any of my solo songs - THANK YOU SO MUCH! It really means more than you could ever know!
I also released my solo acoustic track Reasons at the start of the month - a song I first wrote 10 years ago for my Nerd book series. It has been so special to revisit it with new production from the talented Jon Dix (and vocals recorded and comped by me in my little home studio)! Please do give it a listen and let me know what you think! :)
I’ve actually been back in Mayfield Studios (where I recorded my track Misunderstood) which has re-opened right around the corner from me, woohoo! I’ve had a few sessions recording a brand new song Get To Heaven which is from my YA book “One Song Wonder” (the book that still hasn’t found a home yet, but I have faith that it WILL). More info soon, but it’s sounding lovely and I’m excited to have a fully-produced track under my belt for the first time in forever!
Not much else to report besides doing a little bit of session singing for Ellie who has been working on music for a new children’s show. Always lovely to get session work from friends and also to get the chance to channel my inner Disney Princess!! I’ll let you all know if and when the vocals get used!
Movie Recs
Wicked - SO magical, SO epic, the soundtrack is incredible and Ariana and Cynthia are both phenomenal - I LOVED THIS MOVIE!! It will be sure to go down as one of the greatest stage to movie adaptations in history!
Kneecap - This biopic about an Irish speaking hip-hop group (starring the real life band acting as themselves) was fricking awesome! I just loved how rebellious and genuinely funny it was, and I learned a lot about Irish politics and culture in the process. It’s wild this is a true story and I kind of love the fact the band has been out terrorising everyone at film festivals in promotion of it…!
Better Man - I wasn’t going to see this movie because as much as I love Robbie Williams, the whole CGI monkey thing was really putting me off, but we had free tickets for the cinema so we thought oh well, why not… And let me tell you, IT WAS BRILLIANT. Slightly too long and a little woe-is-me in places, but overall a fascinating account of Robbie’s rise to fame and struggle with mental health. I cried way more than I expected to at that stupid CGI monkey. It was also great to hear so many bangers from Robbie’s back catalogue and all the songs I literally grew up with! If you’re on the fence with this one, go and see it. You won’t regret it.
TV Recs
A Nonsense Christmas With Sabrina Carpenter - A cute, silly, saucy holiday special with everyone’s favourite spicy minx Sabrina Carpenter. With amazing music, a whole host of special guests and comedy galore, this was perfect viewing whilst decorating the Christmas tree!
Squid Game 2 - The best show in the world is BACK BABY!!! I was worried that Season 2 was going to be disappointing, but I’m already hooked and on the edge of my seat. I love this show SO MUCH, it’s just iconic in every possible way! (Cue scary BEEP BOOP BEEP BOOP music…)
No Good Deed - A new Netflix series by the same creator as Dead To Me about a bunch of people vying to buy an expensive house, and the dark secrets that lay buried within said house. Kind of a quirky premise, but there is something about this show that keeps me watching. It’s probably that Lisa Kudrow plays the main character and I just love her!
Also, I AM SO HAPPY THAT CHRIS AND DIANNE WON STRICTLY!! I have loved watching their beautiful journey together, and I shed so many tears during the final… Proof that we should never accept the limitations that others put upon us and that anything can be possible with the right attitude and work ethic. Absolute legends.
Book Recs
Look Up, Handsome by Jack Strange - I keep going on about this LGBQT+ rom-com, because it was so cute, cosy and Christmassy! I loved it so much and I really look forward to whatever Jack writes next. It also seriously made me want to visit Hay-On-Wye!
Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick - I have just adored listening to this memoir on audiobook - Anna is such a funny, feisty and inspiring person with so many brilliant and hilarious stories to tell. Really inspiring and exactly the energy I needed to see me into the new year.
Love You To Death by Gina Blaxill - My author friend Gina is the queen of tightly plotted, twisty YA thrillers and this murder mystery about a copycat killer was highly addictive and entertaining! I thoroughly recommend this title and her whole back catalogue.
Music Recs
Rosie by Rosé - The BLACKPINK star has released her own solo album performed solely in English and it’s filled to the brim with bangers. There is a definite Taylor Swift influence in her songwriting and some real heartfelt moments mixed with fun party tunes. Well worth a listen!
Vicious Creatures by Lauren Mayberry - This is the first solo album from the CHVRCHES frontwoman and it’s full of quirky, hooky pop bangers. I absolutely love it and feel Lauren is becoming an instant fave of mine!!
Dancing On The Milky Way by The Hot Damn! - I am a sucker for a female-fronted rock band and The Hot Damn! are very much like The Donnas, Potty Mouth, Hey Violet and other power chord princesses of this genre. Fun, feisty music that makes you wanna dance and holler!
Also I’m obsessed with dodie’s new cover of Chet Baker’s Old Devil Moon and the sexy, mischievous little visualiser that comes with it! Makes me feel so confident and empowered to watch it!
Wow, this was a LONG update… This was just such a busy month, but I love documenting the memories so I can always look back on them. Let me know how your Decembers were and what your resolutions are for the new year!
Becky xox
Eeeeeekkk! 2025 here we come 🥳🥳🥳