It's out in the world, ready to cause havoc!
Earlier this year, I worked with @charlottegshore on her first fiction book, helping her to bring her wild, sexy and outrageous ideas to the page. We had SO much fun together and the result is... HOT! but with a lot of heart too. Much like Charlotte herself. This is a woman who squeezes joy out of life but, above all, loves her friends and family. That's captured in the book*, which follows Angelica, who is plucked from obscurity to star in a new reality TV show and the story follows what happens when the cameras stop rolling, at a time when reality TV was just beginning to take off.
If you love celebrity, friendship, gossip and... Saucy! Shenanigans! Or you've ever wanted to demand a man goes down on you in a limo... Then go get one! Rivals meets... Geordie Shore!** a proper bonkbuster and an escape from life (something we all need, let's face it) ENJOOOOY!
@harpernorthuk
*Though I must emphasise it is... Fiction .
** Once again... It's fiction...
Real life staff pick in Edinburgh @waterstones ! After @creative_electric did a sneak one, she discovered in a TOTALLY DIFFERENT Waterstones this! I am MADE UP AND SO HAPPY. I think, unless any of my other Edinburgh pals did more sneaky rule breaking, that this means someone in Edinburgh Waterstones read my book and liked it enough to recommend it. So happy and grateful to Heather for finding this! @katieellisbrown ❤❤❤📚📚📚❤❤❤
Some thoughts on why I set up my news letter, my own experiences and what I want achieve with it, are up! Please no one comment that I wrote this at Christmas and it's now a heatwave. This project is one of the things that means so much to me that I've been procrastinating out of fear...
Thank you SO much to everyone who has signed up already.
I've included the link in my stories but it's also at catrionainnes.substack.com/about
💛💛💛💛💛💛💛
#grief #writing #writerscommunity
When I first moved to London I thought it would be two years, three years, tops.
Then there was a time when I thought I'd be here forever.
Now, I realise, you never know how long you'll stay somewhere. When you'll have to leave.
Life holds far too much up its sleeve, to ever predict.
And London will always be here for me. But, later in the year, we are moving home. Edinburgh, are you ready for me?
Old poem written about my love for this place. I'm actually in a lot of denial about this whole thing so please be gentle with me over the coming months. Thank you!
Love you London and everyone I've met within it. ❤️
PS I'll still be here all summer so let's make it the best one yet
Amsterdam, 2026 🌷 (notes from my diary)
This time the city smells sweet, tulips wave at me on cobbled corners, dogs scamper past, friends call to each other from windows, lives I could step into.
🌷
We float through golden-lit waters, perch on the seat Churchill had once perched. At night, we sleep oh-so-lucky in our beds, raised by the morning, the sound of church bells singing out, grabbing attention from the fresh air.
🌷
We stumble across the hotel we stayed in, 21, mushroom-eyes, all of us crammed into bunk beds.
Our histories stack on top of each other, almost three decades of friendship and here we are, with our centre partings and millennial nails. All this wisdom yet still so much to learn.
🌷
White windmills dot across the ocean, London appears, the toy town of the Thames, the taste of truffle still on my tongue.
🌷
We clatter down, step into the syruppy air. I think of the bench we paused at, how it told me to sit down, have a small chat, think of all my joy.
It's always there. Waiting for me.
🌷
(thank you to @pulitzer.amsterdam@annaninanl@birdtravelpr 💐)
Ten year anniversary @cosmopolitanuk 💗 (and still going strong!)
It's allowed me to try on multiple jobs for size: undercover police officer (twice, caught a criminal once), Playboy bunny, stand-up comedian, matchmaker... I've travelled all over the world, including visiting pretty much every saucy shop in Tokyo, and chased men down the street begging for them to indulge me with their secrets. I have gone into addiction clinics, domestic abuse shelters, shadowed in mental health hotlines. And commissioned brilliant writers to report on all sorts of topics, trying my hardest to nurture young writers and give them their first step into the industry.
We also, as a team, have helped to change the law around abortion, created sex education booklets that are still being used in schools today and pushed for representation on covers and in the magazine that showcases the diversity and beauty of what it means to be a Cosmo girl today. I'm particularly proud of all the work we have done when it comes to conversations surrounding trans rights.
Oh and perhaps most importantly... I was on Made In Chelsea!
I have wanted to work in magazines since I was 13-years-old. My mum was a truly inspiring feminist and, through her eyes, I could see how powerful it could be to work for publications written for women, by women. In my time I've seen the industry struggle and so many incredible publications fold. The pressure, in an increasingly digital first world, to prioritise clicks over content and how hard it is to get readers to engage in long-reads has been a struggle. I've also listened to countless people at parties rant to me about how my work is still damaging to women (often from people who last read a mag in a dentists office, years ago...) But, despite it all, I know that the work we do really matters. I've not managed to fit nearly enough of what I want to say in this! I'll write a Substack at the weekend.
I hope this doesn't sound too ego-tistical. And thank you to all my colleagues and friends who made this job the best I've ever had. ❤️
Happy! Easter! Everyone!
❤️🐇❤️
Pics: @antoniopetronzio
Photo direction: @colesontoast
Overwhelming need to post these pics as a thirst trap each year for the rest of her life: model's own
March... ❤️
Edinburgh, Prague, Tenerife, Benidorm. Four holidays, two jobs, five long read commissions, one book to finish...
My life philosophy is say yes to stuff and I certainly lived that this month. I learned that I can really enjoy time alone but also there's nothing better than being in a house full of people so wonderful you don't even notice your phone is broken.
Oh and if Sticky Vicky says "ladies on stage take off your underwear" she's not being serious... Don't say yes to that.
