Welcome to my reader newsletter!
I’ve moved this newsletter over from Substack as I wanted a place to stay in touch with readers without all the bells and whistles of a social-media-style ecosystem. This is where I’ll share all my book news and events, the stories I’m loving, and what I’m working on next. Happy reading!
Welcome to Story Matters 2026!
So, I’m meant to be in New Zealand right now, but ten days into 2026 I managed to fall and fracture my ankle! I now have a new mode of transport - a knee scooter! Not glam AT ALL, but I’m very grateful for having some help to get around - the crutches were taking out my sore shoulder, which is thanks to writing RSI … Who knew that being a writer was such a dangerous occupation!
This month’s news
I have no new releases in 2026, but it’s still going to be a busy year. There’s a first draft of my next book to finish, and my debut novel (Come Back to Me) is getting published in the US (fifteen years after it came out in Australia!). And a number of TV deals are at various stages of progress (for When She Was Gone, The Hush and The Hidden Hours), some of which I’m writing sequel outlines for, just in case!
I had a brilliant lunch with the TV producer and the scriptwriter for The Hidden Hours before Christmas, and they mentioned some very exciting actresses who were hoping to look at the script (which is, of course, annoyingly top secret!). I tend to underreact to hearing such superstar names, partly because a lot has to line up before these things come to pass, and also because I don’t want to get my hopes up too early. But it’s still so exciting to have the opportunity to be part of these conversations!
Meanwhile, in the publishing world, no one prepares you for the challenges of looking after nine published books alongside writing new stories, and last year I had to spend some time putting systems in place so this doesn’t keep swallowing all my writing time! I’m getting there, but I’m also rolling out a project to re-publish my books online with brand-new covers over the course of the year, so watch out for this if you’re in the UK and Australia.
Speaking of cover updates…
Do you remember me asking you for feedback on cover designs last year. It was so valuable to get lots of thoughts on the cover directions - thank you to all who responded! - and we had to discard some really stunning covers over concerns they led readers into assuming my books were horror or hard-boiled crime. This is where we’ve landed, keeping the colours bright so that they stand out in the online space. I really hope you like them! If you’re in the UK you’ll see these covers online later in the year - and some of them will be featured in other territories too.
What’s coming up…
I can’t wait to appear at the inaugural Kalamunda Readers Festival in March alongside so many wonderful WA authors: check out the full program here. I’ll be speaking on the opening night panel, alongside Rachael Johns, Michael Trant and Kate Emery, and then talking more about my books to Nattie Kate Mason in a dedicated session on Sunday 22 March at 11.30 am. Book tickets by clicking the links, and check out the whole weekend here.
This month’s book-aversary!
It’s been three years since my novella, The Deceit, was first released as an Audible Original. It’s since been published in paperback in the US, but now I’m prepping it to be a newsletter special, and hoping to have it ready for you to download for free in either my March or April newsletter. So if you haven’t had the chance to read this one yet, stand by!
I really enjoyed the authenticity of Breathless - a thriller set on Manaslu, one of the highest mountains in Nepal. You can tell McCulloch is a climber herself, and I learned a lot about what motivates a group of people to put their lives at risk for the sake of a summit.
Pluribus is wonderful from start to finish - the most original TV series I’ve watched in ages. Carol Sturka, a fairly grumpy author, is left virtually alone on the planet after a virus transforms humanity into a single hive mind. It’s both hilarious and thought-provoking.
This month I’m going back to a 2021 audiobook that I loved. Project Hail Mary (by Andy Weir) is one of the best listens I’ve had, superbly narrated by Ray Porter, and I highly recommend you enjoy it before seeing the Ryan Gosling movie, out in March. Best alien-human contact story ever IMHO!
This month on Resilient Author…
If you haven’t found my substack yet, I write three times each month for writers and anyone who enjoys reading about creativity and behind-the-scenes of writing and publishing. This month, for all subscribers I’ve been writing about how to reclaim our time, and working through my thoughts on the cancellation of the Adelaide Writers Week, which was one of the premier events of the Australian literary calendar. For paid subscribers I looked at how to stay resilient while addressing the realities in our tricky publishing industry, and offered a 4-page downloadable PDF with lots of stats about the publishing industry and suggestions about where to innovate.
Finally, I recently got locked out of Meta for a while after they made a mistake and thought I’d posted something inappropriate, and all my personal and author pages just vanished without me being able to speak to anyone - I had one button to press to appeal, it was all decided far away from me, and if that appeal had failed I was told I would be permanently deleted. It was very dystopian and a salient reminder that we don’t own many of the spaces we create online. I’m so glad to have this newsletter to be able to keep in touch with readers! Please back up your own online spaces so you don’t lose touch with people if this happens to you!
Farewell for now, from me and my knee scooter!
There won’t be a newsletter in Feb as I need to get The Deceit ready to share, and I have a big birthday to celebrate, which means we have eight family members arriving in a couple of weeks! I’ll be back in March with lots of updates as I continue to rebrand the newsletter! In the meantime, wishing you many hours of happy reading.
Sara x