Francesca's Thoughts

Hello. Francesca Astraea here. Make a cup of tea and settle in for a chat!


Things Googled for Rotting Trees

I had completely forgotten I keep a vague, meandering list of weird shit I look up for every manuscript. I just dug out the Rotting Trees list and I’m pleased that I have absolutely no memory of why I needed to look up Ed Sheeran.

  • The Archers
  • Consumption
  • London to Southend train times
  • Ed Sheeran
  • Victorian necklaces (spoiler! she cackles)
  • Old timey newspapers*
  • Southend high street and surrounding places. So many businesses have gone bust were shit closed since 2015, and I didn’t fancy naming one erroneously and getting roasted in a Facebook group
  • How to design a family tree, and I will tell you for free that you need a spreadsheet, a lot of patience and ideally Photoshop because those free graphic design options are shite
  • How to spell Jack Vettriano

* Technically I used my uni credentials for evil and found what I needed on an academic database, not Google, but technically I use Ecosia as a search engine anyway, not Google, but no one is saying they Ecosia-d anything are they, so really this whole post is playing with the truth a little bit, but that’s in keeping with a book about digging up one’s family history so if you think about it, I’m being clever here and not lazy.

You can find Rotting Trees here if you are so inclined. All I’m looking up at the moment is bus times and ideas for lunch. Every lunchtime I am surprised by the advent of lunch, which makes me a prime target for places that sell overpriced lunch. Devastatingly, I also loathe spending more than fourteen seconds at a kitchen counter. Save me, BBC Good Food.

Look after yourselves!
Francesca


Thanks for reading. If you’d like to read my short stories and see behind-the-scenes work, you can sample? the No. 1 Reader’s Club on Patreon for a month with this link. No pressure to stick around! Think of it as trying a miniature dessert with no requirement to eat the whole menu. You can also find me on Ko-fi. Thank you for your support – you’re helping to fund this space and pay for other costs of running a creative business, like paying editors.

Here are the books I’ve published so far and where you can find them. If you enjoy my book recommendations, browse my Bookshop.org page here.

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