A Merciful Sea is out today in audio! Thank you to everyone who has hyped up these audiobook releases – it means so much to me! I hope you enjoy revisiting the trilogy (or reading for the first time!) 🌊🏳️‍🌈 Thank you to the audio publisher WF Howes and my amazing narrator @rorybarnettvo.bsky.social

New author photo! 🌊

THE DEVIL TO PAY releases today on audio from @wfhowes.bsky.social, narrated by the fantastic @rorybarnettvo.bsky.social. I'm so excited that these books are coming out back to back so I (and you!) don't have to wait! 🔗below

Beautiful beautiful Bath!

Gorgeous walk along the Pembroke coast! ☀️

Cannot recommend the amazing Erebus exhibition at Pembroke Dock highly enough! Absolutely breath taking 🤩

It's here! LEEWARD releases today on audio from @wfhowes.bsky.social and the fantastic @rorybarnettvo.bsky.social - I'm SO excited to listen to it! 🤩 Q: What characters/moments are you excited to hear? 🔉🎧 🔗 below

I am OVER THE MOON to announce that the entire Nightingale/Courtney trilogy is coming out in audio NEXT MONTH! 🌈🌊⚓ July 9: Leeward July 16: The Devil to Pay July 23: A Merciful Sea I'm so grateful that @wfhowes.bsky.social are publishing them with the absolutely amazing @rorybarnettvo.bsky.social

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH! 🏳️‍🌈 I only have the beginnings of a rainbow here but better a small rainbow than no rainbow at all ♥️ My Nightingale/Courtney series has two queer protagonists and is written by ME, a queer author! Our community is here, we've always been here, and we're not going anywhere! 🏳️‍🌈

My latest newsletter is out! I'm hoping that next month I can share a very exciting announcement so do subscribe if you don't want to miss that!👀 substack.com/home/post/p-...

Happy third birthday to Leeward! I cannot believe my debut has been out in the world for three years now. I'm so proud of this book and am absolutely honoured and so so grateful for all the kind responses to it. Thank you so much 🌈🌊⚓

A little sketch of my dear queer naval captain Hiram Nightingale 🏳️‍🌈🌊⚓

Had a wonderful time at the inaugural Figarama writing fair from Jean G-Owen! Attended some brilliant events, watched some great open mics and book launches, and today delivered my historical fiction workshop and a reading of Leeward 🌈♥️🌊

Three and a half months, multiple crises of identity and confidence, falling in and out of love with the genre, and 89k words later, and the first draft of my next manuscript is done 😅 Now time to edit 🤣

Such a fab time at the Tides of Time panel tonight as part of Portsmouth BookFest with Carolyn Kirby and Dorian Ravenscroft! Fabulous to talk about maritime fiction and queer rep and all things the sea!! Thanks to Nikki from the Bookish Mindset for such amazing questions!!

February, is LGBT+ History Month. Historical fiction, and History, are essential subjects to show queer voices - to show that we have already existed and we're not going anywhere! There is still work to be done and times are very scary rn but I find strength in the power of our community🌈❤️

I recently had the pleasure of writing a short story for the Figlet, a collection of poetry, fiction, and art from creatives on the Isle of Wight. The theme for the issue was Friend or Foe so naturally I wrote a queer historical fiction piece about the sea 🌈🌊 open.substack.com/pub/kdayshau...

She Came From The Sea

A short queer historical fiction story about a mysterious sea-spirit, and about society and its expectations. Written for Naked Figleaf Press' Figlet Issue Five: Friend or Foe.

open.substack.com

First post of 2026 to say a big thank you to everyone who has rated and reviewed the N/C series on Goodreads! There are now over 1000 ratings! These are SO important to authors, especially to ones writing lesser-loved genres, so thank you to all who have helped give these boys visibility 🥰

Greenwich is incredible!

Had a great time last night at the Local Authors Showcase at the Play On Words Festival📕 A fantastic initiative and a great community feel of creative people. Also so pleased to find Leeward at Waterstones Lymington amongst some lovely company including Hornblower ⚓🌈

From today, I'm officially on submission! 🌈⚓👻

DOUBLE WINNER!!! To say I'm shocked and so grateful is an understatement! I have notoriously bad luck with awards so to win the Fiction category and Book of the Year at the Isle of Wight Book Awards 2025 is amazing 😭😭😭😭🥰 I'm so appreciative to the judges ❤️

Today is A Merciful Sea's paperback release day! There are a lot of mixed emotions today - excitement, sadness, gratitude... Mostly I am so appreciative of all the people who have supported this trilogy and given it a chance 🥰

Press ganging my assistant into service to show off the paperback edition of A Merciful Sea!! The paperback is out on October 2, a week from today! 🌊🌈 It's amazing to see AMS in paperback, she looks gorgeous 😭😭😭 (Also representing my Leeward jumper 🤣)

My author copies of the paperback of A Merciful Sea are on their way!! 🌊🌈⚓

I'm starting a new series on Substack exploring the true history of the Nightingale and Courtney series! We begin with the Battle of the Nile, the extraordinary event which kicks off Leeward and haunts Captain Nightingale throughout the book. open.substack.com/pub/kdayshau...

The True History of Leeward: The Battle of the Nile

The extraordinary true story of the battle which begins Leeward and haunts Captain Nightingale

open.substack.com

Now my manuscript is complete, I have to do the worst part: the dreaded synopsis!! 😭

Always a strange feeling to send your manuscript off to your agent! It's hard to emphasise how intense and all-consuming this story has been. There were many times I wanted to abandon it all but it's finally done 😭😭

Really excited to be talking at the Book Lovers' Lunch on Oct 22 at the Play on Words Festival this year! I'll be chatting about my books and writing and joining people for a lovely lunch 😋🍴 Tickets are available here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-lover...

Book Lovers' Lunch

Join us at the Cliff House for a literary lunch with a best selling author.

eventbrite.co.uk

My thoughts towards this manuscript atm fluctuate between 'Nothing is unsalvageable' and 'This is the worst thing ever written' 😂 I cannot wait until it is done 😅