It was And So We Begin's second birthday this week so we put the birthday bunting up! And celebrated with cake, obviously. And as Autumn rolls in with her blustery skies and auburn leaves I started to think about everything that has happened over the past two years. I created And So We Begin to give my Angel's Great Escape story a platform and with the intention of sharing stories in whatever shape or form they may come. The advantage of being independent is that I can juggle my day job as a freelance event manager with writing and creating and I can work on ideas in a very organic way with no pressure other than that I put on myself. Last year, my little team and I created the Snow Globe app to sell alongside Angel and this year, we started work on turning Angel's Great Escape into a picture book.

I've been able to take my time with the picture book layouts, working with the lovely Sarah Goodwin to bring Kristyna Litten's beautiful images to the page. And with some space to revisit the story and the help of a professional editor, we've made some changes, added a Mrs Mean character and refined the meter of the rhymes.

I would love to receive more feedback on the story to ensure we get the picture book exactly right with the intention of sharing it with publishers next year. I love putting a project together and am enjoying learning about the various aspects of publishing a picture book. Fingers crossed, Angel and her friends will find a home and be available at a book shop near you in the next year or two.

In the meantime, I've been thinking a lot about creativity lately. It's my hiding place when times are tough. It's my relaxation and a way to be myself. Whether it's a photograph, a drawing, a scribbled note, a first draft of a novel that needs (a lot!) of editing or a rambling blog. Through some difficult times this year, I have found creativity very healing and I hope to write more about this soon.

So happy birthday us, here's to many more years and many more stories! For now, a second slice of cake is calling!