Lockdown Two

This Time It Also Gets Dark at 3pm

Hello!

My name is Melissa. I’m a south Londoner who publishes books for a living and I write a newsletter in my spare time about books and skincare, so writing letters to people I don’t always know is something I’ve got a bit of experience with.

I enjoy writing comforting things. I like thinking of new ways to stay cheerful, and I’m CEO of thinking I can fix a bad day with a candle or the right playlist. I live by myself, and the year of high stress, high anxiety and high isolation has been challenging, but I’ve muddled through so far. However, I’ve had less to say about beauty and make-up than usual because it’s all a bit less relevant when you’re mostly hanging out by yourself. What I do have something to say about is living alone and getting through what is about to be a pretty dark (literally, although perhaps also figuratively) lockdown.

So, I’ve started this: a weekly newsletter for those who are also living alone in Lockdown Two: This Time it Gets Dark at 3pm. It will be, in no particular order, suggestions of recipes and books and films and TV shows, tips on dealing with household crises when you’re the only person responsible for them, musings on being alone, playlists I’ve made to get through that week, things that made me laugh, stories about working with books, and, advice on motivating yourself to stay active (which is something I really need - I love my sofa). Perhaps most importantly, it will be a hello from an internet friend.

What the newsletter will not be about is dating or being single. There are other, far better writers for that - a lot of them have even got book deals.

My sole intention is cheering up those who are feeling the darkness a bit too much, and I fully expect to have a maximum of twelve subscribers, but that doesn’t mean I won’t write. It’s a temporary solution to what I hope will be a temporary problem.

This is the introduction and the first letter will go out on Friday, then once a week after that. Living alone does not mean you need to feel alone. I got you.