Amanda Tuke

This means such a lot from the author of already-a-classic 'Urban Plants', which of course is included in Wild Pavements further reading list💚😊

I'll take that 😀... &, yes, I will now be humming Ralph McTell when I'm #pavementplant hunting. #urbannature

Chuffed that Wild Pavements is featured today - publication day - on Melissa Harrison's fab Encounter Nature site & app www.encounter-nature.com/features/wil... #urbannature #pavementplants #naturewriting

Fab records of the #pavementplants of South Philly in these posts.💚

Looks beautiful Jon 💚

In chapter 7 of the diary - all things marketing - I explain Team Wild Pavements' marketing strategy. I also hear that a few pre-orders have already been delivered & receive a lovely msg from this recipient in Halifax. 💚https://freelancenaturewriter.com/2026/03/04/chapter-7-all-things-marketing/

1 day until publication of 'Wild Pavements - Exploring Britain's Cities with an Urban Naturalist' on 5 March. I've kept a record of each step as a #1stBookDiary in 7 chapters, and here I'm sharing the last one before 'P-day'. #writing #creativewriting #naturewriting #urbannature #nonfiction

This particular beauty growing in a local nature reserve has dark red leaves & is a variety called Pissard's Plum, named after a C19 French gardener to the Shah of Iran.

The first wild plum to flower in SE London is this one - Cherry or Myrobalan Plum (Prunus cerasifera) - native of the Balkan Peninsula but now widely naturalised in Britain. #blossom #pavementplants #urbanplants #WildPavements #streettrees

Chapter 6 – the writing community and endorsements One of the most useful books I’ve ever read about writing is The Business of Being a Writer by Jane Friedman. Chapter 5, titled Relationship Building and Literary Citizenship, makes a case fo…

In chapter 6 of the diary - the writing community and endorsements - I encourage all writers to see themselves as Jane Friedman's 'literary citizens' and I discuss the awkward task of sourcing cover quotes. freelancenaturewriter.com/2026/02/18/c...

2 days until publication of 'Wild Pavements - Exploring Britain's Cities with an Urban Naturalist' on 5 March. I've kept a record of each step as a #1stBookDiary in 7 chapters, and I'm planning to share one each day before 'P-day'. #writing #creativewriting #naturewriting #urbannature #nonfiction

Delighted to be contributing to @scicommsuwe.bsky.social's talk programme in a couple of week's time. One of the ideas I'll be exploring is... Does (or could) narrative #naturewriting widen understanding of ecology & conservation science? & how I've tried to do that in my book, Wild Pavements.

Chapter 5 – delighting in the cover design At the end of June, 8 months before P-day, we started having conversations about the cover artwork. The plan was for the hardback cover to be a “PPC” or printed paper cover rather than …

In chapter 5 of the diary - delighting in the cover design - I share the fun we had in Team Wild Pavements deciding on the look of the book freelancenaturewriter.com/2026/02/17/c...

3 days until publication of 'Wild Pavements - Exploring Britain's Cities with an Urban Naturalist' on 5 March. I've kept a record of each step as a #1stBookDiary in 7 chapters, and I'm planning to share one each day before 'P-day'. #writing #creativewriting #naturewriting #urbannature #nonfiction

It's in the carrot family and will have flowers similar to Cow Parsley in a few months' time. #wildflowers #urbanbotany #Londonplants #grasses. @bsbibotany.bsky.social My book, #WildPavements, is published 5 Mar 2026

One of the more unusual #pavementplants leaf rosettes I see growing in SE London is the delightfully named Corky-fruited Water-dropwort (Oenanthe pimpinelloides). It's fairly rare in London but abundant in a local housing estate lawn (which is on the other side of the wall in the pic).

Chapter 4 – the edit Chapter 3 – writing the first full draft is an account of the process I followed to write the complete text from start to finish, but I missed something out because I think it belongs better …

In chapter 4 of the diary - the edit - I explain why I think the editing process is the most important part of a writing a book. freelancenaturewriter.com/2026/01/05/c...

4 days until publication of 'Wild Pavements - Exploring Britain's Cities with an Urban Naturalist' on 5 March. I've kept a record of each step as a #1stBookDiary in 7 chapters, and I'm planning to share one each day before 'P-day'. #writing #creativewriting #naturewriting #urbannature #nonfiction

Chapter 3 – writing the first full draft, with learning from other writers. I freely admit it was a challenge for someone who is used to writing 1500-word features for my column in Bird Watching Magazine to make the shift to writing chapters of 5000 plus words when I start…

In chapter 3 of the diary - writing the first full draft - I explain how I couldn't have done it without learning from some of my favourite nature writers. freelancenaturewriter.com/2025/12/31/c...

5 days until publication of 'Wild Pavements - Exploring Britain's Cities with an Urban Naturalist' on 5 March. I've kept a record of each step as a #1stBookDiary in 7 chapters, and I'm planning to share one each day before 'P-day'. #writing #creativewriting #naturewriting #urbannature #nonfiction

Chapter 2 – finding my book a home While my agent, Tom, worked his magic on a list of publishers we thought might be interested in the Wild Pavements concept, I tried to distract myself with interviewing and researching some of the …

In chapter 2 of the diary - finding my book a home - I share the steps which led to signing a contract with my publisher. freelancenaturewriter.com/2025/11/17/c...

6 days until publication of 'Wild Pavements - Exploring Britain's Cities with an Urban Naturalist' on 5 March. I've kept a record of each step as a #1stBookDiary in 7 chapters, and I'm planning to share one each day before 'P-day'. #writing #creativewriting #naturewriting #urbannature #nonfiction

Chapter 1 of the diary - The Proposal - explains how, with advice from my mentors, I developed my initial idea into a shareable and compelling book proposal which helped me find first an agent and then a publisher. lnkd.in/e-BhD6UM

7 days until publication of 'Wild Pavements - Exploring Britain's Cities with an Urban Naturalist' on 5 March. I've kept a record of each step as a #1stBookDiary in 7 chapters, and I'm planning to share one each day before 'P-day'. #writing #creativewriting #naturewriting #urbannature

So, so, so exciting and I'm totally overwhelmed. My box of author copies has arrived, ahead of publication day next week on March 5th. & they are ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL 💚. #WildPavements #urbannature #naturewriting #unboxing

Mainly Black-headed Gulls in winter plumage with red legs & bills, several Herring Gulls, a Common Gull (under the flying Herring Gull) with a rounder head and yellow bill & a Lesser Black-backed Gull with darker plumage on the island behind.

I love #gulls! They're astonishingly beautiful & intelligent birds but they do need better PR. Living in a UK town or city, you could see several species, but would you recognise them? There are 4 in this pic of an urban wetland. #urbanbirds #WildPavements is out 5 March.

Still time to sign up for my 26 Feb 7pm webinar for
@nhm-london.bsky.social's the-urban-nature-network.mn.co in which I'll be sharing my fascination with the wild in our cities. The network's free to join to access this event & many others #WildPavements is out 5 March. #urbannature #urbanecology

& another #urbanbird for @dunnjons.bsky.social's #BirdoftheDay on the theme of #BranchBirds. 1 of the 5 glorious Goshawks I saw in the centre of Berlin last Feb, which feature in #WildPavements out 5 Mar.

How exciting! Published tomorrow. It'll be great! #naturewatching #lowcarbon @heatherdevey.bsky.social @rebeccaonthewing.bsky.social