Devon


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="853" height="1280" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2021/01/unmumsy-mum-headshot.jpeg" alt="Sarah Turner Unmumsy Mum " class="wp-image-28527" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2021/01/unmumsy-mum-headshot.jpeg 853w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2021/01/unmumsy-mum-headshot-200x300.jpeg 200w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2021/01/unmumsy-mum-headshot-333x500.jpeg 333w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2021/01/unmumsy-mum-headshot-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2021/01/unmumsy-mum-headshot-350x525.jpeg 350w" sizes="(max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px" /></figure>



<p>You might know Sarah Turner best as the <a href="https://www.theunmumsymum.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Unmumsy Mum</a>, the Exeter-based blogger and author whose books on the ups and downs of parenting young kids are a total hoot and very reassuring for those of us who also don&#8217;t quite feel up to the  task.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1333" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/file-10.jpeg" alt="Sarah Turner with her book On the Edge " class="wp-image-76081" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/file-10.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/file-10-600x800.jpeg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/file-10-750x1000.jpeg 750w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/file-10-768x1024.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Since our last <a href="https://devon.muddystilettos.co.uk/life-2/people/the-unmumsymum-lockdown-guide/">Muddy interview with Sarah</a> (during lockdown while she was home schooling three boys while trying to write a book!), she has moved on from parenting guides to being a author of two novels, the first of which, <em>Stepping Up</em>, was a Richard &amp; Judy Book Club pick and the second, <em><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edge-hilarious-joyful-Sunday-bestselling/dp/0552177121/ref=sr_1_1?crid=7WARLK9J63MP&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tALqAPtllvLjJ6TcFXxVK950ym57R1nGOUjdDEc5v1LsTp76x4ZIP1MSns_h-t5wxF2xZiJAWs4R_xAIjd7Dmw.K2J7Zu4imnpQcRUOLwWPPSYPA0IX9Hm2aZzIbS0571A&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=on+the+edge+sarah+turner&amp;qid=1748427024&amp;sprefix=on+the+edge+%2Caps%2C350&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">On the Edge</a></em>, has just gone to paperback this May.</p>



<p>Time for a quick catch up with Sarah (during half term, while she is ferrying kids around to football practice, while writing <em>another</em> book&#8230;).</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hi-sarah-long-time-no-speak-how-old-are-your-boys-now">Hi Sarah! Long time, no speak! How old are your boys now?</h2>



<p>Wilf is 7, Jude is 10 and Henry is 13 &#8211; and at the big school!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-time-for-the-unmumsy-mum-s-guide-to-parenting-teens">Time for the <em>Unmumsy Mum</em>&#8216;s guide to parenting teens?</h2>



<p>Ha, well yes &#8211; the pre-teen and teen years offer so much, but I think most stuff they say and do would be off limits. As toddlers they were pretty oblivious and doing <em>toddler</em> type things, but now they&#8217;re individuals. The stuff they come out with is still remarkable, but I wouldn&#8217;t share it. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-or-take-copious-notes-write-it-when-they-re-older-and-bribe-them-with-a-share-in-the-film-rights">Or take copious notes, write it when they&#8217;re older &#8211; and bribe them with a share in the film rights?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1333" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/file5.jpeg" alt="Jude, Wilf and Henry " class="wp-image-76075" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/file5.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/file5-600x800.jpeg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/file5-750x1000.jpeg 750w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/file5-768x1024.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Yeah maybe! The thing is the newborn and toddler trenches are common ground, but now their experiences are individual to them. I think twice before posting about them. I realised when we were on holiday looking for pics to share that it&#8217;s probably around 18 months since I&#8217;ve posted about them on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theunmumsymum/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">my Instagram</a>. Or I just show them from behind. It wasn&#8217;t a conscious decision, I just feel more comfortable posting about house renovations or my books now. With all this AI manipulation, I think it just flipped a switch in my brain.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-that-why-you-re-now-more-a-novelist-than-a-blogger">Is that why you&#8217;re now more a novelist than a blogger?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="851" height="315" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2021/01/unmumsy-mum-book.jpg" alt="Unmumsy Mum " class="wp-image-28548" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2021/01/unmumsy-mum-book.jpg 851w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2021/01/unmumsy-mum-book-300x111.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2021/01/unmumsy-mum-book-720x267.jpg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2021/01/unmumsy-mum-book-768x284.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 851px) 100vw, 851px" /></figure>



<p>I felt I&#8217;d covered everything I had to say about babies and pre-schoolers, and actually writing fiction was always the dream before the blog, what I wanted to do when I was at school. But I&#8217;d bottled it &#8211; never dared dream I&#8217;d be able to. When I wrote the first in 2021, I had visions of myself tapping away in cafés, and this was going to my full-time, school hours job. Then lockdown came along and instead I was home-schooling two kids and looking after a toddler. I had one laptop for writing and one for phonics.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-but-you-smashed-it-anyway-with-a-richard-amp-judy-book-club-pick">But you smashed it anyway with a Richard &amp; Judy Book Club pick!</h2>



<p>So much of a book&#8217;s success is down to things you can&#8217;t control. Where it sits on the bookshelves, getting into supermarkets. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tell-us-about-your-latest-book-on-the-edge">Tell us about your latest book, <em>On the Edge</em>.</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="962" height="1500" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/on-the-edge.jpg" alt="On the Edge by Sarah Turner " class="wp-image-76073" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/on-the-edge.jpg 962w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/on-the-edge-513x800.jpg 513w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/on-the-edge-641x1000.jpg 641w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/on-the-edge-768x1198.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 962px) 100vw, 962px" /></figure>



<p>The main character Joni has done all she can in her adult life to stay as far away as possible from her family, except for her Nana, who has just passed away. Now for the will to be read and the ashes to be scattered, Nana has devised a plan for the whole family to spend a week together, including Joni, who feels her life is sorted away from them all. But sometimes to go forward you have to go back. It&#8217;s UpLit &#8211; it might tear at your heart strings but it leaves you feeling uplifted. Both my novels are about dysfunctional families, with a main female character. Neither are mums, but I ended up writing in the kids anyway because they&#8217;re such a good source of humour. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-whatsapp-chats-between-the-family-had-me-in-stitches">The <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C70l58Qslsb/?hl=en&amp;img_index=5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WhatsApp chats</a> between the family had me in stitches. </h2>



<p>I&#8217;m on a <em>lot</em> of group chats &#8211; although I am more of a lurker. I hate them, although I shouldn&#8217;t moan as I do find them a good source comedic inspo. But sometimes it&#8217;s a case of: do I want to lose 15 minutes of my laugh catching up on gifs and laughing emojos? Just in case there&#8217;s something I shouldn&#8217;t miss. If it&#8217;s important it will get to me. I&#8217;m on five football groups for the boys alone, two kids on the same one. Sometimes I wonder &#8211; which child are you taking about?! It would help if the boys had wider interests to be honest. It was great when one of them was into climbing &#8211; having a nice coffee in the café instead of a rainy sideline.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-parenting-getting-harder-or-easier-as-the-kids-get-older">Is parenting getting harder or easier as the kids get older?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1333" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/sarahturner-rain.jpeg" alt="author Sarah Turner Unmumsy Mum in the rain" class="wp-image-76077" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/sarahturner-rain.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/sarahturner-rain-600x800.jpeg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/sarahturner-rain-750x1000.jpeg 750w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/sarahturner-rain-768x1024.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>I feel it is getting easier because I trust myself more to do a better job. When they&#8217;re little it&#8217;s hard to know, you don&#8217;t get much feedback. It didn&#8217;t get easier with each kid either, I was unsure of myself every time. Wilf, God bless him, is the funniest seven year-old now, but he was a very colicky baby, bad reflux at the witching hour every night. </p>



<p>I always swore I&#8217;d never say &#8216;you&#8217;ll miss this&#8217; or &#8216;it gets harde&#8217;r to parents who are in the thick of it, when they&#8217;re following them around: &#8216;are they tired, are they hungry, are they safe&#8217; &#8211; all of that. When it&#8217;s just relentless. But at that age, and if you have managed to get them into a routine, at least they watch CBeebies, have a bath and go to bed and you have that time to yourself. Now it&#8217;s harder, because they&#8217;re still up or we&#8217;re ferrying them to clubs and their friends&#8217; houses. There&#8217;s no time to decompress in the evening, and less time with my husband.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-any-advice-for-mums-of-boys">Any advice for mums of boys?</h2>



<p>It&#8217;s interesting as, being one of two girls, I&#8217;d always imagined having girls myself, so it&#8217;s fascinating to me I ended up with three boys. When they were younger, I followed the &#8216;Let Toys be Toys&#8217; way of avoiding gender stereotyping, and, if they wanted a doll or a buggy or to paint their nails and wear a <em>Frozen </em>costume, then that was fine. Fast forward to now and they&#8217;re all stereotypical boisterous boys, into fighting wresting and football. I think it&#8217;s quite hilarious. What is nature, what is nurture? It&#8217;s interesting to think about.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-you-worry-they-ll-grow-into-grumpy-non-communicative-teens">Do you worry they&#8217;ll grow into grumpy non-communicative teens?</h2>



<p>When <em>Adolescence</em> was a hot topic on the TV, we watched it with our eldest and we had some good, frank conversations about online and what goes on at his school. It&#8217;s terrifying to hear what they know, even in Year 8, including about Incel culture. I was having to look up some of the terminology, but Henry knew it all already. </p>



<p>Watching it together was the best thing we could have done because it opened up the communication. Boys are vulnerable, just like girls are, but in a different way. I always say to him &#8216;just ask if you&#8217;re not sure&#8217;. I also talk to him about what I&#8217;ve listening to and thinking about &#8211; like the perils of AI &#8211; or a new audio book I&#8217;ve just dowloaded, <em><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Age-Sexism-Revolution-Reinventing/dp/147119048X">The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny</a></em> by Laura Bates (founder of the Everyday Sexism Project) I&#8217;m listening to. It&#8217;s scary AI is being used against women &#8211; apparently there&#8217;s now an app that can take a clothed person and make them look naked.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-you-allow-the-boys-to-have-smart-phones">Do you allow the boys to have smart phones?</h2>



<p>I&#8217;m kind of straddling two sides of the movement. So, Henry has a phone like 100% of his friends which he got when he went to the big school. But he puts it away when I tell him to and isn&#8217;t allowed to take up with him at bedtime. That said, the context has changed, so I&#8217;m not sure my other boys will have a smart phone, or at the same age. I have a love-hate relationship with mine! Now when we tell Henry he should put his phone away, we say &#8220;and so should we&#8221; and we do.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-your-half-term-saviours">What are your half term saviours?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1333" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/file1.jpeg" alt="author Sarah Turner children at the seaside Ladram Bay " class="wp-image-76079" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/file1.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/file1-600x800.jpeg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/file1-750x1000.jpeg 750w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/file1-768x1024.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>We spend a lot of time down at Exeter Quay. Rain or shine, I&#8217;ll drag them out for a stomp, with the promise of a coffee and an ice cream. We&#8217;re not far from the Exeter Green Circle, and they do such a lot of sport, that&#8217;s a real saviour. There&#8217;s always a match or a tournament or a camp.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-last-time-we-spoke-you-said-downtime-was-pretty-non-existent-for-you-has-that-changed">Last time we spoke, you said downtime was pretty non-existent for you. Has that changed?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="1600" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/SARAH-TURNER.jpeg" alt="author Sarah Turner Unmumsy Mum " class="wp-image-76080" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/SARAH-TURNER.jpeg 1200w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/SARAH-TURNER-600x800.jpeg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/SARAH-TURNER-750x1000.jpeg 750w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/SARAH-TURNER-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/05/SARAH-TURNER-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></figure>



<p>Slightly more now. Because I work for myself, I&#8217;ll go for a walk, have a coffee with friends or do a circuits class &#8211; but then work suffers and I have to make the time up. But because it puts me in a better place, I feel better place to start writing.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-are-you-writing-another-book">Are you writing another book? </h2>



<p>Yes, the truth is that when a book comes out, it&#8217;s already been finalised for the best part of a year. I&#8217;ve done the first draft, and I&#8217;m onto the second draft of my third novel, which comes out in March 2026. It&#8217;s the first one with a mum in it and it&#8217;s going to be the most <em>Unmumsy Mum</em> of all of my novels so far. It&#8217;s called <em><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Somethings-Got-Give-Sarah-Turner-ebook/dp/B0F7Q8P427/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1D1KU3JSWXR2V&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.imrCz3sowFqFa_AlavTj0g.DvGhOeVo5lVC7y03kIHpbSY8Clf9BvytPRSL5RvtXU0&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=somethings+got+to+give+sarah+turner&amp;qid=1748426354&amp;s=books&amp;sprefix=somerthings+got+to+give+sarah+turner%2Cstripbooks%2C77&amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Something&#8217;s Got to Give</a></em> &#8211; because that pretty much sums up how every parent I speak to feels.</p>



<p><span><i style="font-weight: bold">Looking for a great holiday read that&#8217;ll have you in </i><span style="font-weight: 600"><i>stitche</i></span></span><strong><em>s</em></strong><span><i style="font-weight: bold">? Snap up <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edge-hilarious-joyful-Sunday-bestselling/dp/0552177121/ref=sr_1_1?crid=7WARLK9J63MP&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tALqAPtllvLjJ6TcFXxVK950ym57R1nGOUjdDEc5v1LsTp76x4ZIP1MSns_h-t5wxF2xZiJAWs4R_xAIjd7Dmw.K2J7Zu4imnpQcRUOLwWPPSYPA0IX9Hm2aZzIbS0571A&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=on+the+edge+sarah+turner&amp;qid=1748427024&amp;sprefix=on+the+edge+%2Caps%2C350&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">On the Edge </a>pronto &#8211; and thank me later!</i></span></p>



<p> </p>


Muddy meets Sarah Turner: what the Unmumsy Mum did next

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