Never give up on your dreams to be a writer…

Today, you will find me on a floating writing retreat, A.K.A, a narrowboat. We are chugging along at approximately 2-4mph. It’s a wonderful pace of life. I don’t need to tell you all how tough life has been since Covid hit and this is the just the tonic I needed to reset. I hope you can share a little bit of my happiness through my pictures. Check them out on my Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook pages.

I shared the exciting news a couple of week ago that I’ve sold a couple of my stories to a digital publisher and received my first author advance! It was an amazing feeling to have a publisher pay for my work. I know people buy my self-published books and every purchase is appreciated, but this was definitely a different feeling to experience.

How did I celebrate signing this contract on Wednesday 14^th April? Well, I went to help at a local café and chopped vegetables for their community meal programme. As I was chopping courgettes, broccoli, and cabbage I was smiling on the inside and outside, but the mask did hide the grin a little bit. The following week, after I’d had a positive meeting in the Secret Garden Studios, I received my author advance. I think I’m going to print out the statement and pin it on the wall! Life is all go at the minute. Trying to set up a new business, signing up with a publisher and looking for some part-time work, it’s certainly keeping me busy. I’m sure if you want to be any type of creative you must have at least ten different jobs!

I’ve always wanted to write a book. Whenever I’ve read a brilliant book, I’ve wanted to write one, whenever I read a rubbish book, I’ve wanted to write one, and one day, I did just that. I opened my laptop and I had an idea, one month later, I’d written a book. That quick – it was almost as if the story had been sitting there waiting for me to decide to take the plunge. Many things happened after this which I’ve talked about in other blogs so I won’t go on. ((Makes a change, Peachy!))

I promise to share the full details in a later blog, but I’m not allowed to share all the details now ((Oh, are you working for the secret service? FBI? CIA? MI5?)) No, Brackets – although that would be cool, although I doubt I would be allowed to talk about it at all then. No, the venture is a new one so I need to wait for the marketing department to give me the go ahead. ((Ooohh, get you. You finally have people! You can tell people to talk to your people now!)) I can tell you’re impressed, Brackets.

I want to finish by saying whatever stage you’re at in your writing career, just don’t give up. Yes, the rejections are hard. Yes, you will want to give up or decide your writing is rubbish and no-one will want to read it. Yes, you will have doubts, but just keep going if only because you love to write. Your stories need to be told and only you can tell your story.

Right, off to break into the biscuit tin and knock up an espresso coffee ready to do some more writing as we cruise along the canal.

Clair ((and me! I’ve barely had a mention in this blog! Think I will be ready for a blog takeover soon! Brackets))