 Woohoo! It's arrived:
Divas, Dogs and Dreamers A heartwarming and uplifting tale of backstage love and drama When Sophie Wilde is knocked off her bicycle by Producer Alex Brooke, she becomes entangled in his world of Royal Gala's, Divas and dogs. She doesn't mean to fall in love with him; her life is complicated enough with her alcoholic, boomerang ex, her chaotic family and busy life in the wardrobe departments of London’s West End Theatre. But Sophie is a serial daydreamer and makes lists to put off doing what needs to be done. When the singing Diva from hell, Callandra Jewell, throws a mega tantrum on tour, all the lists in the world cannot control the powerful mesh of emotions generated in the confusion.which follows. Available now on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Divas-Dogs-Dreamers-tender-backstage-ebook/dp/B08DRT6K1V  If Bridget Jones had a Fairy Godmother, she would want her to be Ruby Sixpence. A long, long time ago, Ruby’s father bet a silver sixpence that his child would be born on a leap day; a spare day in which magic happens. Born in that enchanted crack in time where opportunities, and people like her, slip through. Over the centuries Ruby Sixpence has nurtured the uncommon art of bringing lovers together, a gift which comes in the same package as aging one year in four. But these gifts come with a price and make her duty bound to play cupid in the lives of reluctant lovers. Take the unusual case of Katie Hope and Joe Lawrence who are so far from a perfect match that only drastic action from Ruby will bring them together. Her unorthodox methods are surprising, however, and she doesn’t always get it right. With the stage set, Ruby Sixpence Whistles up a Storm and stands back to stir the pot. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ruby-Sixpence-Whistles-Storm-Magical/dp/B0851MJLS3/ NOW OPEN! |
 | I have just completed Part One of this course. I've been inspired to the extent that I have developed my own writing space, and enjoy hand-writing morning pages. There has been precious content within this section, I feel I have a few more weeks, even months of experimentation, to reap its benefits completely. The exercises are invaluable because on a daily basis they are building my confidence and rekindling my love of writing. Thank you. |
| Happy New Reading Year to you all! So, the thing is, writers need readers because as the wonderful JK Rowling said - 'No story lives unless someone wants to listen.' We need you to read our books and we love it when you to enjoy them. We love it even more if tell us that you have enjoyed it and write a review so that other people might also enjoy our work. We can sell some more books and spend more of our lives sitting at a desk writing the next one! Just a thought as this brave new decade begins. HAPPY NEW YEAR! |  |
WRITE YOUR LIFE
from writer support school
https://writersupportschool.teachable.com
Do you want to ...
| Tell your own story? Document your family history? Write about a family member? Create a blog about your life for family and friends? Write an autobiography? Write about your ancestors? Write about other family members? An incident in your past? A world event which has changed your life? Or a personal journey to fulfilment? |  Buy the workbook on Amazon |
Make 2020 the year you
WRITE YOUR LIFE
https://writersupportschool.teachable.com
Finally - Here it is!
UNLOCK THE BLOCK
The first of many courses on our Online School
https://writersupportschool.teachable.com
15 sessions packed with images, tips and exercises to inspire you, or someone you know, to:
https://writersupportschool.teachable.com
- Create fluency in your writing
- Overhaul your writing practice to put creativity at the centre
- Easily access your innate creativity and let it flow
- Use your own life experiences as a source for ideas
- Generate a constant stream of ideas, so that you no longer fear that blank page or getting stuck
- Deepen your ideas
https://writersupportschool.teachable.com
Whether you are writing your life story, fiction or poetry, for pleasure, or publication, then this book will focus your innate creativity so that you can become the writer you want to be. We will look at how you can apply three simple tools which we all use every day in many aspects of our lives to:
Create fluency in your writing
Overhaul your writing practice to put creativity at the centre
Easily access your innate creativity and let it flow
Use your own life experiences as a source for ideas
Generate a constant stream of ideas, so that you no longer fear that blank page or getting stuck
Deepen your ideas
That’s it. It is that simple. And quite a lot of fun.
 |  |  |
As well as the busy programme of schools and community work, I have to remind myself that I am a writer!
I have completed the final edits on Ruby Sixpence Whistles up a Storm - she was shortlisted for the First Chapter Award at Retreat West earlier this year and should be available by Christmas.
And I have begun the first draft of my new RomCom - Divas, Dogs and Dreamers - which I hope to have out early next year.
The rest of my time has been spent devising online courses, based on the Kick-Start programme and writing a book to accompany it.
I have spent a couple of days updating my other book covers. As you know, Once Upon a Blue Moon was shortlisted for the Selfies Award earlier this year, so I have added the sticker!
And I have designed a lovely new cover for The Art Forger's Daughter, which fits better with The Traveller and The Rose, as my two 20th Century Historicals.
Both new covers will be live on Amazon in the next couple of days.
I have completed the final edits on Ruby Sixpence Whistles up a Storm - she was shortlisted for the First Chapter Award at Retreat West earlier this year and should be available by Christmas.
And I have begun the first draft of my new RomCom - Divas, Dogs and Dreamers - which I hope to have out early next year.
The rest of my time has been spent devising online courses, based on the Kick-Start programme and writing a book to accompany it.
I have spent a couple of days updating my other book covers. As you know, Once Upon a Blue Moon was shortlisted for the Selfies Award earlier this year, so I have added the sticker!
And I have designed a lovely new cover for The Art Forger's Daughter, which fits better with The Traveller and The Rose, as my two 20th Century Historicals.
Both new covers will be live on Amazon in the next couple of days.
Hurrah! Final gig of the season. We are at Wrabfest with The Big Write.
Wrabfest is a local village festival. It is a huge affair, offering foodstalls, a beer tent, and two stages with acoustic and electric bands throughout the afternoon and evening. There’s something for everyone!
Including an extensive children's area which is where we are, in a rather big tent!
We have brought with us all of our favourite story building games which I have developed and honed over the last few years to encourage the simple art of sharing stories.
Children love stories. And they love games.
Their enthusiasm and imagination is a delight and refreshes the jaded parts of a tired writer!
Wrabfest is a local village festival. It is a huge affair, offering foodstalls, a beer tent, and two stages with acoustic and electric bands throughout the afternoon and evening. There’s something for everyone!
Including an extensive children's area which is where we are, in a rather big tent!
We have brought with us all of our favourite story building games which I have developed and honed over the last few years to encourage the simple art of sharing stories.
Children love stories. And they love games.
Their enthusiasm and imagination is a delight and refreshes the jaded parts of a tired writer!
I am delighted to be invited to Dig4 Jaywick at the the Jaywick Community Garden.
Situated in the Brooklands area of Jaywick Sands (listed in the Indices of Multiple Deprivation as the 1st most deprived area in England,) the overall aim of the project is to promote the benefits of community gardening by working with the community to provide facilities for recreation and education. The garden also helps to educate the public in horticulture, garden crafts and the protection and improvement of the natural environmental by encouraging reduction, re-use and recycling. It also provides training for local people, especially those with learning difficulties, and mental health issues, providing skills and raising their self-esteem. The garden also provides a resource for local schools and colleges where students can learn about gardening, conservation and the natural environment.
I have brought The Big Write - prompts and conversation - to encourage people to express their thoughts about this wonderful place and to create a collective poem, line by line, from the visitors, volunteers and supporters.
And the sun is shining!
Situated in the Brooklands area of Jaywick Sands (listed in the Indices of Multiple Deprivation as the 1st most deprived area in England,) the overall aim of the project is to promote the benefits of community gardening by working with the community to provide facilities for recreation and education. The garden also helps to educate the public in horticulture, garden crafts and the protection and improvement of the natural environmental by encouraging reduction, re-use and recycling. It also provides training for local people, especially those with learning difficulties, and mental health issues, providing skills and raising their self-esteem. The garden also provides a resource for local schools and colleges where students can learn about gardening, conservation and the natural environment.
I have brought The Big Write - prompts and conversation - to encourage people to express their thoughts about this wonderful place and to create a collective poem, line by line, from the visitors, volunteers and supporters.
And the sun is shining!
Time to hit the ground running after the half term break.
Junior Ambassadors is now in its third year and growing!
7 schools, 250 children, 32 workshops and a final presentation to come this term.
This fantastic project, managed by Tendring District Council, focusses on Cultural Awareness.
The children have a visit from the Chinese Cultural Society, Colchester Action for Refugees, an African drummer and storyteller and a Bollywood dancer.
‘If a nation loses its storytellers, it loses its childhood.’ Peter Handke
My job is to follow up these artists and ambassadors and create stories poems and letters based on these themes. When I work with children, my intention is to spark their imagination and to develop the innate creativity, which we are all born with. I like to share my love of stories with children and use the creative techniques, which I practice as an Author. The workshops are designed to give the children skills and techniques to kick-start a love of creative writing, of reading and of telling stories.
I love this very busy project. The children invariably surprise us all!
Junior Ambassadors is now in its third year and growing!
7 schools, 250 children, 32 workshops and a final presentation to come this term.
This fantastic project, managed by Tendring District Council, focusses on Cultural Awareness.
The children have a visit from the Chinese Cultural Society, Colchester Action for Refugees, an African drummer and storyteller and a Bollywood dancer.
‘If a nation loses its storytellers, it loses its childhood.’ Peter Handke
My job is to follow up these artists and ambassadors and create stories poems and letters based on these themes. When I work with children, my intention is to spark their imagination and to develop the innate creativity, which we are all born with. I like to share my love of stories with children and use the creative techniques, which I practice as an Author. The workshops are designed to give the children skills and techniques to kick-start a love of creative writing, of reading and of telling stories.
I love this very busy project. The children invariably surprise us all!
George the Bookworm
In addition, I am back in Wix and Wrabness Primary School with the wonderful Grand Theatre of Lemmings and artist Nicola Burrell, who works with cardboard.
The theme this term is HOMES. And George the Bookworm is back, this time in a caravan! He will challenge the children to write stories and poems in the cardboard books, to add to the cardboard city which Nicola will create with the children. And on Father's Day, they will all build cardboard dens!
I enjoy working with the children and staff at this amazingly creative school.
The theme this term is HOMES. And George the Bookworm is back, this time in a caravan! He will challenge the children to write stories and poems in the cardboard books, to add to the cardboard city which Nicola will create with the children. And on Father's Day, they will all build cardboard dens!
I enjoy working with the children and staff at this amazingly creative school.
Reading short stories this month ready for judging the short story competition.
Some amazing stories with a range of subjects issues and styles. So hard to choose even the shortlist. Fortunately I will be working with other judges to help choose the winner.
Pen to Print is based at Barking and Dagenham Library. They do a ton of work to build a network of expertise and support for aspiring writers in Barking and Dagenham and sharing this with a wider national and international community.
The short story competition is one of the many things they do.
Find them here: Pen to Print
Oh my! It’s that time of year again – the time when Frinton Writers Group casts aside the shackles of normal life with its responsibilities and tedium, and head off for our writing retreat. We spend the best part of four days together, writing, chatting, talking about writing, planning our writing, and generally relaxing in the luxurious surroundings of our own (temporary) manor house in the country!
I am always looking for opportunities to rekindle a child’s enthusiasm for stories.
So I partnered with Jenni Meredith of Snowball Arts Community Cooperative, and The Community Rail Partnership, and we took Year 5 from a local Harwich School on a journey, on their local train line, to Write Between the Lines?
My aim on this project was to encourage the children to observe the world; to look, listen and use all of their senses to experience the journey and then write about it in a story or poem.
At Manningtree Station, we played games, which uncovered the key ingredients of ‘story’, and on the homeward journey we wrote a poem.
To add to the experience and to provide more stimuli for their creativity and curiosity, the children had an opportunity to explore the Railway Museum at Harwich Town Station.
JK Rowling famously said that ‘no story lives unless someone wants to listen.’
In order to value the children’s work and to provide a public audience for it, the children’s writing will be made into posters for the platform at Dovercourt station, where it will make a positive contribution to station users and the local community.
Curious and creative children grow into active adults who engage with the world around them and participate in their local communities. In some small way, we can all support that objective.
So I partnered with Jenni Meredith of Snowball Arts Community Cooperative, and The Community Rail Partnership, and we took Year 5 from a local Harwich School on a journey, on their local train line, to Write Between the Lines?
My aim on this project was to encourage the children to observe the world; to look, listen and use all of their senses to experience the journey and then write about it in a story or poem.
At Manningtree Station, we played games, which uncovered the key ingredients of ‘story’, and on the homeward journey we wrote a poem.
To add to the experience and to provide more stimuli for their creativity and curiosity, the children had an opportunity to explore the Railway Museum at Harwich Town Station.
JK Rowling famously said that ‘no story lives unless someone wants to listen.’
In order to value the children’s work and to provide a public audience for it, the children’s writing will be made into posters for the platform at Dovercourt station, where it will make a positive contribution to station users and the local community.
Curious and creative children grow into active adults who engage with the world around them and participate in their local communities. In some small way, we can all support that objective.
I am so excited by the launch of our new venture!
Myself, my partner Gerald Hornsby and our colleague Ellie Holmes will be present at the Essex Author Day. This is a chance for Essex people to meet authors in person, and chat to them about their writing and their books. We shall be taking this opportunity to launch TheNovelMakers, our joint venture, with a one-hour presentation.
Find us here: TheNovelMakers
and my colleagues here: Ellie Holmes - Gerald Hornsby
Myself, my partner Gerald Hornsby and our colleague Ellie Holmes will be present at the Essex Author Day. This is a chance for Essex people to meet authors in person, and chat to them about their writing and their books. We shall be taking this opportunity to launch TheNovelMakers, our joint venture, with a one-hour presentation.
Find us here: TheNovelMakers
and my colleagues here: Ellie Holmes - Gerald Hornsby
“No story lives unless someone wants to listen.” J.K Rowling
 |  |
It is half term and a chance to catch up on some reading. I am reading The Rumour by Lesley Kara; the brilliant Sunday Times bestseller with a killer twist.
And it gets me thinking about the transaction a writer makes with their reader; a bond of trust. The reader gives their time and commitment to the book and the writer must deliver, and preferably exceed, the reader’s expectations. (The Rumour does!)
As a writer, we must not underestimate what the reader bring to the book. A reader brings their own understanding of the genre, and an interpretation of our words through their life experience. They are expert at reading between the lines, and it is in the spaces between our words where the reader interprets our intention. It is in these spaces where we win their hearts and loyalty, or lose them.
To be a writer, we need to be readers first and to write the books we love to read; to understand the subtleties and codes of our chosen genre and deliver these with originality, conviction and insight and not to shortchange the expectation of the reader.
And it gets me thinking about the transaction a writer makes with their reader; a bond of trust. The reader gives their time and commitment to the book and the writer must deliver, and preferably exceed, the reader’s expectations. (The Rumour does!)
As a writer, we must not underestimate what the reader bring to the book. A reader brings their own understanding of the genre, and an interpretation of our words through their life experience. They are expert at reading between the lines, and it is in the spaces between our words where the reader interprets our intention. It is in these spaces where we win their hearts and loyalty, or lose them.
To be a writer, we need to be readers first and to write the books we love to read; to understand the subtleties and codes of our chosen genre and deliver these with originality, conviction and insight and not to shortchange the expectation of the reader.
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others:
read a lot and write a lot.”
Stephen King
On the theme of JOURNEYS
The BIG Write: Journeys
With Anita Belli
Harwich Redoubt
Sunday 3rd March 2019
11.00 - 3.00
Drop in: no booking required
Love telling tales and making up stories? Ever written a poem, short story or a song? Using games and creative prompts, find exciting new ways to kick start your writing whether you are 8 or 80. Add a line to a collective poem, play story-building games and have a go at a word sprint. We all have a story in us. What’s yours? Suitable for ages 4+
Join us for the opening weekend of Essex Book Festival for a whole day of family friendly activity at The Redoubt in Harwich
https://essexbookfestival.org.uk/event/the-big-write-journeys/
With Anita Belli
Harwich Redoubt
Sunday 3rd March 2019
11.00 - 3.00
Drop in: no booking required
Love telling tales and making up stories? Ever written a poem, short story or a song? Using games and creative prompts, find exciting new ways to kick start your writing whether you are 8 or 80. Add a line to a collective poem, play story-building games and have a go at a word sprint. We all have a story in us. What’s yours? Suitable for ages 4+
Join us for the opening weekend of Essex Book Festival for a whole day of family friendly activity at The Redoubt in Harwich
https://essexbookfestival.org.uk/event/the-big-write-journeys/
Check out my BLOG here: The stories behind the stories.
This is where I explore the themes and ideas behind my novels.
The backstories of the characters and how they came about.
Where the ideas come from and how they grow into a story. And how my own life experiences feed the constant, fast flowing stream of stories and ideas.
This is where I explore the themes and ideas behind my novels.
The backstories of the characters and how they came about.
Where the ideas come from and how they grow into a story. And how my own life experiences feed the constant, fast flowing stream of stories and ideas.
Writer and Creative Writing Tutor
How much do you want to know about me?
I am a compulsive writer and I want to share some of my writing with you as well as thoughts and ideas about writing and some useful techniques. Welcome and please leave a message.
Available from October 11th 2018 on Amazon
Available Now on Amazon
February 17th 2020
Available on Amazon
Made with the children of Wix and Wrabness Primary School
Made with Children from
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