Getting Started

A chilly wind’s prowling round the outside of the house today, tearing up anything that’s not firmly rooted and screeching through the thinnest of window gaps. I’m wearing three layers to stay warm; it’s taken both me and Tom the best part of three weeks to shake off one of the nastiest colds ever to strike so I’m doing my best to avoid a repeat performance. After the enforced slow start to the year, this is a flavour of what we’ve been up to.

We’re hoping that this year’s marmalade marathon will see us round to next January… but we say that every year.

Coming out of hibernation, we’ve been reminding ourselves of the fabulous beaches on our doorstep.

My next half marathon is only six weeks away so I’m gradually picking up the mileage. Last year, during the Poppit Sands Series, I met my awesome running buddy, Helen. We’re both busy women but try to do a long run together every couple of weeks. It’s great to have encouragement and support, especially on tough hill climbs.

I finally pressed ‘send’ on my latest novella - but not until it had been subject to Tom’s intense scrutiny… always a nerve-wracking time.

Now, I’m in the strange uncertain world of my next novel. Because of the way I work, always kicking off with a mental image, like a ‘still’ from a film, I spend a lot of time faffing around wondering who the heck these people are and where they’re going. However, my freelance feature work has taught me a lot about the evolution of every piece I write. After three novels, two novellas, numerous short stories, some poetry and a respectable body of feature articles, I’m hoping I’ve finally learned how to ride the highs and lows of the creative process. 12,000 words in, I know enough about the new novel to see that it’s a step away from my usual genre and I’m really excited to see how it will shape up. I’ve got started, now ‘all’ I have to do is keep going!