Tag Archives: Arte Umbria

Reflections on 2018

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As 2018 draws to a close I’d like to say thank you so much to all of those who have made my year by buying, borrowing, reading and reviewing my books. Your kindness and support are hugely appreciated!

Thank you also to all those who take the time to read my blog. It has been a year since I started it and what a great year it has been.

As well as having my first book published with Ruby fiction, and gaining my first Amazon Best Seller badge,  I have met new people, travelled and tried new things.

A big thank you to the Choc Lit and Ruby Fiction team for making this  dream come true!

In June I had the privilege of going to the Arte Umbria writing retreat with Sue Moorcroft. It turned out I was the only other writer booked, and so I had Sue all to myself for a week. It was a lot of fun, with a great many words written. Sue and I shared chats on the terrace (as well as the odd glass of wine and slice of cake!). I learnt a lot, but I think one of the most valuable lessons was how much you can achieve by putting your bottom in a seat, focusing and cracking on with your work in progress. Without that trip, my new book wouldn’t have been finished by the end of the year.

Umbria with Sue Moorcroft

In July I went to the Romantic Novelist’s Association Conference in Leeds. Despite knowing a few people who were also going, I was very nervous. When I arrived, I had missed the start of my first seminar due to traffic and so decided to get a cup of tea, and gather my bearings.

As I stood making my tea Katie Fforde, Jill Mansell and Milly Johnson walked in! They set about making their drinks, while I felt awestruck and more out of my depth than when I arrived late. But I didn’t need to worry. They took time to say hello and Katie Fforde came and chatted to me as she made her tea, about – well, to be honest, I can’t remember what because I was busy thinking – “Oh my goodness, I am talking to Katie Fforde!” What a fantastic start to a wonderful weekend. The conference was informative. The main highlight, for me, was the opportunity to speak to so many writers and to spend time with fellow Choc Lit and Ruby Fiction authors.

Meeting the lovely Katie Fforde, Milly Johnson and Jill Mansell at the RNA conference.

From the conference came the spark of an idea and later in the year eight of us joined forces to create Apricot Plots, a group in which we work together to promote our writing and the romance genre. It is a lot of fun having fellow romance authors to work and promote with, and we have already formed some lovely friendships within the group. We’ve also been overwhelmed by the support we’ve received so far.

With fellow Apricot Plotters Angela Barton, Caroline James, Morton S Gray and Jane Cable. (Looking forward to meeting Tora Williams and Mariam Kobras in the future.)

Towards the end of the year, I stepped down as a director of the Chindi Authors, to make way for new authors and ideas. I am still an active member of the group and am ever grateful to my Chindi friends for their wonderful support, whether it be with fundraising or fathoming Amazon, they are always there.

Chindi Authors raising money for Cancer Research UK

Finally, on the cusp of December, I sent the sequel to The Purrfect Pet Sitter off to my publisher. It is currently with their reading panel, and so I am awaiting their response. Eeeek! I’ll let you know how that goes. All being well it means I’ll have a new book out in the first half of 2019. What a way to start the year.

I won’t be going to Umbria this year as my cheeky nephew has booked his wedding for the same time, but I will be off to the RNA conference again. Exciting times ahead and a new book promised to my publisher for July. Wish me luck. xx

Umbria, hypnosis and me!

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When I started my blog in January, I said this was going to be my year of trying new things. Now we are halfway through the year, I thought it was time for an update.

Umbria

At the end of June, I went to Sue Moorcroft’s writing retreat in Umbria. This was a big deal for me and not just because I got to meet Sue – a number 1, best selling romance writer – and got to have some fabulously peaceful, quality writing time. But also because before flying to Umbria the furthest I had travelled without my hubby (we’ve been together 27 years) was Somerset. I had also never left my children for so long.

And I did it! I managed to drop my luggage in the right place, to get my flight on time and to go on an aeroplane all by myself – there was a pilot and other passengers of course, but you get the idea. I am not a huge fan of flying, but the take-off and landing actually made me smile – even if we did land with a bump in Perugia. I enjoyed the whole experience, and something about doing it for myself made it more enjoyable. I felt younger and freer as soon as my feet hit the airport floor – isn’t that funny!

Of course, I missed my children, but I didn’t worry about them. I knew their daddy was looking after them well. He even ironed their school uniforms! If left to him he probably wouldn’t have to be honest, but he knew they’d tell on him if he didn’t.

When I reached Arte Umbria, I learnt I was the only one booked for the writing retreat for that week. I’ll be honest, that threw me for a moment. I am a bit shy, and the thought that there would be nobody else to hide behind made me wonder if I would enjoy it, or if the week would seem really long, making me miss home.

I needn’t have worried. Sue Moorcroft was lovely, very easy to get on with and inspirational. I wrote almost 14000 words on the sequel to The Purrfect Pet Sitter while away. In the same time, Sue reached double that! She may also have encouraged me to drink slightly more wine than I usually would, but hey, I encouraged her to drink too much tea, so we are equal.

David, the owner, was extremely welcoming and did a brilliant job of cooking for us and looking after us all week. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the time whizzed by too quickly. In case you missed it, here’s a video I made sharing my experience:

Hypnosis and me!

During the Chichester Festival, I also pushed myself out of my comfort zone by doing public speaking with the Chindi Authors. It might seem strange for somebody who used to be a teacher not to feel comfortable speaking in public but with adults, not children, looking at me, no whiteboard, lesson plan, desk or stall as my props I get super nervous.

For this, I turned to my Chindi friend, Dan Jones. Dan is a hypnotherapist who has previously helped me with a phobia I had. I was a complete sceptic at the start, but my reaction to something that used to cause me to go into a state of physical panic has changed dramatically. So in preparation for the public speaking events, I listened to Dan’s hypnosis track on comfortable public speaking. You can check out his very popular YouTube channel here.

I am not saying it worked on me the way the phobia track did, but I did it with more confidence than before, I didn’t dread going to the events, and I got on and spoke out! Sometimes my voice was wobbly, sometimes I couldn’t quite make my point, but I was actually doing it, and hopefully, those people who attended the events went away satisfied. If nothing else, managing it has boosted my confidence.

Next up on my list of challenges is attending the RNA conference in Leeds on the weekend of the 13th-15th of July, wish me luck!

In Littlehampton on Wednesday 18th July? Pop along to the Chindi Authors’ self-publishing panel, the Baptist Church, Fitzalan Road, 7pm, where I’ll be sharing my experience of self-publishing and gaining my Ruby Fiction contract for The Purrfect Pet Sitter, a book set in and around Littlehampton.

Hope to see you there! x