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