A Writer’s Journey
Magic! Adventure! Fabulous, mythical animals and wicked witches! These were the story elements that enthralled me as a child and inspired me to create the magical, mystical world of Sericea.
It’s been a long journey. I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was eight years old and fashioning little booklets out of folded paper. I’d write and illustrate fantasy – heavily influenced at the time by The Borrowers series.
Then, as so often happens, I was overtaken by events, school, early stages of career and family… Oh, I wrote…some truly dreadful novels that mercifully I let languish in my computer hard drive. But over time, the writing bug strengthened. I wrote more. And as I wrote, my writing improved. Participation in various writing groups helped along the way along with writing buddies and writing coaches.
Finally, perseverance has paid off!
Never give up on a dream. It may take much longer than you expect to achieve it, but that’s okay.
Things I’m Grateful for Today
Spring has truly sprung here on the Island and I’m loving seeing new flowers every day. Some of my favourites are camellias, rhododendrons, and flowering plums. Every day, there’s something new to discover!
An almost three-hour phone call with a beloved friend this morning. We’re separated by thousands of miles and a substantial time difference, but each call is as if we’re sitting having a cup of tea together.
A heron landed by the pool in my neighbour’s garden yesterday. There is a blue heron colony in a public garden, not too far from our house. In the Celtic traditions, herons represent autonomy, persistence, and longevity.
What I’m Reading Now
When I start a series, I tend to go right through it and there are twenty-four Hugh Corbett medieval mysteries to date. This is only book 11. Paul Doherty has based every novel in the series so far on an actual event happening in the reign of Edward 1 of England. A historian as well as an author, Doherty brings the early 14th century vividly to life.
