So, as far back as I can remember, I have loved to write.
The earliest ‘book’ I wrote was when I was 13 – 14 years old, called ‘Looks Aren’t Everything’. It’s about teenage love and the struggles that teenagers have during those years which I’m sure a lot of people can relate to.
Then my GCSE’s came along and for my English exam, I had to write a 2 page short story but, I got so carried away with it…ended up being 30 pages. And because of that, believe it or not, I failed that English exam coz it was too long.
I did however pass my child development exam by creating a fabric alphabet book.
During my twenties, I began writing poems, with five of them actually being published. I have a whole collection which one day, I hope to release as one book in itself.
Life then became busy with work, children and such so writing took a back seat until nearly twenty years later.
We had just moved to Saffron Walden and came along to see Harts Books opening night with a somewhat well known other local author – Jojo moyes.
My First Book I Wrote
My GCSE Child development Book
As I listened to her talking about her writing and the fact that one of them had been made into a movie, something pinged inside of me and I turned to Leonardo and said, ‘I’m going to start writing again’. And that’s exactly what I did that evening.
Reasonable Lies was born.
Reasonable Lies tells the story of Jane, who gets diagnosed with breast cancer after a routine charity day at her work. She had been putting off seeing a doctor about a lump she had but it was picked up on examination and after more tests and checks, it was too late for her to be cured. She struggles to face the truth herself let alone telling her family and friends so she begins a string of lies trying to protect them while she comes to terms with it.
Unfortunately, just a month into my writing of this storyline, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. As you can imagine, it was too close to home to continue writing so again, the writing stopped.
Two years later, mum got the all-clear & told me to get on with the book using her experiences and appointments we’d been to together as research.
On finishing it, I approached a long list of publishers and received several offers to publish with them, but I felt, the offers weren’t right for me.
As my husband will tell you, I’m not a patient person so until the right offer comes along, I’m self-publishing to get my books out there.
List of things I do:
Write, edit, format, create covers, buy bar codes and ISBN numbers, register it with the library, send a copy to the library, market it using as many social media channels as possible, create book art and videos, organise book tours, signings, events, create a website, maintain the website, contact book stores, connect with readers, connect with other authors…and that’s just for starters.
My husband calls me…
‘THE ONE WOMAN BOOK MACHINE’.
Back to my self-publishing journey, I’ve now sold nearly 1300 copies of Reasonable Lies, and got over 160 reviews which are mostly five stars.
My GCSE English Fail
But more importantly, the messages that I get from women telling me that after reading Reasonable Lies, they have gone and got themselves checked over so not only are people loving the book, but it’s also sending an important message to raise awareness for breast cancer.
Reasonable Lies has now gone on to become a series with Jane’s personal diary, then Sarah (Jane’s best friend), has her own story which also has a diary add-on.
I’m currently finishing the next book in the series, which I’m hoping to release this September on my birthday so watch this space.
My ultimate dream is a Netflix series being made out of my books and maybe even Hollywood to come calling – you have to think big, right?
Words are powerful tools so please use your words after reading this by telling just one person about Reasonable Lies. Help us raise awareness for breast cancer which could also mean saving a life. Imagine how amazing that would be?
