The Book Thing…
If you’ve read the About Me section of this website, you might have some questions around that “Aspiring Author” bit, so I’m just going to get this out there now and then we can all move on…
I’ve written a book.
Yes, I’m hugely self-conscious about it. No, I don’t know why. Yes, I realise it doesn’t make sense. But talking about it makes me uncomfortable. I blame a combination of high school bullies and that wonderful Scottish psyche where it’s essentially bad manners to say anything good about oneself. To be fair, when asked if I was good at shooting by a taxi driver, I once replied that I was ‘alright’ about two weeks after I’d won double gold at the Commonwealth Games, so it’s not limited to the writing.
Anyway. The book thing…
I’m a bookworm. Always have been. Raised on The Hobbit and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as my bedtime stories. Discovered Harry Potter, because I was that generation, and later devoured His Dark Materials and the Inheritance Cycle. We were a household of sci-fi and fantasy lovers, and my old man has admitted to having read Lord of the Rings over thirty times, so as you can imagine, I was never short of a book growing up. Especially since I kept rereading my favourites.
I also have what I’m going to describe as an over-active imagination. As a child, I spent more hours than I care to admit creating all kinds of stories in my head - featuring all my favourite characters. But sometimes I felt a character was missing. So I’d invent my own. And so it spiralled.
At school I was often better than many of my peers at creative writing - I suspect only because I’d read more than most. Looking back, I was terrible and had no technical skills to speak of, but I thought I was good so I wrote with confidence and that’s half the battle. I loved writing. Loved inventing characters, creating adventures for them, villains to defeat and so on. They were rarely more than snap shots. Flickers of scenes that played out in my head when I should have been studying. But they were fun, and they let me escape what was, at times, a less than pleasant high school experience.
It wasn’t until an author called Nicola Morgan came to speak to us, promoting her book Blame My Brain, that I realised author could be a career choice. We’d read one of her books in class, and I bought another called Sleepwalking there and then (devoured in days, loved it, still quote it at my husband when I’m feeling soppy). I was enamoured with her. She was so… human. Intelligent and witty, but human. Until that point, authors had been these magical remote beings. Beyond the likes of you or I. But she was so down-to-earth and relatable that I realised it was attainable, if I was willing to work hard.
So I kept writing. Developed those scenes into something bigger. Pieced them together until I had the bare bones of a complete story. Sport distracted me along the way, and I prioritised chasing my Olympic dream, but I never stopped writing. It was an escape from the pressures of the environment. A way for me to channel and make sense of what could be overwhelming emotions. The story changed. Grew arms and legs. Evolved to be unrecognisable as the same story (but so much better for it - I cringe to look back at some of those early ideas).
And now it’s almost done.
I had two dreams growing up. Firstly, to compete at the Olympic Games. Secondly, to become a published author. It might surprise you to hear the latter has proved harder than the former. Some skills have been transferrable, and that has been invaluable. I have a thick-skin for constructive criticism and I’m not shy of hard work. There’s been some steep learning curves too, but again with all the experience gained through sport none of it has phased me. I love writing and I just want to be in a position where I can keep doing it.
So, I’ve written a book. As you might have guessed, it’s a fantasy novel - first in a planned series of five books (watch this space). Expect magic and dragons, though maybe not as you know them. I’m going to self-publish and am working with an editor to make it the best it can be. I expect it to be ready for publication some time next year, but again, watch this space.
Anyway. That’s the book thing. I hope I’ll get better at talking about it once it’s finished! What books do you like to read? Let me know in the comments below!
