Tag Archives: How To

My Writing Process | Holly Wainwright

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I’m Holly Wainwright and I’m a writer and a journalist, editor and a podcaster – all the things.

Most recently and significantly, I have written two novels – The Mummy Bloggers and How To Be Perfect, about women who write on the Internet and whose online personas don’t much match the chaos and artifice of their real lives. The books are really all about the lengths people will go to for Likes.

Latest Book.

The Mummy Bloggers. It was my first book, it’s just come out in the UK via Legend Press and I’m very proud of it.

A bit about your process of writing.

I find I have to treat writing a book in the same way I treat a job – I sit down every day with a number of words in mind and I just do it, even if I don’t love the words. The idea is that I can fix that later. Some days the discipline works, others not so much!

I also mostly write sitting on my bed, in silence. Other than when my kids come and ask, ‘What you doing?” and proceed to make a mess of everything.

Do you plan or just write?

A bit of both. Our bedroom wall at home is covered in Post-It notes, which is how I plot out a book with the characters and then, Chapter by Chapter. Post-its are great because you can move them around, but I do find myself procrastinating by obsessing about colour and placement!

But once all the Post-Its are up, often the conclusion of plot-points come to me as I’m writing. That’s the best kind of day, when problems are just solving themselves on the page.

What about word count?

I would often give myself a daily word-count. I wouldn’t get to it every day, but I’d aim for most. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the feeling of hitting the word count on my first book, I was so bloody proud.

How do you do your structure?

See aforementioned Post-It note wall – very high-tech.

What do you find hard about writing?

The constant self-doubt. And the amount of tea I drink while I’m doing it…. lots of toilet breaks.

What do you love about writing? 

Everything else. On a good day, when it’s working, there’s nothing that makes me happier, puts me in a better mood and feels more like the thing I should be doing with my time. Creating people and worlds is the best job in the world.

Advice for other writers. 

Don’t assume it’s easy for everyone else and you must just be the untalented one. Writing is difficult for everyone who does it well.

That, and to lay off the cups of tea a bit.

Holly is the author of The Mummy Bloggers (Legend Press, out now) and How to be Perfect (out 1st November)

Our social media is:

Legend Press @legend_press on Twitter, @legendpress on Instagram
Holly is @hollycwain  on Twitter and @wainwrightholly on Instagram

 

My Writing Process – Valerie Holmes

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Valerie HolmesMy childhood memories of growing up in a North Yorkshire coastal town are vivid. The flat sandy bays, marram grass covered dunes, salt marshes, woodland and moors provided a natural playground. The Tees estuary to the north was industrialised, but the natural beauty of the sweeping bays and rugged headlands down to the ancient port of Whitby has a fascinating history. My mother had Multiple Sclerosis and died too young, so walking my dog and exploring the outdoors was important to me.

I love writing and am an experienced creative writing tutor independently and for The London School of Journalism and Writing Magazine. 

The Yorkshire Saga series, published by Sapere Books, is set in the region in early nineteenth century. I have had over 40 novellas published by F A Thorpe, both romance and mystery – historical and contemporary.

The third book in The Yorkshire Saga series ‘To Have and To Hold’ is published on 17th June, and the fourth ‘In Sickness and In Health’ has just been delivered to Sapere.

They are all set in or around the same fictitious villages of Gorebeck and Ebton nestled in the shadow of the headland of Stangcliffe (based on Saltburn and Huntcliffe). 

Set against social changes as a result of the wars with France: smuggling, espionage, press-gangs etc. I have been researching the era and the region for years.

A bit about your process of writing.  & What about word count?

 I write 1000-1500 words a day. The next day I will return to the work of the previous one and overwrite it, then add on the new words for that day, repeating the process until I have reached a satisfying ending and an acceptable total wordage.

Do you plan or just write?

Normally, I begin with a character, place and situation and then run with it. Once I have a few chapters drafted and the secondary characters have appeared on the page I plan what will happen: conflicts, subplots, character changes and the satisfying ultimate resolution of the core plot.

 

I like to explore the many facets of love from friendship, maternal/paternal to obsessive and manipulative, keeping the central theme as the spark that links two people together, drawing them into a relationship kindled by true love, regardless of social class.

 

Love bonds people together. Laws can dictate the controls within a culture which restricts or allows certain behaviour, but, I believe, most people want to have that special person in their life to love and be loved. I want the reader to be left feeling satisfied and positive about the future.

 

How do you do your structure?

 

I like to build up to a mid section that has a lot of things going on and kicks off new problems to drive the plot through to the end.

 

What do you find hard about writing?

 

After I have edited two drafts and left the project alone for a couple of weeks, even returning afresh to it, I am so close to the story that it is difficult to see what should be cut out or left in – that is why a good editor is so important to the finished book.

 

What do you love about writing? 

 

I love the adventure – I love creating the characters and setting them off to face a series of challenges and then figuring out what will stand in their way and how they will ultimately achieve their goal.

 

Advice for other writers

 

The publishing business is tough. It is a business and although we are creative we have to look at it like that. There are hours spent alone just writing. Love it. Love the whole process, embracing the challenge. The more you write, the better you become. Once published the challenges change. Be dedicated and determined and take on board constructive advice.

Most importantly enjoy every minute. 

 

What it’s like to raise £3.5m and have a baby at the same time

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Rachel CarrellBy Rachel Carrell.
I set up my business, Koru Kids, to solve a huge problem. We’re aiming to profoundly impact the wellbeing of a million families, by totally reinventing after school childcare.
It is a massive goal. To even think about achieving it, we needed some big investors on board.
Makes sense, right?
Except that I was also pregnant.
Raising money in London from professional investors while pregnant isn’t easy. You have to have lots of meetings all over London—ideally, four or five a day. Every day was a scramble up and down the stairs of the Tube, arriving at each meeting just in time but very out of breath.  I took meetings right up until my due date, in a state of denial that a baby was soon arriving. In the evenings I did my whole normal day job, then tried to sleep before getting up and doing it all again the next day. For several months, before and after the birth, I was sleeping 4 hours a night and working until about 1am.
At 5:30 a.m. one Sunday I woke with advanced contractions. Alexander was born an hour later, and we both came home that day.
I resumed meetings the next morning at 9am—this time, by telephone. While my husband, Dave, held Alexander, I did my usual pitch with one small variation: “While running my previous company, I had a baby and noticed how difficult it was to find great childcare. Actually – well, I don’t want to freak you out, but I had another baby yesterday.”
My first in-person meeting was two days after the birth. I pumped breastmilk for Alexander, left him with Dave, spent an hour with the investor then zipped back home. For the next few weeks the three of us—Dave, Alexander and I—travelled to meetings together. I’d feed the baby on the way or in the reception, and do the meeting while Dave looked after Alexander. One time Dave took him off to the National Portrait Gallery nearby while I did my thing in the boardroom.
The process was arduous but in the end, it all paid off. The investment round exceeded expectations—raising £3.5m rather than £1.5m as we originally intended—and we were on our way to achieving our goal. Alexander and his big sister are doing really well too.
What kept me going was sheer bloody-mindedness, and commitment to our cause: Koru Kids needs to exist. The childcare system is inadequate and I’ve met hundreds of parents who are affected by it. People who can’t afford the care they know their children should have. Women who want to go back to work but can’t. Parents whose employers have agreed to part time work patterns but who can’t find the childcare to make it work. Families who are forced to leave London when they don’t want to. Parents who desperately want another child but can’t see how they’re going to manage.
The truth is, we all have challenges in our lives. My challenge was trying to do two difficult things at once. But other people have that too, with different challenges like bereavement, or mental health issues. Raising the money Koru Kids needed while also having a baby was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’ll all be worth it when we’ve built the childcare system I know we need.

How To Make Your Blog Posts Go Viral Part Two

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blogIn the first post on how to make your blog, and your blog posts, go viral we covered content, social media sharing, titles, tags and keywords. Next up we have more advice for helping your hard work pay off.

Post at The Right Time

Doing a post on Christmas Day probably won’t get a lot of hits. Posting on a Friday evening is not ideal either. Have a think when people will be more likely to be online. You can research when people are on Twitter and Facebook. Use your Google analytics to find out when the ideal time is to reach your readers.

Share your post in your Newsletter

A newsletter is a brilliant way of making sure your great posts get another chance. Even your most loyal readers may miss a post or two. Build up the people on your newsletter list by doing competitions and having one of the entry requirements signing up to your newsletter.

Press Release

Writing a press release, and distributing it to the media, is a great way to get traffic and build on your reputation. The way to do this is to have an angle and then write about 500 words on that, along with a good pictures and then sending it out to the media. Channel Mum do this well by doing surveys and then releasing the results to the media, along with a statement. A lot of companies and publications do this. You could also write about a relevant subject, or have a personal story. It is all about the angle. Start building a media list. You can do this by signing up for Gorkana’s Consumer Alert or the Diary Directory. You can also find out who the editor of each publication is by looking on Twitter, the actual publication or websites. Getting a copy of the Writers and Artists Yearbook is also a good idea. It will be full of contacts.

Create Evergreen Content

One of the best ways to turn your blog into a success is to write evergreen posts. What is an evergreen post? It is a post that keeps getting hits. Even years later. These kind of posts tend to be informative or educational. Frost has a number of posts that are still getting hits up to seven years later. Imagine if you wrote an article and it still got thousands of hits years later. That is a great source of traffic and the only effort you had to put in was writing the initial post. Win win.

Get creative with Design

Creating pictures and graphics to go with your post is a great way to market them and improve engagement. Graphically engaging people can be done in many ways.  You will get more pins on Pinterest and more clicks on other social media too. Frost writer Jane Cable uses Canva to great effect. Canva is a free design tool which is easy to use. You can also create banner ads, headers, marketing material, ebooks and documents with it. Other design tools to use include Piktochart, Venngage, Infogr.am and Visual.ly

Optimise Your Images

Optimising your images is one of the easiest ways to get more traffic and also one of the most effective. Give your images a title using relevant keywords before you upload them, then add in a few more for good measure. Fill out the Title and Alt Text. This will optimise your images and you will get a lot of traffic through sources like Google Images.

Write Long Form Content 

Apparently long form content gets more shares than short form content according to Blog.visme.co in their article 10 Ways to make your content go viral. BuzzSumo did a study in which they found out that posts between 3,000 to 10,000 words were shared the most, while posts that were 1,000 words or less were shared the least. I am quite surprised at this but it is worth thinking about. It is a good idea to make most of your posts over 500 words.

 

I will be telling you all you need to know about blogging in a series of articles. You can also check out my book, The Ultimate Guide To Becoming a Successful Blogger which is available in ebook and print. 

 

The Ultimate Guide To Clearing Your Clutter

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Last year I became quite obsessed with decluttering. In fact, thanks to Marie Kondo I think we all did. I have never liked being surrounded by a lot of stuff. I have always hated clutter. Which is why I am feeling rather proud. My husband and I have got rid of thousands of things. There are still a few things earmarked to go, but we are the closest to minimalism we have ever been. The flat looks fundamentally tidy even though we have a toddler. Things are also much easier to find and we have even made some money selling things. Here is my quick, but comprehensive, guide to decluttering. It will change your life, trust me.

You need to put things into different bags,boxes or piles. The options are: Recycle, Sell, Keep, Mend, Give to Charity.

 

You don’t have to do it all at once so don’t get overwhelmed. You can do a room at a time, or even just a drawer of cupboard. Slow and steady is just as good as one full-on day.

My biggest tip is to keep a charity bag somewhere you can easily access. Put things in there you want to get rid of, and then when it is full you can take it to the charity shop. 

You can make decluttering fun by doing it while you watch your favourite TV show or listen to music. You can even get all of the family involved. Getting rid of old stuff always feels great.

Declutter for 5-10 minutes everyday. It all adds up.

Put the handle on the hanger in your wardrobe in one direction, if you wear the item, turn the handle around. Wait a certain amount of time, say, six months, then throw out everything you have not worn.

 

You can give away unwanted stuff while doing good for the environment via Freecycle.org

 

Get rid of all your old phones. Just remember to delete your personal information and remove the SIM card. There are plenty of good websites and companion websites which will give you the best price. I use https://www.mazumamobile.com/sell-my-mobile. Just make sure you check out their reputation on trustpilot.com

You can also sell old ink cartridges. The amount you can earn is so low that I would give them to chairty instead. Cash for Cartridges pay for old ink cartridges but you have to set up an account, the withdrawal limit is £25, and their prices are so low it would take an age to get there. http://www.cashforcartridges.co.uk/ink-cartridge-recycling-prices

Personally I think it is better to donate them to the British Heart Foundation. You can download their free post label here. https://www.therecyclingfactory.com/bhf/. Other charities that take old printer cartridges include the British Institute for Brain Injured Children, RNLI, Barnados, Sense, and the World Cancer Research Fund.

I have sold all of my old gadgets. After removing my personal data of course. I used eBay.co.uk as I found they had the best prices. There are other places of course. cashinyourgadgets.co.uk, musicmagpie.com and even Apple itself will buy your old technology. It is best to remove your old hard drive before selling your old computers. Note that Apple will give you a gift card in return. They also recycle things for free that they do not buy, including PCs.

Amazon.co.uk marketplace allows you to sell books, DVDs and some other stuff. They do take a huge fee however, a massive 17.25% commission. The good news is that it is free to list. They also give you a postage credit which does not always cover the cost of posting the book, then take it away in fees.

You can also sell by Car Booting. Car boot sales are not the best place to get the top price. I have never done it personally but there will be plenty in your area. Just do a search. They tend to charge a fee to pitch up your car and sell. I would mark your prices up a bit as people like to haggle.

Other good places to sell your stuff.

 

Facebook groups

There is even a sell option on Facebook. You can also join groups and sell your stuff on the group.

The best way I have found of getting rid of stuff is to give it to charity. You do good and give back to the community while clearing out your home. Win win.

You can donate pretty much everything. For instance, the RSPB, DHIVERSE and the World Owl Trust will take old stamps. Your old glasses and sunglasses can go to charity shops. Branches of Boots Opticians and  Dolland and Aitchinson usually have recycling bins for old glasses. You can donate your foreign currency. RNIB will take it. Help the Aged, Marie Curie and Age UK will even take old currency that can no longer be changed. Many charities will also take your old phones.

Take your old clothes to a charity shop or a local clothes bank. H&M, Uniqlo and Marks & Spencer’s all take old items of clothing.

It is best to sell furniture on Gumtree.com, Facebook groups or other local resources. Furniture and homeware does not hold its value well. If you do want to get rid of your furniture and don’t want to sell it do not spend hundreds getting someone to take it away for you. We were quoted over £400 for someone to come and take our furniture away. I donated it to the British Heart Foundation instead and they came and took it away for free.

When it comes to donating furniture the Furniture Reuse Network will take your goods and then distribute them to a charity organisation in your area.  Oxfam and the British Heart Foundation also take furniture. You can also try Freecycle and Freegle where you offer your good for free to anyone who can collect them.

Gone For Good is a great social enterprise that puts people in touch with charities that will come and take away their furniture or anything else they want to donate. You use the Gone For Good app by taking a photo of your unwanted stuff on our phone and then one of the charities will come and take the goods away based on your postcode. The app is free to use and the charity will pick up your goods for free too. Great for people who don’t have a car.

When you give stuff to charity make sure you sign up for Gift Aid. This allows the charity to claim an extra 25p for every £1 you give and also lets you get some money off your tax bill. Don’t do it unless you pay tax though, you will have to pay the extra gift aid. To learn more about tax relief and gift aid go here.

My last tips are to get rid of old change via self services machines. No, the staff from the supermarket don’t like it but as long as you don’t overdo it I am sure it will be fine. I also find eBay.co.uk the best place for selling stuff. Even if there are some people on there that just want to steal your stuff. I send valuable things signed for. My other, and biggest, tip for decluttering is also the one that is best for the environment: stop buying so much crap. Seriously. I rarely buy anything these days other than food and it has changed my life. My sure everything has a place and goes back into that place. Everything else can be sold or given to charity.
Thank you for reading. Please add your own tips below.

Great decluttering books:

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: A simple, effective way to banish clutter forever

Stuffocation: Living More with Less

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World By Reshma Saujani

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Getting women into STEM is a passion of Frost Magazine. We need more girls who code and Reshma Saujani has founded the leading international movement to close the tech gender gap. This book is a New York Times Bestseller and it is easy to see why. The back cover has glowing endorsements from Jack Dorsey, Sheryl Sandberg and Melinda Gates. It is part how-to and part girl-empowerment. It is written in an engaging way that is easy to understand and fun. This is a brilliant book which should be bought for any girl in your life. Books have power and this book has it in droves. The perfect mix of inspiration and knowledge. Crack the code to your future dreams Since 2012, the organization Girls Who Code has been leading the charge to get girls interested in technology and coding. Now its founder, Reshma Saujani, wants to inspire you to be a girl who codes! Bursting with dynamic artwork, down-to-earth explanations of coding principles, and real-life stories of girls and women working at places like Pixar and NASA, this graphically animated book shows what a huge role computer science plays in our lives and how much fun it can be. No matter your interest—sports, the arts, baking, student government, social justice—coding can help you do what you love and make your dreams come true. Whether you’re a girl who’s never coded before, a girl who codes, or a parent raising one, this entertaining book, printed in bold two-color and featuring art on every page, will have you itching to create your own apps, games, and robots to make the world a better place. Part how-to, part girl-empowerment, and all fun, from the leader of the movement championed by Sheryl Sandberg, Jack Dorsey, and other giants of the tech world. Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World By Reshma SaujaniGetting women into STEM is a passion of Frost Magazine. We need more girls who code and Reshma Saujani has founded the leading international movement to close the tech gender gap. By 2020 1.4 million jobs will be open in computing fields in the US alone, yet only about 30% of them will be filled with computing graduates, and only 3% of those will be filled by women. This is despite women using social media apps 600% more than men. Girls are getting left behind. Girls Who Code is an organisation that aims to teach 1 million girls to code by 2020. This is the project’s first book and is a New York Times Bestseller and it is easy to see why. The back cover has glowing endorsements from Jack Dorsey, Sheryl Sandberg and Melinda Gates. It is part how-to and part girl-empowerment. It is written in an engaging way that is easy to understand and fun. This is a brilliant book which should be bought for any girl in your life. Books have power and this book has it in droves. The perfect mix of inspiration and knowledge, all written in an accessible way. Frost loves.
Crack the code to your future dreams

Since 2012, the organization Girls Who Code has been leading the charge to get girls interested in technology and coding. Now its founder, Reshma Saujani, wants to inspire you to be a girl who codes!

Bursting with dynamic artwork, down-to-earth explanations of coding principles, and real-life stories of girls and women working at places like Pixar and NASA, this graphically animated book shows what a huge role computer science plays in our lives and how much fun it can be. No matter your interest—sports, the arts, baking, student government, social justice—coding can help you do what you love and make your dreams come true.

Whether you’re a girl who’s never coded before, a girl who codes, or a parent raising one, this entertaining book, printed in bold two-color and featuring art on every page, will have you itching to create your own apps, games, and robots to make the world a better place.

 

Part how-to, part girl-empowerment, and all fun, from the leader of the movement championed by Sheryl Sandberg, Jack Dorsey, and other giants of the tech world.

 

Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World By Reshma Saujani is available here.

 

Write From The Start: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Professional Non-Fiction

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Write From The Start: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Professional Non-Fiction by Caroline Foster

Becoming a writer is hard. To go from beginner to professional means you will need all of the help you can get. This book has a wealth of advice on becoming successful in non-fiction writing. Practical and thorough, it has plenty of advice to help you become a non-fiction writer. Recommended for anyone who wants to write professional non-fiction from a woman who knows her stuff.

 

Do you want to become a writer? Would you like to earn money from writing? Do you know where to begin?

Help is at hand with Write From The Start – a practical must-read resource for newcomers to the world of non-fiction writing. It is a vast genre that encompasses books, newspaper and magazine articles, press releases, business copy, the web, blogging, and much more besides.

Jam-packed with great advice, the book is aimed at novice writers, hobbyist writers, or those considering a full-time writing career, and offers a comprehensive guide to help you plan, prepare, and professionally submit your non-fiction work. It is designed to get you up-and-running fast.

Write From The Start will teach you how to explore topic areas methodically, tailor content for different audiences, and create compelling copy. It will teach you which writing styles work best for specific publications, how to improve your chances of securing both commissioned and uncommissioned work, how to build a portfolio that gets results, and how to take that book idea all the way to publication.

Comprised of 16 chapters, there is information on conducting effective research, book submissions, writing for business, copyright and plagiarism pitfalls, formatting, professional support networks, contracts and agreements, the value of humour, ghostwriting, and much more…

By the end of this book – full of practical advice and proven results – you will be well on your path to writing success!

> Discover how to write not just good copy but great copy
> Learn the submission techniques that will increase your chances of publication
> Develop ways to earn money by writing about your skills, experiences, and hobbies
> Understand how to write for magazines, the web, businesses, and books
> Master freelance content writing for sites such as Textbroker
> Explore traditional publishing, self-publishing, and eBook options for books you write
> With additional contributions and guidance from other writing industry experts


Publisher Insists Author Writes Her Own Press Release

When author Caroline Foster’s first book, Write From The Start: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Professional Non-fiction was published by Bennion Kearny, she was somewhat surprised when they asked her to write her own press release.

Bennion Kearny, a publisher of specialist non-fiction titles, explained their logic, ‘Caroline’s book is a comprehensive guide to writing non-fiction; its content contains everything novice and improving writers want to know about writing in this genre, including how to write your press releases and market your book. It seemed an obvious notion – given Caroline’s knowledge and experience in this field – that she would want to write her PR.’

In response, Caroline said, ‘To be fair, I know Bennion Kearny have a team of first class marketing professionals who will do their best to market not just my book but those of my fellow authors on their lists. I understand their reasons for asking to me write my own press release and given the content of my book is about writing, I probably would have been slightly miffed if they hadn’t!’

Write From The Start: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Professional Non-fiction is a practical must-read guide for newcomers and aspiring writers to the world of non-fiction. Not only does it cover writing, marketing, and publishing books including memoirs, autobiographies, and titles on specialist topics, its chapter list includes writing for magazines, for online markets, and for businesses. Readers will also learn ‘how’ to write and submit great copy that will attract editors and publishers.

 

About Caroline Foster. Caroline Foster is a writer with more than 20 years of experience writing for national and regional publications on a variety of topics. She is also one of the founding partners of a successful Copywriting, PR and Digital Marketing company based in East Anglia.

 

Write From The Start: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Professional Non-Fiction is available here.  

 

BEST ENDEAVOURS: TO DO MY BEST. Jane Cable’s blog about what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues.

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publishing, digital publishing, writing, BEST ENDEAVOURS
 
Jane Cable’s blog about what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues.
 
TO DO MY BEST
 
This last week has been one great big long to do list; not just in my writing life, but in my business life as well, catching up with all the client work and admin swept to one side while I’ve been polishing The Seahorse Summer.
The single most important thing no-one ever told me about being a writer is that you spend more time marketing your books than you do producing them. If you want anyone to read them, that is. You can’t just put your book out there and wait for the crowds to come; particularly with the emergence of Createspace it really is true that everyone can publish a book, which makes the fiction market a very crowded place.
So, what’s been top of my writing life to do list this week? 
Jane Cable, publishing, writing First up I have recently joined The Romantic Novelists Association and to make the best of my membership I need to get involved: write my biography for their website; fire off emails to join various groups; add my details to their Author Talks list; send off my cheque for the winter party.
And talking of websites, there’s a great deal of updating to be done on my own with words and pictures to be prepared for my wonderful webmistress to beautify and publish in due course. Not to mention a PR campaign to be costed and planned for when The Seahorse Summer comes out. Oh, and cover quotes – let’s not forget cover quotes…
Next my local independent author group Chindi Authors (www.chindi-authors.co.uk) is in the middle of planning a series of events coming up to Christmas and I need to start pulling my weight again. There’s also the opportunity to record a few Youtube videos which will be really useful so I need to pull my finger out and practice – not least because the sight of a camera normally sends me fleeing for the hills.
I also need to start pushing my existing books again with a giveaway to be planned for The Cheesemaker’s House in the run up to Hallowe’en. Provided Hallowe’en doesn’t run up to and past me while I’m thinking about it, that is.

But one task this week has been a total and unadulterated pleasure, and that is a return to my part finished manuscript. It’s set in

Lincolnshire and features a feisty archaeologist and when I put it down in July to concentrate on The Seahorse Summer I had doubts about how well the story was working. Last week I curled up on my sofa over several early morning cups of coffee and lost myself beneath those huge winter skies, feeling the cold earth under my finger nails, hearing the voices of the past in my head. It was fine – it was actually better than I remembered.

And it was bliss to be writing new words on a fresh page again.

 

Jane Cable is the author of two independently published romantic suspense novels, The Cheesemaker’s House and The Faerie Tree, and a sporadic contributor to Frost. The Seahorse Summer tells the tale of how two American soldiers born sixty years apart help forty-something Marie Johnson to rebuild her shattered confidence and find new love. Discover more at www.janecable.com.