It's ten years since my first book was published and since then I've published three more and my next one is due out this month. So that's five in all – four for adults and one for children. And I have to say, I do feel proud of what I've achieved – proud of my books, proud of the obstacles I've overcome on the way, and proud that I didn't give up.
From Procrastination to Perseverance to Publication
As a child I was a total bookworm (still am) and reading inspired me to write my own stories. I wrote them for myself and also to entertain my four younger sisters. But much as I loved writing it wasn't something I ever thought I could do for a living. And adult life as a wife, mother and primary school teacher left me little time to do more than write the odd short story for my own entertainment. However, I did daydream of maybe one day – one day I might actually write a novel. But busyness made procrastination all too easy.
Then I got a wake-up call – a brush with mortality that showed me 'one day' might never come and I should blooming well get on with chasing my dream. It was just over twenty years ago and I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Long story short, I did a deal with fate and promised that if I survived the illness, I'd stop procrastinating and get on with all the things I'd been putting off – most especially writing that novel.
