Hello, it's been a while...*blushes*...

But I have been working hard in the deep dark back, back, background.

I have just re-read my last post (from 2013!!! that can't be right surely?). In any case, I have been re-working my first novel (yes still, I do have a job and a family and a teeny tiny bit of a life out there too, which mostly takes priority over my beloved writing). I even got to a point that I felt fairly confident with my writing that I submitted to the MsLexia Novel Competition and I was shocked and very very excited to have been longlisted - someone actually liked some of my writing! Yay! However, I knew that the next stage of the competition would be a huge obstacle (I had worked and reworked the first section for submission but knew that the next really needed more work) and so, I was not surprised (a little disappointed, of course, but not surprised) that my novel didn't get any further. I knew, deep down, that my novel wasn't quite ready, which, I know, I know, is a big no no for entering competitions and submitting work generally, but after so much thinking and re-drafting (possibly the same passages over and over - don't judge me), I needed some kind of sign that my writing was getting better, even if just a little bit. That email confirmation saying that I had been longlisted was the sign I needed. Without it, I probably would have carried on but most likely with a little less of a spark.

As such, I have been reworking and re-thinking the rest of the novel and taking part in some writing workshops to hone my writing even further. As my husband says I hope it will all be worthwhile in the end. In fact, I have recently been doing some further research into one of the areas that my novel touches on and have found a whole new aspect that will give it another focus and more depth, which is rather invigorating.

Writing and even just thinking of the stories I am working on (yes there are more than just my WIP - I'm in this for the long-haul!), gives me pleasure, that's what I get out of the hours of thinking, creating, sculpting and re-arranging words, characters and stories.

And so, I will post more often on this blog about my writing progress (I promise) as well as catching up on some book reviews...so watch this space..............