I find it unbelievable that I have been writing for 18 years - not to mention that I am currently working on my 30th novel, have written half a dozen novellas and numerous non-fiction articles. Writing is something that I cannot ever imagine me giving up willing - it will be down to the gods when it happens.
One question I am often asked is when did I know I wanted (or was meant) to write and the answer is simple - It feels like I've always known, but the moment I decided to do something about it when I was around the age of seven or eight and had just finished reading Enid Blyton's Secret Seven series. I was captivated, enthralled and entirely inspired to immerse myself in the adventures of my own imagination.
I can remember the day I decide to write my first story as though it happened yesterday - how I loved the writing, how I carefully hole-punched those precious sheets of paper and bound them together with ribbon, finishing off my 'book' with a hand-drawn front cover. How I wish I kept my first attempt at being a real-life author!
Of course, life continued in a path pretty much like that of a sheep following others into the fold. I left school at 16, got a job in a bank where I worked for 9 years before I left to have my eldest daughter and then, two years later, I gave birth to my youngest. When she started school full-time in 2005, I had a decision to make - do I find a regular job or confess my deep in my heart dream to my lovely husband and see what he had to say about it? I will be forever grateful that my wonderful Mr B was happy for me to pursue my writing dream for a year and, if I was published, we'd take things from there.
I wrote every spare minute I had around my commitments to my 6 and 4 year old daughters, the house, my husband and parents. By writing paragraph by paragraph, I eventually had a 70,000 word novel. After MANY rejections, the book was eventually accepted by the Wild Rose Press in December 2016. I was elated!
Since then, I have had at least two books a year published as well as a steady stream of magazine articles. I LOVE my job and now I am on a mission to help as many aspiring romance or women's fiction writers to chase their dreams of becoming a published author. My need to do this has grown into a passion and I am enjoying the success of my First Chapter Critique service more than I could ever have known!
SO, if you are a sitting on the dream of becoming a writer and are tired of ignoring that nagging voice, that passion, that is waiting to be answered deep in your heart, get in touch! I would love to work with you :)
All the details of my First Chapter Critique service can be found on my dedicated webpage: https://bit.ly/3trN2Qy
Rachel x
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