The Story so far... From writing my novel to getting a publishing deal - my author story

I’ve always been fascinated with stories, and started writing from a young age. I remember being inspired by ‘The Garden Gang’ by Jayne Fisher who was published at just 9 years old. If she could do it, maybe I could be an author!

I still remember being 9 and having my story read out to the whole year group at school; it was so embarrassing but such a thrill at the same time.

I was 19 when I started writing my first novel. What followed was several manuscripts that reached 20,000 words then died out. Life got in the way at times, as did my inner belief that becoming a real life author - writing a novel, let alone getting a publishing deal - was the sort of thing that happened to ‘other people.’

But I’d always be working on something.

A New Perspective

In 2001, I met my husband Ray at work. When I mentioned to him that I was writing a novel, he offered to read it. Often when people read my work they came back with ‘it’s really good!’ or ‘wow, amazing!’ and I expected no less. Only he came back with some constructive criticism – that we didn’t learn the character’s name until page 20, and that there was a bit he couldn’t follow.

I was enraged, then devastated, then motivated to get on and do better. And I knew from that point I had someone I trusted to give me the brutal truth about my work.

My First Novel

My first novel, ‘Fordlan Farm’ a ghost story/mystery was finished when I was 24. Excited, I began to print out three chapter samples and send them to agents. If you want a measure of just how old I am, it’s this: I had to use manilla envelopes and provide a stamp if I wanted the manuscript back.

I’d get home from my job as a schoolteacher to find rejections on the mat. But it was exciting too – putting a book into the world felt a bit like buying a lottery ticket. My life could change at any point!

It didn’t. I began another book, then another. Looking back, I was too quick to shelve my previous works in favour of the next shiny thing. I didn’t send to more than a few agents before giving up. But on the plus side, my writing began to develop and, as my life experience grew, I had more to say.

New Horizons

In 2009, I moved to France. I was 20 weeks pregnant and lonely so started a writers’ group. It was fun meeting with other people and sharing our work, but I wasn’t motivated to do anything bar our monthly short story tasks. I was exhausted and preoccupied.

In 2012, I suffered from post natal depression. As a way of occupying my mind, I started a long-distance writing course. I wanted to focus on creative writing, but the course started with a  module on freelance journalism so I duly worked through it. Part of the assignment was to send pitches to editors, and to my surprise I got a yes from Connexion, an English language newspaper in France. Gradually I built up my experience and confidence and built myself a career as a freelance writer – something I’d always thought was out of reach.

Working with various editors on my articles made me more resilient when it came to feedback and editorial guidance. I got a better sense of my audience and began to take them more into account. This is where everything changed.

The Novel That Changed Everything

I next tried penning a novel in 2016 when I was a mother of five (what can I say, lots of fresh air in the French countryside!). I sent it off (this time by email!) to agents and heard back from a couple. One wrote that it was “better than most” before rejecting. And another told me that she’d like to see the next thing I wrote.

That thing was ‘Everything is Fine’ – something I wrote every evening after the children had gone to bed. I wrote through depression and for some reason that made my jokes more outlandish, my work more ambitious. And I finally got an agent in October 2018 and a book deal shortly after. Publication was set for… May 2020.

Bad Timing

Looking back at how excited I was when 2020 rolled around I feel sorry for my past self. Little did I know that bookshops would close, my launch would be cancelled and my book would all but be forgotten.

It took a lot to pick myself up after my second novel also failed to gain traction. But I did somehow. I just wanted to write and realising that – whatever the industry threw at me – I could always do that somehow spurred me on.

The Book That Opened Doors

I wrote a few other novels before starting ‘A Year at the French Farmhouse.’ Some nearly made it to print, but fell at the final hurdle.

When Boldwood Books offered me a deal I was over the moon.

Since then, things have been amazing. My writing has gone from strength to strength, my readership has grown and I’ve sold over 600,000 copies and counting!

More to Come…

It’s been a long road and in many ways I’m still on it. There are many things on my ‘author bucket list’ I’ve yet to tick off. But I’m writing for a living, have a great publisher and a loyal readership; and that in itself feels truly amazing.