Let me tell you a story…
About a girl who grew up with her
head always in books – obsessed by stories, infatuated with words.
Her heart skipped through lands of Magic
Faraway Trees and Marvellous Medicines. She was busy on imaginary
adventures with The Famous Five, guzzling lashings of ginger beer.
At school she would write stories
and visit the library to stroke books. She would inhale their heady scents and
rescue a precious few.
And then one day…
She grew up and real life got in
the way. She became a lawyer because that was the sort of thing grown up people
did, wasn’t it?
She never dared dream of becoming awriter. They were magical beings, after all.
But in secret, she would scribble.
In the many beautiful notebooks she had collected. On the backs of receipts. On
small scraps of paper that floated in handbags.
And somehow those notes began to
weave into stories. Long ones, full of love, friendship and laughter. Were they
becoming…a novel?
Yes, that was it! There were lots
of words now. A full manuscript.
But wait…
Could it be that easy? Weren’t
writers like unicorns? And what would she do with this manuscript? She’d typed
and edited. She’d written ‘the end.’ So surely it was done? Well, hooray!
Though little did she realise that
‘the end’ was just the beginning. Writing novels would be tough. The road would
be long and there was much to learn.
There would be feedback and
rewrites. Rejection and heartache.
And in the end, she would hide that
book in a dusty drawer and write a better one.
This shiny new book? It would grab
the attention of a wonderful publisher. It would hook her an award-winning
agent. It would secure her the book deal she had longed for.
So our girl was on her way to her
happy ending.
Though as we know, ‘the end’ is
often just the beginning. There will always be more hurdles to jump, more books
to write. More laughter and tears on this marvellous adventure.
In case you’re wondering, by the
way, that girl was me.
And if you’re curious, you’re welcome to explore my first two novels, A Colourful Country Escape (the one set in Tewkesbury, complete with naughty peacocks!) and The Gingerbread Café (set in a fictional Cotswold village,
complete with a cheeky ferret!)
Stories connect us, inspire us and
allow us to make sense of the world. These two are close to my heart. I hope
they touch yours too.
And my message for you, on
life’s incredible journey?
If it’s in your soul, beautiful you, keep going. Never give up on your dreams, no matter how far from your fingertips they may seem.
Every stretch makes you stronger.
And every ‘no’ leaves space for that glorious ‘yes.’
Read, write, believe that you can.
May stories light your way
Love
Anita. XX
Stories to fall in love with:
A Colourful Country Escape
Special thanks on this incredible journey go to:
My Publisher: Sphere
My Agent: Kate Nash of Kate Nash Literary Agency Ltd
The Romantic Novelists’ Association: (Especially their New Writers’ Scheme.)
The fabulous readers and writers in my Facebook group, Chick Lit and Prosecco. Come and join us!
P.S. Don’t slip away without a sneaky look at my book babies! Take a peek here…