All of Life is Fodder for a Book - by Wendy H. Jones

I wasn't really sure what to write about this month as my life has been crazy. So much has happened in the last couple of weeks I've barely had time to think about writing my manuscript, never mind writing this blog. Then, I thought about what I was saying. Maybe I should flip things around and see everything that has happened, not as a hindrance but as an opportunity for possible storylines for books, short stories, flash fiction etc. Or Blogs, of course. This fresh perspective put a whole new spin on things and rather than feeling life is conspiring against me (although one thing was exciting - more of that later) I was quite cheery at the fact I had lots of interesting new storylines. So, what exactly has kept me so busy?

Firstly, I spent a couple of weeks in Antigua. Now, that is a very welcome distraction and, given I am writing historical fiction set in the region, kept me on my toes with research. Having spent time in Archives and Museums, I came back with enough research to keep me busy for several lifetimes. Therefore, my brain was very firmly set in the nineteenth century. Yet, before I even left the island there was a hitch. The plane was held up as there was a discrepancy in the amount of luggage which had been placed on board. The pilot announced this regularly and cheerfully, saying they were recounting the bags. At no time did they say whether they were missing bags or had extra bags. Of course, being a crime writer you will know exactly where my mind went. Fodder for a book indeed. 

I had no sooner got myself back to Dundee, late on a Sunday night, than I was up at the crack of dawn on Monday for a breakfast meeting with a literary agent who also happened to be a friend. Bleary eyed, I staggered to the meeting thinking it was a chance to chat with her before she returned to America. She had been over in the UK meeting with publishers and with UK clients. Much to my astonishment I found myself discussing her representing me. Subsequently she sent me a contract and, after reading it carefully, I signed it. Now, I hear you saying, how can this be used as fiction in any way shape or form? You raise a fair point but I can assure you, some aspects of it will make it into my writing. Maybe not now, but in the future. The feelings can be stored away and will be resurrected in a character one day. 

The main thing which has kept me from even thinking about topics for this blog is the fact someone went into the back of my new car on Sunday. I am completely innocent as I had parked in Sainsbury's car park and was in the store. Don't worry, no one was hurt and it will all be sorted out but I've decided there is a special place in hell for insurance companies. I have spent hours on the phone and filling in forms and have not had a minute to think about anything. I need to ring again tomorrow as I'm still no further forward. Trust me, insurance companies definitely need to make it into my books in some way shape or form. 

I can be annoyed, or I can accept it and put it into context and that's what I've decided to do. As I say, all of life is fodder for a book and that's how I choose to view it. My advice to you is, when things go wrong store exactly what you saw, heard, felt, tasted, smelt and the feelings in your heart and mind and keep it for the right time when it will be resurrected in your Booker Prize Winning Novel. Well, we can only dream - it's better than railing at life. Of course, handing it over to God also helps. He's much more equipped to deal with these things than me. 

About the Author

Wendy H Jones is the Amazon #1 international best-selling author of the award winning DI Shona McKenzie Mysteries. Her Young Adult Mystery, The Dagger’s Curse was a finalist in the Woman Alive Readers' Choice Award. She is also The President of the Scottish Association of Writers, an international public speaker, and runs conferences and workshops on writing, motivation and marketing. Wendy is the founder of Crime at the Castle, Scotland’s newest Crime Festival. She is the editor of a Lent Book, published by the Association of Christian Writers and also the editor of the Christmas Anthology from the same publisher. Her first children's book, Bertie the Buffalo, was released in December 2018. Motivation Matters: Revolutionise Your Writing One Creative Step at a Time, was released in May 2019. The Power of Why: Why 23 Women Took the Leap to Start Their Own Business was released on 29th June, 2020. Marketing Matters: Sell More Books was released on 31st July 2020. Bertie Goes to the Worldwide Games will be released on 5th May, 202,  and the third book in the Fergus and Flora Mysteries will be published in 2021. Her new author membership Authorpreneur Accelerator Academy launched in January 2021. Creativity Matters: Find Your Passion for Writing the third book in her Writing Matters Series was published in September 2021. Wendy's latest release is Killer's Curse, the seventh book in the DI Shona McKenzie Mysteries. Wendy is represented by Amy Collins of Talcott Notch Literary Services. 

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