More than Writers

This week I’ve been on two different social media courses. Pinterest and LinkedIn. These are two very different platforms but a similar message came from both training courses. Tell your story.  The wisdom is, if you use social media, you should make sure that who you are and what your ‘product’ can do for others should be in your bio. The bio section in your social media profile is extremely powerful. It’s helpful for the readers to get a full picture of who you are, but not only that; a well crafted bio also helps the algorithm show your profile to the right people.  Think of your ideal reader. The person you wrote your book for. If they are searching the internet for a new read, what would they type into the big G?  Cozy mystery, Christian, comedy, crime, romance, historical, devotional, fantasy?  If you are trying to sell your books online, you should make sure your genre is in your bio. If your bio says, ‘I’m a Christian who writes, and loves cats,’ the algorith...

Ephesians 5:16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.    Remembering how much I used to enjoy going to bookstores, especially bookstores with a small café just as you come in the door; I decided to see if I could find a Christian bookstore fifteen or twenty minutes from my home in Surrey. It’s a challenge these days. You hear of so many bookstores closing, and I especially hear of Christian bookstores shutting their doors.     Please understand I am not railing against Amazon, that would be hypocritical of me. In a time of Covid, I am grateful for their delivering items to my door. Online Christian book sites such as Eden? They give an amazing service. It’s just I have this memory of an afternoon, a morning or even a late night store opening where I spent hours reading (yes, buying) books, coffee or tea in hand.    You hear Breakfast TV encouraging us to find our happy place, a place where we can de-stress; but what if that place is gon...

Launch at the new year! Find your best self! Renew your writing vigour! Write a best seller! And while you’re at it, lose weight, get fit and start a new hobby to keep your brain alive (oh and try to kick the exclamation mark habit while you’re at it). If just reading this opening paragraph makes you feel exhausted, you’re among like-minded company. For me, the Christmas period contains some tough dates – the anniversary of the loss of my stillborn baby; the would-have-been birthday of my late sister. Immediately after these, I am catapulted into the new year at school, dealing with the exuberance of teenagers who have forgotten how to sit still and listen in a classroom for a few weeks. So, starting the new year for me, is more a recovery and reset than an enthusiastic, energetic reaching for the stars.     How we think we should feel in the new year...                          The reality! My heaviness of hea...

  What do you write when you don’t want to write? When you feel there’s nothing else you want to say? Hasn’t everything worth saying been said a thousand times? Hasn’t everything worth writing been written already by people more talented than me? It’s half past four on a January afternoon that’s been damp. Beads of water have gathered on the grass. They hang from the washing line. Every single twig on the azalea holds droplets, like small glassy fruits.  My eyes move back to my screen. Twenty to five. The sky behind the bare branches of the silver birch is an exquisite mixture of pale orangey-pink and mid-grey, with the tiniest hint of blue.  Ten to five, and the colours linger, floating gently above our small town. God rewrites his sunsets and his skies every day. I never tire of them. They’re so full of hope, a bit like spiritual hugs. Moment by moment the sky changes. It's grey and cream, and a bird flaps past, a steady purposeful flight that defies the earlier rain. I...

I've noticed quite a few questions and discussions about self-publishing on the ACW Facebook page lately - questions about how to do it, if it's worth it, how much it costs, how on earth it works, if you should hold out for traditional publishing. Last year in lockdown ACW put on a very helpful day session all about the ins and outs of self-publishing, and there are lots of ACW members who are extremely knowledgeable and helpful, like Wendy Jones and  Karen Rosario Ingerslev . I thought I'd take a few moments with my spot today to talk a little about my experience , having gone down both the traditional and the self-publishing route within the Christian market (non fiction and poetry, in my case.) With my traditionally published book, there's no denying that it was easier to get it out there. Bookshops stocked it because it was a trusted publisher (IVP), radio stations were more open to me going to talk about it, the Christian press happy to review it (I have heard of...

Yesterday afternoon, I took a photo from a high point in Claremont Landscaped Gardens, Surrey. From where I stood I looked down at the rolling lawn shaped into an outdoor amphitheatre, to the lake beyond. Beautiful man-shaped gardens, once used as a playground for the child who was to become Queen Victoria now stretched before me, looking perfect. It hadn’t been quite so perfect reaching the viewpoint - a little muddy and quite a steep walk uphill for someone who lives in Norfolk, where low hills rise gracefully and gradually. After taking the photo, walking down revealed an area that needed work, where bushes and trees had been cut down and the area cordoned off, encircling the place to be replanted. Passing this, I followed a walk through tall pines in the wooded area. A stroll around the lake revealed more detail than the vista from the viewpoint: a variety of ducks on shimmering water, a large black swan, geese overhead, a grotto on the bank and an island.  I thought about the ...

  For some years I’ve kept a prayer journal. Now that sounds very formal but, in fact, it’s just that I find it’s easier to concentrate if I have my regular conversations with God in writing. So the entries can be as formal as lists or as meandering as my distracted thought processes (although, writing helps keep me more on track). I do try to have some structure, which at the moment tends to be: -           -  Listing things I thank God for -           -  Noting quotes that stand out from my current devotional book -           -  Reflecting with Him on how I’m feeling -           -  Bringing concerns to Him Over the New Year weekend, I decided to read back over 2021 to see if there were any particular themes or blessings. And this is what I learned: 1.       1.  Definite answers to prayer. For example, in previous years, I had cl...