“But You’re Still in Your Pyjamas!”

This was the incredulous response from my husband sometime during the madness of NaNoWriMo. It was a Sunday morning, and I had got up earlier with our toddler, prepared some breakfast snacks for the children, and then settled down at my computer to tackle the word count. My husband came downstairs after having a lie in bed, and our children kept him busy while I worked.

When he entered the room and I told him I had been busy all morning, he just stared at my dishevelled appearance.
“But,” he said, “You are still in your pyjamas!”
“Yes,” I replied, “But that is the beauty of being a writer and working from home. My pyjamas are my work uniform.”
My husband simply shook his head in despair and walked away.
Ha ha!

Hunting the Hunted - An Excerpt from my #NaNoWriMo WIP

Sometimes I forget that not everybody knows my characters the same way that I do. My Redcliffe series has given me a whole new group of fictional friends that live in a part of my psyche where their lives are real, at least in some alternate universe. It is the same for my characters from other novels, including The Vampire of Blackpool (still seeking a publisher), and my latest work in progress, Hunting the Hunted. To that end I have decided to share an excerpt from my current novel, so that you see a little of the madness I was working with during #NaNoWriMo. Enjoy!

We watched our hunters race along the pavement, disappearing from view as the uniformed police officers followed them. The police were fast. They sent their armed officers after the hunters, and the others quickly closed off the street and worked to ensure their precious human civilians were safe. I leaped up onto the roof of the high building, and Lottie followed. We strode across the base of the sloping roof, and I reached out telepathically to locate my prey. I sensed William almost immediately. He was running down a narrow alley between a hotel and an office building, with his sister close behind. The police were still following them. And they had reached a dead end. I leaped across the wide expanse of road, high enough that the humans below would not see me, and I landed on a high balcony just in time to see my hunters being arrested. William was shouting at them not to grab his injured shoulder, and Samantha was shouting something about them being private investigators. It didn’t help. They were bundled roughly into the back of the waiting police van, having first been relieved of their weapons by the law enforcers. I stood in the shadows and observed the spectacle.
“There you are,” Lottie said as she swooped down to land beside me, “You are fast, for an old vampire!”

I’m a #NaNoWinner, Hooray! #NaNoWriMo

I did it! I survived #NaNoWriMo2015, and I conquered it! This has been a very challenging month for me. Not only did I have the ongoing chaos of domestic family life, I was dealing with emotional and mental health difficulties as a caregiver. By that I mean that I do not have a mental health disorder, but I am close to people that do, and I take on the role as cheerleader, counsellor, and supporter for these people, because I love them, and I want them to be happy.

There was one major trauma during #NaNoWriMo for me this year, and it was the death of my beloved Nanna. I was very fortunate to have her in my life for over 33 years, and I am thankful and happy to hold such precious memories of growing up with her, and with my remaining grandparents. My Nan was my cheerleader. She was incredibly proud of my writing achievements, and she would keep our distant family members well informed of my projects and novels in progress. Therefore, I had no choice but to persevere with #NaNoWriMo this year, even as I was wracked with grief and sadness at her loss. This new novel, Hunting the Hunted, will be dedicated to my Nanna Hargreaves. It is the least I could do.

Congratulations on your successes, fellow Wrimos. Whether you hit 50k or not, you wrote something, and I am proud to call you my writing buddies. Well done folks!

We're on the Slippery Slope to Success! #NaNoWriMo

The past week has been very challenging for me. I fought hard to catch up with #NaNoWriMo, and for a couple of days my Muse was wild and active. Then the day approached for my Nanna's funeral. I am very fortunate to have reached the age of 33 and still have all four of my grandparents living at home. I have given thanks for my blessed life when it comes to loving family. Now, however, the grief is hitting me very hard. My urge to write the novel has all but died, and yet I feel the urge to write something poetic and meaningful, although I do not know what.

My Nan was incredibly proud of my writing achievements. She always asked what I was working on, After her funeral, when we attended the wake, I found myself meeting with distant relatives that I hadn't seen since I was a little girl. They all knew about my books, and they all told me about how Nan kept them informed of my activities (alongside the Facebook updates from those that see me online). I find myself wavering between the desire to give up and call this year's #NaNoWriMo a failure due to circumstance, and the burning need to continue with my novel, to complete the challenge, and to make my Nan proud, wherever she has moved on to now. You all know how this will turn out... see you at the finish, my Wrimo friends!

I am Back on Track for #NaNoWriMo!

Phew, what a day! It has been a challenging start to #NaNoWriMo2015, with the shock of a family bereavement last week. It was my wonderful Nanna, who succumbed to illness after a lengthy stay in hospital. She battled hard right to the end, and I think truthfully she knew it was coming, and so did I, deep down. It was still a shock, however, and as I write these words, I feel the tears welling up once again.

It would be very easy for me to give up on NaNoWriMo 2015, and blame life events for the cause. But that is not my nature. I have been battling many life challenges during these past five years, and the struggle continues every day. We all have our challenges in life, and we all have our stories to tell. Mine is a story of emotional upheaval, living with mental illness (not mine, but a close family member), living with accident related illness, and the general chaos that comes with small children.

And so, this time, I am determined to succeed at NaNoWriMo and honour the memory of my wonderful Nanna, who always believed in my writing, and was incredibly proud for each novel that I got published. I do this also for my Grandad, who now has to live in a nursing home full time, and who is bereft without his wife. I'm not sure exactly how many years they were together, but I know it was a long time. I do not remember any occasion during my 33 years where I have not seen my grandparents together. And now, Nanna will join us in Spirit, and we will continue to visit Grandad regularly so that he is not alone.

Good luck with your life challenges, fellow Wrimos. And if you are struggling with the challenge, do it for the ones you love. They will motivate your words to flow. See you later!