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!

The Writing Blog Hop - #amwriting #whywrite #process

It took me a little while to respond to this blog hop, but thank you to J Lenni Dorner for inviting me to join…

1. What am I working on now?

Technically I am not working on anything specific. My time is currently taken up with two young children, a dog and a few domestic distractions. I do have 2 works-in-progress however, and I will be continuing them during the course of the next year or so. One is book 4 in the Redcliffe series, following the adventures of Jessica Stone and her supernatural friends in Cornwall, and the other is about a female vampire hunter with past life secrets to unearth…

2. How does my work differ from others in its genre?

My work is set in the UK, which to my knowledge is rare for popular vampire/werewolf/witch stories. I mean, yes there is the ultimate classic novel by Bram Stoker, and yes I know Darren Shan writes about vampires, but I haven’t found any British writers in the shops that offer adult paranormal stories in everyday situations. My characters could be your local shop owners, the landlord of your local pub, even your local police detective or hospital nurse…

3. Why do I write what I do?

I have to! The stories came to me as a child, although they have evolved and matured over time along with me. I always have something whizzing round my head that is desperate to be expressed. My stories must be told!

4. How does my writing process work?

I am what is called a ‘pantser’ in the writing world. That means I write by the seat of my pants! I did try structuring my first novel Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel), but after that I just allowed the words to flow, and then I worried about editing and tidying afterwards. It is so exciting to read something back and realise that it is bloody good!

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OK, I will be a little slack here and not tag any more writers to share. However, if you are a reading this and you are a writer who would like to join the hop, please comment with a link to your blog and hop along! Thanks for reading.