11 years ago this week I began my blog.

I’d read so many interesting blogs written by authors, poets, photographers, and people who just wanted to share their lives and experiences with the world that it struck me I might like to have a go at it too.

I sat at the computer and stared at the blank screen for ages having set up my WordPress site. What to write? If I put anything on the site would anyone find it or bother reading it?

Surely, I was being a bit ambitious!

After a period of long contemplation and several cups of tea and a bag of liqourice – I do all my most creative thinking when I have both or either to hand – I took the plunge.

A year or two before I’d taken the plunge and decided to put several of the short stories I had wandering around my brain into written format. It was such a liberating experience. I typed myself silly putting my short stories and pieces of flash fiction where I could bring them up to read any time I fancied.

Such satisfaction!

I decided to visit my stories and flash fiction and pick a few for submission to competitions and writing challenges even managing to win quite a few. I joined a small group of writers, Writers for Welfare, and I submitted various 6 and 10-word stories weekly to the group run by writer/artist Sue Welfare.

Her Amazon page is:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sue-Welfare/e/B0034QBZ88

It was great fun and wonderful for discipline. Each and every word had to be thought about hard. Each story had to have a beginning, middle, and ending and had to tell a satisfying story.

Later, I lengthened the stories to 100 and 500 words and the first time my stories were picked up for a Podcast reading, was by fellow author, Morgen Bailey, who had just begun her own WordPress blog and writing business. Over a period of about a year, Morgen enabled my flash fiction to reach a wider audience.

Her Amazon page is:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Morgen-Bailey/e/B007SNIBF8

At the same time, in 2012, Sue Welfare decided she wanted to publish an anthology of short stories, written by Writers for Welfare, in aid of The Norfolk House, Hospice, and I was chuffed to bits to be one of many authors contributing. The book, Telling Tales, was published in hardback, paperback, and eBook.

I have been published before, but not in a book. I’d written articles for Music Magazines and I’d written biographies and press releases for some of the recording artists, record producers, singers, songwriters, and musicians when I lived another life managing their careers. Being included in a book was such a thrill.

Many other anthologies followed with two of my short story contributions, including In A Word: Murder compiled by crime writer, Margot Kinberg, in aid of The Princess Alice Hospice.

Find Margot’s books here:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001HPU6V0/

During this time I included my writing on my blog and soon found lots of new friends and authors to follow, who followed me back and my blog grew.

Two Canadian Voice Over artists recorded three of my flash fiction stories: the two-parter, The Secret of Willow Cottage – The Tale of the Reluctant Bride, and part two, The Secret of Willow Cottage – The Tale of the Jilted Lover. Also, Changing the Guard.

Find my audio recordings here:

My short stories came to the notice of a publisher, Accent Press, who approached me in 2014, and offered a contract for my short stories and writing in general. Two anthologies featured my writing: Shiver, and Wishing on a Star.

At the same time, I was busy writing full-length novels, and one, Only One Woman, was co-written with my long-term friend, Christina Jones. We’d always wanted to write together and I’d almost finished the book when she came on board and added new characters and enabled the story to become a love triangle instead of a love affair set in the 1960s UK music scene. The novel is now published by Headline Accent (Hachette) who purchased the company soon after publication.

I was privileged to become a regular contributor to several magazines including my own series, In the Mix, in ‘Writers’ and Readers’ magazine which ran for almost 40 volumes.

You can find the magazine links here:

I’ve compiled an anthology of short stories that I’ve published, Undercover: Crime Shorts with Plaisted Publishing in New Zealand. There are several novels in the pipeline and works in progress that my Agent is working with now.

Besides writing about my stories and books I wanted to include photos and information about places I visit and this has proven popular with followers. I call these trips my ‘jollies,’ and they’ve taken me all over England and elsewhere. I’ll photograph houses, gardens, villages, plants, trees, flowers, and anything else that takes my fancy.

One of the most exciting aspects of running my blog is my Author Interviews and Features. Not only do I appear as a guest author on blogs run by other authors and bloggers, but I also have guest authors here. A few times a year I host authors, usually crime but not exclusively, when they are releasing new work or just want to share their work with me and my followers. These features are great fun, and discovering new authors is always worthwhile.

Eleven years of blogging and a lot of stories and articles have appeared here, and I often wonder how I managed to create something from nothing. I’m sure every blogger feels the same.

I want to thank all those who have been with me since day one and who continue to grace my blog with their likes, comments, and support.

Thanks to all those who have joined me along the way and who share, reblog and Tweet my posts. You rock!

The blogging and writing community is a fab community; supportive, friendly, and generous to a fault. Thanks to each and every one of you for being here, being a friend and follower, and for sharing your wonderful blogs with me too.

We’ve never met but the friends I have made here mean as much to me as any friend I have in the ‘real’ world.

I hope I shall still be doing this in another eleven years and that you will too. Thanks so much for making this such a fabulous ride.