Writer
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I have loved to write since I was six years old when I wrote a poem called The Breeze Am I and which I was asked to recite to the class. By the time I was 15 and had a meeting with the school careers advisor, Miss Butler (who was really the biology teacher but that’s how it was back then), I knew that I wanted to be a writer.
“Writing is not a real career,” Miss Butler said, her words sharp-edged, painful. “But…” I whimpered as I plucked helplessly at my navy gaberdine skirt. “You are good at French. Do French. Be a teacher, or… or… an interpreter!” “But…” |
I was dismissed and, like a good little girl, I did as I was told and studied French at university. In one way Miss Butler had been right. I did love language.
But in the third year of my degree I had to go and live in France for a year and teach English conversation to a bunch of unwilling, jostling teenagers who were only interested in pop music. I, meanwhile, discovered my love of food and soon had an idea for a book. It would be called French Tarts and I would invite myself to dinner with the locals, ask them to make me a tart and tell them I’d put it in my book. I was true to my word and when French Tarts was published by Octopus in 1985 I was more delighted with a book than at any time since. The first book is the best. Trust me.
Now I knew I was and could continue to be a writer. In the 30 or so years since French Tarts I have earned money as a journalist for papers and magazines all over the world. I have earned money as a commissioned author and have written a range of manuals and newsletters. I cannot count the number of poems I have written nor the number of diaries. I have published a collection of poetry that I call A Moving Landscape, and a novel called Sunshine Soup. I have not only written for magazines but I have edited them too.
My father was a writer and wrote 31 books. I have written 32 books to date and though lots of the computer books are out of print you can see the rest of them at the Expat Bookshop. Our sons both write. Writing is in the blood and there is nothing, but nothing, Miss Butler can say to stop me knowing that I could make a living from writing.
Today, I write a monthly newsletter, The Monthly Inspirer, and a handful of blogs. I write content for the training courses that I love to create and teach and must admit that Miss Butler had been right about one thing – teaching might be a good idea. Right now I am writing a series of pieces that tell the story of my life. This is the programme I call The Life Story Jar, which is open to anyone who wants to write and preserve their stories as a rich legacy for their family.
But in the third year of my degree I had to go and live in France for a year and teach English conversation to a bunch of unwilling, jostling teenagers who were only interested in pop music. I, meanwhile, discovered my love of food and soon had an idea for a book. It would be called French Tarts and I would invite myself to dinner with the locals, ask them to make me a tart and tell them I’d put it in my book. I was true to my word and when French Tarts was published by Octopus in 1985 I was more delighted with a book than at any time since. The first book is the best. Trust me.
Now I knew I was and could continue to be a writer. In the 30 or so years since French Tarts I have earned money as a journalist for papers and magazines all over the world. I have earned money as a commissioned author and have written a range of manuals and newsletters. I cannot count the number of poems I have written nor the number of diaries. I have published a collection of poetry that I call A Moving Landscape, and a novel called Sunshine Soup. I have not only written for magazines but I have edited them too.
My father was a writer and wrote 31 books. I have written 32 books to date and though lots of the computer books are out of print you can see the rest of them at the Expat Bookshop. Our sons both write. Writing is in the blood and there is nothing, but nothing, Miss Butler can say to stop me knowing that I could make a living from writing.
Today, I write a monthly newsletter, The Monthly Inspirer, and a handful of blogs. I write content for the training courses that I love to create and teach and must admit that Miss Butler had been right about one thing – teaching might be a good idea. Right now I am writing a series of pieces that tell the story of my life. This is the programme I call The Life Story Jar, which is open to anyone who wants to write and preserve their stories as a rich legacy for their family.