When you're least expecting...

Welcome to my blog.

I've been writing for years and have had short stories and Pocket Novels published and have nearly finished writing my first serial for The People's Friend magazine. Last year when I was least expecting it, I met wonderful agent Felicity Trew from the Caroline Sheldon Agency, who has since taken me on and my writing has gone off in a direction I would never have expected.

It's thanks to the brilliant Romantic Novelists' Association, who give writers a chance to meet agents and editors at their annual conferences. Last July's was in London, and for months I wasn't sure if I'd be able to go or not because of family illness. In the end I was able to book my place but didn't have any new writing to show an agent or editor so nearly didn't try for any one to one appointments with them. It makes me shiver now when I think how close I came to not taking that opportunity. In the end I thought I would send in the first three chapters from one of my Pocket Novels to get a bit of feedback. I certainly wasn't expecting what happened.

The day before the conference I saw an email from Felicity in my inbox and thought she was going to say don't bother coming for your appointment. To my amazement, it was quite the opposite, she liked my writing. My one to one appointment with her went brilliantly and although the writing I'd given her wasn't quite what she was looking for, she saw potential in my work and liked my "voice" - that illusive thing that each writer has to find. We arranged another much longer meeting and from that my new book was born.

I'm now working on a book which follows the fortunes of three different women working in the London Auxiliary Ambulance Service during the Blitz. I've immersed myself in research, reading books, visiting the archives of the Imperial War Museum and London Metropolitan Archives. It's fascinating and wonderful. I've been pushed way out of my comfort zone but I'm loving it as the story grows and develops and the characters take on a life of their own.