Sunday 20 January 2013

The Accidental Author

Months ago I offered to fill in for an author friend, Morgen bailey when she decided to have a weekend off from her daily short story writing. This would be the first weekend she took off in over a year: Morgen writes a short story a day and has written hundreds, so far. Morgen has known me for decades but only recently discovered I had any writing ambitions. She has years of writing experience and here was me, travelling beside her unpublished and inexperienced, saying 'I can do that!'
We were attending one of Jane Wenham-Jones writing workshops.
We agreed I would write the stories but she would only publish if she liked them, alongside her own, on her blog, suitably credited to me. I ended up with 30 minutes between arriving, coffee and going out for dinner but in that time wrote the darkest story with a prompt of 'light' Light
Morgen's acceptance of Light buoyed me into producing my second effort Raven Hair Flying which Morgen published the following day.
Morgen recently announced she would create ebooks of her short stories and has included my two efforts. From being sat in the right place with more enthusiasm than caution I have ended up with my stories wending their electronic way onto being published.

2012 - annus horribilis

2012 ended poorly with my divorce starting and my job ending but showing glimmers of better things in 2013. Moonfleets moorings have been taken over by the Somerleyton Estate so we should see some improvements in the facilities. We managed to get Moonfleet re-fuelled just before winter and now I am sitting looking at ice and snow out of my bedroom window wondering if I will get to use either boat this year. Still, my tax return is done and the resulting tax bill paid so now I can look forward to a better 2013.