A Toast to Success

Those of you who have been following So You Think You Can Write will know that the winner was announced last week. Seeing someone achieve their dream is great, but to know that person and to have been with them on at least part of their journey just makes it all the more wonderful.


Jennifer and I met two years ago in The Watermill whislt on a Romance Writing course run by Sharon Kendrick. It was one of the best weeks ever, the group was fantastic - and of course we were in Tuscany!

Here's Jen's call.




So all that's left for me to say is..

 Good Luck Jen!

Lots of Writing News

So far this month it has been busy and not just on the farm, but with writing. At the beginning of the month, myself and two friends stayed in an old cottage in the heart of the Welsh countryside. The weather ranged from sunshine, to mist and to heavy rain, but whilst the sun shone we walked out up the hills - the only place to get a mobile signal!



Most of the time we were warm and cosy inside, brainstorming ideas and reading over our writing. We also ate lovely food and drank good wine.

The next bit of news is that Cwrtnewydd Scribblers has just released its latest anthology, Teapots and Tiaras, and its available from the website or on kindle.

Finally, I'm really excited to be able to say that a friend of mine, Jennifer Drogell, is in the top three of So You Think You Can Write Competition. Her story, The Divorce Party, can be viewed and voted for here. 

Autumn's Arrival

Well, summer really is over, the swallows and house martins have gone and the pesky starlings are arriving in big numbers each day. Blackberries in the hedgerows are passing over and the leaves fall the the ground, carpeting everything in shades of golden brown. Autumn is here and we didn't see much of summer!

On the writing front I'm in the middle of a new story and enjoying my characters and trying to dig ever deeper.
It's also competition time with the So You Think You Can Write competition entering its next stage and I'm thrilled to know several of the top 28! Good luck to you all.
The Romance Writers of Australia's competition season started in August with the High Five and goes on into April next year when it ends with the Valerie Parv Award. These competitions are worth entering as each entrant receives score sheets with feedback from the judges. Brilliant to find out what you got right - as well as wrong.

My local writing group, Cwrtnewydd Scribblers, is also preparing to publish its next anthology, which this year again includes winners from our short story competition.

Back through the ages

Last week I went to Dinefwr Park with historical author Judith Arnopp. Even though this magnificent park is near to where I live I'd never been. So on a beautifully sunny day, armed with a picnic and our cameras we set off. Even the entrance to the park is grand, a long road through the park where White Park cattle graze. We also caught a glimpse of one of the deer, roaming amid the ferns in the Medieval Deer Park, but he was too quick for us to get a photo of him!

The castle dates back to the 12th century and offered spectacular views. We climbed narrow spiral steps to reach the top of the towers and spent several hours exploring all the small passageways and corners, wondering what it must have once been like.

In the afternoon we went to Newton House, originally built in the 1660's, but now displaying the Victorian stone facade after extensive remodelling.

Inside the house was a WWII exhibition, with rooms set out as they would have been when the house was used as a hospital. One of my favourite rooms was the Drawing room, complete with 1940's music.

It was a great day out and a fantastic place to draw inspiration from. I shall definitely be going back for another visit.

A Way With Words

Each Monday I meet with writing friends and together we are known as Cwrtnewydd Scribblers. Our latest collection of short stories has just been published on Kindle.

Our latest competition closed at the end of July and judging is taking place now, with the winners to be included in a next collection, due out later this year. If you missed this look out for our next competition in the new collection.

So if you are a short story reader why not give our collection a try?It's free to download at the moment. Get it here.

RNA Conference

It's hard to believe that this time last week I was in Penrith for the Romantic Novelists' Association annual conference. The weather was kind to us and the sun shone for most of the weekend. This was the view from my room on the day I arrived and the sky looked as blue nearly all weekend.

On friday I had the all important meeting with editors from Mills and Boon and was pleased they liked my first chapter. On Saturday the day was started with a talk from Talli Roland about on-line marketing for writers which was extremely useful. Mills and Boon editors also did a talk, again really useful. The weekend passed so fast and so much was packed in. Not to mention the Gala dinner on Saturday evening where we all get dressed up and shoes to wow are a must. See the RNA blog for shoes.


Sadly Sunday arrived and I had a train to catch, for the long journey home. I did have to play the game of 'how many can fit in a carriage' on the way home and wondered briefly if I was on the London underground at rush hour instead of a rural line into Wales.

Last week has been total madness on the farm, due to the sun finally putting in an appearance. All my good intentions of writing, writing, writing had to be put aside, but as the silage harvest catches up I hope to hide away and write - lots!

Acorns to Oaks

I can't believe that it's been over a month since I last posted anything here, and that it has rained just about every day too. Sometimes excessively!

I have been writing during that time - honestly! It was pointed out at my local writing group, Cwrtnewydd Scribblers, that I need to amend my blog. So I have removed the word 'aspiring' from my blog title. It's true that I'm still aspiring to be published by Mills and Boon, but I have now completed six manuscripts and made three submissions, all with promising feedback. I've also had an article published in farmingscotland.com and with my writing group we have published several anthologies, all of which make me a writer.

'Mighty oaks from little acorns' is a proverb that springs to mind. Becoming a  published writer isn't something that happens overnight, but over the last few years I've been putting down my roots just like this little oak sapling.

This weekend I'll be making the long journey to Penrith for the RNA conference, where I'll be able to fill my whole weekend with writing and being with other writers. Can't wait!