My Life as a Writer

Tomorrow will see the release on Kindle and in Paperback of The Poppy Garden, a project I've been working towards my whole life. It's not quite sunk in yet, from tomorrow my work is public and open to others to read and interpret how they may.   I hope people like it, I hope they enjoy it, most of all I hope it means something to someone. It's strange not having it to work on anymore, that story now at an end its like leaving a piece of you behind in order to move forward.  I have a choice, this was a genre I never intended to write in and soon enough I'll know whether it's a genre I can write, my choice will be what comes next. Its time to start a new story chapter by chapter while The Poppy Garden is out there being read and reviewed by all who are tempted to pick up a copy. But it's not really the end of that story - not the real story anyway. The Poppy Garden was never just one piece of work, one story to tell, it's more about the legacy it com...

When you browse through the book shelves or the pages of your favourite website what is it that first attracts you to a book? What is the first thing that catches your eye and draws you in encouraging you to delve deeper and find out if that is the book for you? The Cover is one of the most important elements of attracting readers to your book, it’s the first impression your work will make so it has to be a good one. There’s an art to cover design, a fine balance of the right image, the right text, the right font and the right colours.   It has to convey the story implicitly, in a way that not only catches your eye but promotes the story in its intended form.   I’ve always said I’m not an artist, I’m a creative, I can put pen to paper and weave images but hand me a pencil and ask me to draw and the most you will get is a stick figure.   So for cover design I rely on an artist.   Over the last few years I’ve worked exclusively with Jeanie Henning,...

As I'm in the process of writing The Poppy Garden, I'm filling you in on the major points as I go - but I'm not going to bore your with daily updates and word counts.  That's not why you are reading this and I think that would be pretty boring. Instead I thought I'd fill you in on what I hope and dream for this book, to me this isn't just a novel and by that I mean to me the goal of this book is not just a paper back or e book you pick up read, hopefully enjoy and then move on to your next purchase.  I have different aspirations for this book and at this time I'm not quite sure how to make them happen. I started writing this book as my way to honour the memory of my Grandfather and the men he flew with.  While I don't have enough information as yet to write their particular story I'm focusing on the methods they used to cope with PTSD when it wasn't recognised as a condition. The definition of PTSD is; a condition of persistent mental a...