|
Writing is a compulsion and I should really seek treatment. But, as I enjoy the whole process (apart from the rejections, typos, synopsis hell and query letter doubts, of course) I suppose I'll keep at it. My first positive influence, apart from my adoring mother, was a sexy English teacher called Stella who encouraged me to write, but mostly to read. Since we had no TV at the time, I read the entire library in my home town (Hessle) and have continued to read all my life. Authors I have enjoyed are various and diverse; Graham Green, John Fowles, William Horwood, William Golding, Stephen King, Ray Bradbury and Aldous Huxley spring to mind but they are just a few of those who have entered my consciousness.
The sudden death of my mother when I was 16, just before my crucial school exams, meant I performed miserably and left school instead of continuing education. A spell in the RAF told me I was not for the world of the unimaginative and a short spell working in an art college re-ignited my creative spirit. I won't bore you with the trip from there, except to say I first published illustrated photographic articles in my late teens and didn't turn to fiction until my late 20s. Since then I have had some small success, which has been interrupted by spells of serious illness, domestic upsets and life in general. Only relatively recently have I been able to concentrate more fully on doing the writing I want to do. My first novel, Breaking Faith, is out there and I'm currently working on a fantasy trilogy.
|
Bookmarks
Share
Save
[