Having retired from teaching, I have spent much of my spare time writing, learning from my mistakes and discovering how much I enjoy the writing process, despite its many frustrations. I have been successful in several competitions, mainly in writing Flash Fiction, and my play, "So Quick", was performed by Progress Theatre in Reading.
Some years ago, I entered a competition asking for a "three hundred-word synopsis of a novel in any genre", which was adjudicated by the literary agent, Simon Trewin. Mine was the outline of a police procedural entitled "Home To Roost". I won, and Simon Trewin's critique was so encouraging that wrote then wrote the 100,000 words that comprised the finished novel.
However, in 2021, I was shortlisted for the Page Turner Writing Award and asked for an agent's critique as my prize. It was damning, and although initially dismayed by her comments, I recognised they were valid. I have since rewritten much of the novel, am still enjoying the process, and am submitting the first ten pages again this year.
