I was once a lollypop lady. Some people become an overnight success. It took me 16 years to become a published author. With only one wage coming into the house, to make ends meet, I took a job as a lollypop lady. It fitted in perfectly with school holidays and gave me time during the day to learn my craft.
Blue Moon
I have included real events in my books. In There's Always Tomorrow, Reg brings home a pig he's won playing skittles. He and Dottie keep it in the chicken run and the hens stop laying. Wind the clock back to the 1950's and you'll see me peeping round the bedroom curtains and my Dad shows Mum the pig he's got under his coat.
I love chatting and often have coffee with my elderly neighbours. They've lived in Worthing all their lives and they unwittingly give me some real gems. There's nothing like hearing a story first hand!
I'm always on the lookout for characters. Just the other day I saw an elderly pensioner, heavily made-up, with high back combed hair and tottering along in stilettoes. What made me notice her? She was carrying a clipboard. Who was she? Why the clipboard? I've no idea but she's logged away in my character bank.
If I wake up with a good idea, no matter what time it is, I get up and jot it down. I've learned to my cost that if I think it's so good, I'll remember it in the morning… I don't.
I enjoy a good laugh. If people send me jokes, they sometimes end up as short stories.
I once worked for a very wealthy family. After I'd written my biography Bath Times & Nursery Rhymes, I thought I'd try and trace them. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the man had ended up in prison for fraud. There has to be the kernel of a story there!
When I was trying to get published, one publisher said, 'A saga in Worthing? You can't have a saga set in Worthing. Sagas are always set in Liverpool or London!' I think I may have proved her wrong with that one. My latest book Blue Moon is my fifth. I wish I could remember who she was!
I have done or still do many of the things my characters do: jam making, baking, sewing, hotel work, waitressing, shop work, nanny, solving murders… actually I made that last bit up.
I love encouraging new writers. My greatest joy was meeting a man who said he would love to write but nothing very interesting had ever happened to him. With a little probing, I discovered that he was keen rambler. I know nothing about rambling but encouraged him to write about it. His article was taken by a regional newspaper and it led to a regular column. Than man went on to get a creative writing degree from the OU. How exciting is that!