Thank you for reading my blog!

I’m bewildered by the miracle of blogging. I sit here in the middle of rural England at a desk writing a few random thoughts. I schedule the time for the blog to go out and whoosh! As if by magic, people across the globe stop to read it. As I write, I imagine you out there, living a busy life, pausing from what you’re doing to muse over a few simple words. And I’m grateful for your time.

We do need to pause occasionally and give ourselves time to reflect and recover. We live in a world where there are wars, disease, depravation, pollution. Poverty and privilege are becoming the polarities we see on a daily basis and we are all worried. We support charities, give to food banks, lobby leaders, but it never feels like enough. I’m a Reiki healer and I’ve just been speaking to a wonderful woman who spends every Thursday healing people who need it. I’m completely in awe of someone who gives their time freely as I huddle over the keyboard writing every day.

But sometimes I get messages that what I’ve written has moved someone a little, and that means so much. I’ve blogged about self-esteem and coping with difficult emotions. I know so many people who are having a tough time one way or another, and my heart goes out to them. They are invariably lovely people, courageous and incredibly strong. It’s a privilege that they read my blog and it’s so nice to get a message that I’ve somehow helped, even a tiny bit.

Recently someone contacted me about one of my short stories – the one that takes place in the railway station – and said they’d love to make a film of it. I was touched that someone’s creative imagination was sparked by a few words.

I started blogging on my masters course. We were a bunch of flippant students shepherded into an IT suite and left to come up with something meaningful. Some students were excited and inspired, others broke down in tears over the mechanics of setting up a blog. I was lucky to have the support of a friend on the course who knew what he was doing. He was a genius and a poet, and thanks to him, I managed to bash something basic out.

For my first blog, I created a site to interpret dreams. It was called Dream Catching. I have some skills in these areas, reading palms, teacups, beer glasses. People would send me dreams and I’d give them a positive and uplifting analysis. It worked too. People like others to listen and to be interested in the workings of their minds, and I certainly developed my blogging skills.

For my next blog, I set up a vegan recipe site. It was very popular, and I met lots of interesting people asking for recipes. I’d like to have gone the whole hog, becoming a YouTube food blogger, but in my heart I wanted to write novels. The vegan food blog is still out there. People seem to enjoy the cake recipes particularly. I met the Ian and Henry, the Bosh! Boys at HarperCollins gigs a couple of times. They are great guys – their hard work, imagination, teamwork and dedication show what food blogging should look like.

So now I just blog about random things when I get time, in between writing novels and editing them. Writing seems to be what I blog about most – my own novels, others’ books, technique. I’m always learning.

I like to blog about other things too, from football to nature to films to travelling. The nomadic season is approaching now, so I may have a few blogs about journeys or research trips up my sleeve.I hope there will be something that will catch your interest or cheer you.

So, here’s a thank you for reading my blog, for spending a few minutes with me, and for sharing thoughts. My good wishes go out to you, from the keyboard into the ether to wherever you are. Sending love. x.