J. Lilley
Ever since I won not one but two, Cadbury, ‘where does chocolate come from’ competitions in primary school, I was convinced, one day I would write a book. Lots of books.
My parents encouraged me. My schoolteachers despaired of me. Evidently reading a story in your maths class was not acceptable. Even if you had finished the maths!
So what happened to my grand ideas? Life got in the way-as it does.
A couple of truly awful M/S were sent off and duly and rightfully rejected. I gave up on my dreams. More years later than I'm prepared to disclose (hey a woman has to have some secrets) I realized I'd been writing as I thought I should, not as I could. It was the 'eureka' moment.
I dusted off my almost non-existent typing skills, and decided now was my chance. It eventually worked. The Shalean series, started as a birthday present for a friend's daughter, was accepted by Lycaon Press!
I live on the edge of a Scottish Forest, and I write on my lap top in my study, watching the birds on the bird table, the strange big black fluffy ‘ I’m pretending to be a bird’ cat, sitting on it and trying to convince the many real birds he is invisible; occasionally seeing deer and red squirrel moving past.
What a great place to get my ideas!