What an honour!

I have been very honoured. The Bromsgrove Standard very kindly asked me to write a special short story for them on the lead up to Valentine's day.

You can find the story here, http://www.bromsgrovestandard.co.uk/paper/ on page 12 of the newspaper. I hope you enjoy it.

I remember the very first time I ever read the Standard. I was house-hunting in Bromsgrove and it seemed like a good idea to read the local newspaper to get a flavour of what life could be like here. It was also the first time I had encountered a local newspaper, since none of the cities I had lived in before [Glasgow, London, Birmingham] had published anything so closely linked to the lives of its inhabitants.

The distinction between a national newspaper and a local one, is more than just a difference in the types of articles they cover, for the disparity lies not just in scale but in proximity. The Standard knows its readers ['demographics' to other newspapers] better than just by their bank balances and the size of their homes - it knows their hearts, the things that make them tick, their whims and their foibles and it knows this because the people who write for it are local too. 

I can't claim to know you all so intimately, but over the past two years I have had the pleasure of conducting a number of talks around the area, so I hope you will enjoy my little offering.

Happy Reading.

Thank you!

Many thanks to the Stroke Association who hosted one of my talks today. Talking about my books never fails to excite me and it is always lovely to have such an appreciative audience.   


Writing stories is both the hardest and the easiest thing I have ever done. It is hard because it requires you to bare your soul and to commit yourself entirely to the story, but it is also the easiest, because for me writing is not a choice, it is a compulsion.


The one question I am always asked at any of these events is how do I find the time to do everything. The truth is that I don't. Like all of us, there are times when I am forced to make a choice between what I want to do and what I have to do. Mostly I am sensible with my time - but not always!


My point here is that I will notice if I haven't written a chapter that day, but the kids will never notice if I failed to vacuum. Life is short. And sometimes it's hard. Live it how your heart dictates.


Carmen x.