I am just back from my first writers' conference - the Historical Novel Society Annual Conference which took place in Durham earlier this month.
It was interesting and reassuring to meet a crowd of people with many of the same concerns, although I often felt, I just wasn't trying hard enough!
It was a particular pleasure to run into an old colleague from my teaching days - Julie Cohen, https://www.julie-cohen.com who is an immensely successful author now. I have just read her book The Two Lives of Louis and Louise and am in awe of her ability to write with such perception and fluency. Very moving.
I also had a series of inspiring conversations with everyone from unpublished aspirants to experienced authors with impressive sales lists. Bu the big take-away for me from the three days was that we are all doing it because we love writing - so I should really stop agonising over my limited sales and embrace the journey!
On top of this, I was lucky enough to stay in Hatfield College, where my niece was a student, following in the footsteps of her parents who were at St John's and St Aidan's.
Comments