1. What do you write?
I mostly write feature articles for magazines and newspapers, with a special interest in history. Since returning to writing work after years dealing with a severe bout of ME/CFS, I firstly wrote about my father’s grandfather clock he made from wood, for The Shed Magazine. This has led to further articles for them over the last seven years.
I am also currently writing a biography about my birthmother and sister’s life and have many children’s stories in the pipeline. Then there are all the feature ideas to get on with.
2. How do you market your work?
I am looking forward to having a book published in order to market it! With regard to feature articles, the stories are constantly arriving, and so I pitch an idea to an editor and once given the green light I get writing. I have a small presence on Facebook which has a work focus.
3. Do you belong to any writing groups?
Yes, I am on the board of the Kapiti Writers’ Group.
4. Have you been part of any festivals?
Not personally, yet.
5. Have you done any formal writing courses?
Yes, I completed the Writing For Children diploma with Janice Marriot at NZIBS (NZ Institute of Business Studies) and decades ago did the Freelance Journalism course through NZIBS while a mum of young children.
6. Have you been short listed or won any awards?
Not yet 😉
7. Where do you publish your writing?
Currently, mainly The Shed Magazine features, but before I became ill, I had two columns weekly with the Taranaki Daily News: Our Stories (history) and Flock to the Block (Lifestyle block living) for around seven years plus a fortnightly gardening column with The Kapiti Observer for 10 years. For a few months I covered for the garden writer at The Dominion Newspaper. Many of these columns can be found on Stuff.
[Here is one of my articles] (https://theshed.nz/the-shed-mayjune-2021-issue-96-on-sale-now-syy44/)
8. What do you like about Writion?
Writion is helping me get organised and I just keep adding story ideas to it. Some are children’s stories; others are articles I wish to write and then there are several book projects. I look forward to using it for invoicing.
9. Do you have a website or does your writing live on other platforms as well?
I don’t have a website yet for my writing, just one for COVID The Board Game, which I invented while I couldn’t write.
10. If there is anything else, you would like to add please add it here. Such as advice for people who are looking at writing as a career.
Even though I have been writing for work for many years now, I still feel like a beginner when it comes to fiction writing. When I hear people say they write for fun, I think, gosh, that must be nice!
I love writing features, because you get to meet interesting people doing interesting things and putting the article together is like patchwork and very satisfying when done. But I also yearn to write fiction, I love the sound of spending time in a world you have created. Basically, the story ideas keep flowing and I’m on a race to get as many of them done as I can - while I can!