Surround yourself with like-minded people for inspiration to truly kick in

One word I did not anticipate hearing bandied about when I joined the Romantic Novelists Association last November was family. Yet at each of the calendar events I’ve been able to attend to date, I have heard the word many times from the mouths of both published and yet-to-be published writers in attendance.

I certainly came away feeling welcomed, encouraged and very hopeful that my manuscript’s evolvement (is that a real word?) to its completion is a high possibility.

My goal this year is to finish it, even if it then collects dust on the shelf within the desktop files on my laptop. I set out to write and story and write a story is what I shall achieve.

An Airbnb in Oxfordshire and Man of the Woods taking the trip with me (left him behind reading the paper 😬) has been a pleasant break in horse rug proceedings and made a minibreak out of what could have been a rushed, shoe-horned event. The support of my husband is a valuable piece of the jigsaw.

I do get giggly and chatty when excited and enjoyed many conversations with different members last night – the amazing Katie Fford 😱 chatted for a while at one point, and how lovely she is.

I don’t recognise some of the acclaimed authors because I had such a huge break in reading (about 15 years) and I don’t tend to read historical fiction, hence when asking a lady next to me ‘and what do you write?’ and to receive a fairly shocked face in return as if I should know, I wanted the floor to swallow me up. I’m not even going to mention her name, so embarrassed am I not to have known her.

Note to self: when in doubt, keep mouth closed 🙈