Cathy Hayward's Blog, page 2

Four ways a day job helps my writing

Most of the fellow debut authors I know have a day job and look enviously at authors who���ve managed to ditch their old paid jobs and make a career out of writing. I work in a PR agency called Magenta Associates, which sp...

Five ways to juggle writing with a day job (and life)

Like many debut authors, I have a day job which takes up large chunks of my time and energy. I���m also a mum of three. I often listen enviously to full-time writers who I perceive have the luxury of 24 hours in which to ...

A room of my own: where I do my best writing

I have written before about my writing routine but never written about the places I write and that has a huge impact on what I write and how good the words are.

My top five writing podcasts

I spend as much time as I can reading which is not always easy with a demanding day job, three children and a writing habit. So when I am doing my household chores or walking to work, I like to listen to a podcast. Over ...

The difference between writing books one, two and three

I took quite a different approach to writing books one and two, and book three, which I started a few weeks ago, is proving even more different from the first two. So I thought it would be worth talking about the approac...

Covering up: why I (initially) hated the cover of my debut novel

In the next few days I���ll be revealing the cover for my debut novel The Girl in the Maze. Surely the cover is one of the most exciting parts of launching a new book. It���s when the book really comes to life and you can st...

Is lockdown good or bad for writers?

Now that we're in the eleventh month of some level of restrictions because of Covid, I've been reflecting on how the pandemic has impacted the writing community. There have been heart-rending tales of loss ��� bookshops g...

A proper writer���s retreat

One of the things I really enjoy about writing historical novels is the research. I���m currently writing a book set in the Great War, so am spending a lot time researching the Edwardian period. It���s an era I studied for m...

The art of the deal

Since finishing The Girl in the Maze in the summer, I���ve spent the last few months looking for an agent and/ or a publisher ��� a process many writers will be familiar with. Lots of research, lots of emails and lots of rej...

Inspiration behind The Girl in the Maze

What inspires you to write? Over the years I���ve found myself inspired by so many things. Travel, having children, getting married, setting up a business. But it was the death of my parents in quick succession that really...