Launch of Write Your Self

It's been a long time coming, but now is the official launch of my journaling handbook, Write Your Self, from MX Publishing. Although I no longer lecture in creative writing, some of my themes keep nagging at me. For instance, this Sunday I'm appearing on a crime writing panel at the Ilkley LitFest, with two extremely gifted crime novelists. They write superbly about contemporary deviance and urban underclass situations, but once again, the topic of writing misery comes along. My new book stresses the need for writing to uplift also, to celebrate joy and happiness. This is even possible in crime writing- as in Rumpole of the Bailey and Porridge. But the horrendous themes keep on being wanted by agents and publishers. I would like these powerful folks to read my new book and think again about the wider potential of stories.
In my new book, the aim is to help you write your own stories. I hope and pray that they will be joyful, optimistic and cheery ones.