Life, work and running
Life
April was incredible but it almost broke me. After a month of working full-time, including London Marathon my busiest day job event of the year, celebrating the selling of Thirst for a near full week, and shuttling up and down the country attending the Aye Write Festival, Fire Station Bookswap, Polari and two events at Liverpool Literary Festival, I took to my bed for a full day to sleep and occasionally wake up mewling like a kitten before falling back into a sweaty slumber. Friends this is what happens when you do not allow your body to rest for 31 days. Do not do this. Actually DO do this…it was an incredible, joyful month. Here is a very tiny selection of my best bits:
Getting the Programme Director gossip in the green room at the Aye Write Fetsival after my event with Karen Campbell (she’s lovely and the lady talks sense) before proclaiming that I was off to ‘spend some time rolling about in my giant bed’ back at the hotel (it was a really, impressively big bed)// Telling the assembled audience at Bookswap that I’d take all my clothes off and dance around if the four minute warning sounded (I know, but it was the first thing that occurred to me…) and being shored up by the very funny indeed Will LeFlemming, Marie Phillips and Scott Pack // reading at the Southbank Centre and sharing a stage with the legendary Celia Imrie at Polari // spending a few days with the fabulous Simon Savidge rockpooling and eating caterpillar meringues at Liverpool Literary Festival after taking part in an event on class and publishing where the audience came prepared with (sometimes clipboards) of questions at a local community centre. As they would say in The ‘Pool is was bosker (actually I’m unsure if they would say that in Liverpool at all).
Work
On the 23rd April I posted this on Facebook ‘In ten minutes I’m going to walk into my boss’s office and quit my job to be a full-time writer. I think I’ll remember this sunny morning.’ So that’s it. As of May 17th I’m a writer proper. I can put it on forms in the occupation space and everything. I am going to focus on teaching creative writing and running my own workshops on finding the time, space and courage to make the jump and start writing your first novel. And writing, I’ll be doing lots of that too. I keep telling people I’m leaving work to go freelance but I haven’t worked out what I’m freelancing at yet. Anyway, if you want to hire me for um…something please do – I need some summer sandals and a haircut sometime this year.
Running
I am spending a lot of time in Lycra, sweating like Barry White, doing pointy finger dancing to my running compilation, knotting up my arms and legs in ‘stretches’ and doing walking lunges in front of highly amused basketball teams. Yep, I’m going to run Berlin Marathon on September 29th for Freedom from Torture. So I’m running, yoga-ing and swimming up a storm. I want to say it is horrible because otherwise everyone will be disgusted with me but actually tiny voice I’m loving it, the most painful thing by far has been dropping some dollar on these ugly (but now beloved) special trainers. Between you and me I spend a lot of time fantasising I’m in an 80’s reinvention film (think Rocky, Private Benjamin, Terminator)…it’s not in any running book but by God it works a treat.
