Guest Post-Carolyn Mathews - My Wiritng Journey

My Writing Journey (to heaven) – Carolyn MathewsLike many people with a lifelong writing bug, every so often I'd arrange a date with my muse only to be stood up, leaving me staring at a blank sheet of paper or an empty screen. 
In the early days I wasn't totally unproductive, but my short stories were inevitably returned by women's magazines. I didn't even bother to submit the dodgy poetry. When the original Richard and Judy Novel Writing Competition was announced, I got quite excited, dashing off the first chapter plus synopsis, convinced (along with the other 45,000 entrants) that I'd win. I have to admit, though, that if I had, I'd have been terrified at the thought of producing a WHOLE novel. 
In the meantime, as a teacher of English as a Foreign Language, I managed to get some reading books published. It was all so easy. I submitted a few stories and plays to Macmillan, the editor chose what she wanted and I received a tidy sum of money as an advance. Great, I thought, I'm officially a writer now. I can develop this skill and retire from teaching. But the publishing industry can be as disappointing as a novel with its last page missing. No sooner had the books and tapes been produced, than Macmillan transferred its English Language Teaching arm to a much smaller outfit, who decided that this batch would be the last in the series, thus puncturing my fantasy of becoming a professional ELT writer.After that, I drew on my dawning interest in the connection between mind, body and spirit by producing a correspondence course which combined self-development with creative writing. I enjoyed it while it lasted but it was too much work for a small return so, veering once again from the creative to the prescriptive, concentrated instead on acquiring an MA in ELT and Applied Linguistics. 
Fast-forward to September 2010 when I decided to join a Novel Writing class at Birkbeck College, London. We were a mixed lot: among us a journalist whose novel was set in a newspaper office; a psychiatrist writing about a disturbed child; a knight of the realm writing about 20th century Ireland, inspired by his family's experiences. Get the picture? Most of the class were writing about what they were familiar with. And mine? It was about a woman of a certain age, Pandora, who's sceptical about New Age literature, healing techniques and products, but who, after some supernatural experiences of her own, finally embraces her own spirituality. (This was interspersed with her love life, naturally.) 
One important aspect of a Creative Writing group is to assess the work of others so I was interested to see whether they loved or hated the 'spiritual bits'. Finding they were divided 50/50, I thought about watering down the content, but I pressed on with the concept and am currently engaged in composing the third book, still featuring Pandora and her 'spiritual bits'. Sometimes I can't believe that I've so far produced 255,000 words: I couldn't have done that if the subject hadn't interested me and an integral part of it all has been the 'spiritual bits' which underpin the rest.
So how did the rest of the group do? As far as I know, only two of us took the process to its natural conclusion: publication. The other is the knight of the realm, Sir Christopher Bland, whose launch party for his debut novel "Ashes in the Wind" was held in Westminster recently. Sipping a cocktail and nibbling on a delicious canapé, I surveyed the milling guests (among them Melvyn Bragg, Joan Bakewell, Max Hastings, Sandra Howard), reflecting on my writing journey and where it had taken me. And at that moment, entranced by the sheer glamour of it all, I was in heaven.


 Squaring Circles blurb:  Free spirit Pandora is shaken by the sudden death of her mother and the presence of a mysterious stranger at the funeral. When her mother’s grave is disturbed, she turns detective and finds herself drawn into a world of intrigue, centring round a devious couple’s plot to exploit a healing circle for their own ends. Her partner Jay’s collaboration with a sexy singer and her own encounter with an old flame add to the confusion. Will she succeed in her quest to restore equilibrium to her family circle or will the decisions she and Jay make set them up for more heartache?
 Carolyn Mathews' English Language writing and teaching career included a stint with a class of 'Harry Potter' extras at the local Warner Bros. studio, Hertfordshire. With so much magic in the air, it's no wonder she now writes fiction with more than a hint of the supernatural.
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If anyone wants an autographed copy they can email Carol. The address is on the contact page of her website. Carolyn Mathews




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