August/September 2009 update

Today I did my first ever radio interview! It was for a writing programme called Write On, broadcast in the Portsmouth area on Express FM 93.7 every Tuesday evening. The interview was all done over a phone line and recorded, to be broadcast at a later date, probably straight after their summer break. I quite enjoyed it and was able to fill a whole hour talking about my writing and choosing all the music tracks they played. I have also got very into a weekly online story writing competition called Write Invite, run by the same guy, Rob Richardson. It costs £3 to have a go every Saturday at 5.30pm when a choice of 3 themes is announced on their website and you have just 30 minutes to write and submit a story. It's very challenging but certainly makes you just get on and write, no excuses. I did make the shortlist last week, so I'm getting there. Every entrant (except the shortlisted 3) gets to vote for the winner. Winner each week takes £40. The search for a home for my novel seems to be getting nowhere, but I have sold more article ideas, so I am working on 3 commissions at the moment, on the nation's favourite nursery rhymes, children's sight and hearing problems, and books about child safety, all to appear over the next couple of months in nursery mags, plus my monthly column in Child Care has been extended for a further 6 months up to June 2010. The People's Friend specially asked for a story from a child's point of view so I have rattled one off and submitted it with high hopes of a yes! And one of my earlier accepted stories is due out next week in the PF Autumn Special. Oh, yes, and I came runner up in the June txtlit competition for an ultra short fairy story that fits the space of a text message, so I have tried again for the July competition on a ghost theme, choosing a ghost spider as my main character - hoping that's different enough to stand out from the crowd. Result due any day. And look out for my article in September's issue of Writing Magazine about how I took part in the judging of the Poetic Republic poetry competition. I have got a nice 2 page spread with photo, and my bio on the editor's page at the front, so that almost makes up for not winning the competition!