It’s hard to believe that I started writing seriously about two years ago. I honestly never thought that I would complete one novel, yet here I am in July 2020, with four completed novels under my belt.

It’s been a rollercoaster these past two years. Life has certainly kept me busy! I’ve been through IVF, had my first baby, had more IVF and gotten pregnant with my second (due autumn 2020), worked full-time, left work, published my first novel, and written three other books.

A lot of people ask me – “How do you find the time to write?”

In truth, with great difficulty. I find the lack of quality time to write incredibly frustrating. My son is usually up around 6am, naps for maybe an hour – 90 minutes in the day, and goes to bed at 7pm. That’s a full-on day in which I have to entertain the little guy, which leaves very little time to write. I squeeze in as much as I can before 6am, during his nap, and after 9pm. On a good day I write for up to two hours, on a bad day, as little as 30 minutes.

I have to write fast, with no hesitation and no time for writer’s block! I crank the words out like my life depends on it.

As I write more, I discover more about my own process and what works for me, which makes me a more efficient writer with the small amount of time I have. I’ve learned that I can write a really rough first draft, just to test out the story idea, in a matter of weeks. My second and third drafts are all about honing the characters, fleshing out the descriptions, and taking into account reader feedback to make improvements. That process is much slower, but it means that by the fourth draft I’m ready for minor edits and proof-reading.

With my second baby due in the autumn I know my time to write will be even more curtailed, so I’m doing as much as I can now to finalise my three-book Love in the Spotlight series, and have it ready for publication from Spring 2021.

If I can find the time, that is…