Thursday 17 July 2014

Kicking off Our Path To Publication Summer Blog Feature - Kim Lain

Hello and welcome to the very first post in the Summer feature Our Path to Publication. As you already know everyone who has agreed to take part is a current member of the Romantic Novelists Association New Writers Scheme and I thought it would be fun to get a few of us together to share our journey towards seeing our work published.

Kicking us off is the very lovely Kim Lain, wife, mother and writer or romance. You can follow Kim on Twitter @kim_lain

Kim Lain My Path to Publication

My best subject at school was always creative writing.  And when I used to hear the words 'I'd like you all to write a story' from my English teacher, Mr Simms, my heart used to do a little dance.  I couldn't wait to run home and put pen to paper.  And I don't know if this is still part of the National Curriculum, but once a week, for about an hour, Mr Simms used to read a few chapters of a book to the whole class.  Oh, I thought this was utter bliss, and it was my favourite time of the week.  My friend and I used to take the opportunity to knit under the desk while we listened, until the day my knitting needles clattered to the floor.  This is true.  And yes, I did get into trouble, badly.

I think if you enjoy doing something then obviously your marks reflect this, and I was always told I had a very vivid imagination.  I also remember being advised to try and develop my storytelling further.  My stories of ghosts, haunted houses, and adventures in long overgrown gardens probably stemmed from my love of reading the Famous Five and Secret Seven by Enid Blyton.  My favourites by far though were most definitely the Mallory Towers and St Clare's series of books.  Oh, I was so envious of those girls, and longed to be part of the boarding school set.  

Nowadays, I still write for pleasure.    This is my third year of going through the RNA New Writers Scheme and last year I was told that my story had 'potential' which was pleasing to hear.  I don't write every day, but at the moment I'm up against the wire, as we only have about six weeks left until the deadline! Eeek!  Sometimes life gets in the way, which is the same for everyone, I guess, and when you get to my time of life, having had elderly parents at one end of the spectrum and grown up children still living at home at the other, then there is not enough hours in a day.  Oh, and I work too.

Earlier this year, however, I did find the time to attend a writing weekend run by the fabulous Kate Walker at Weetwood Hall in Leeds.  This inspirational lady has had over 60 books published by Mills and Boon.  She worked us hard, but we had a fantastic weekend where we learnt a lot from Kate, wrote, and pondered quite a lot, (well I did) and ate plenty.   I met some wonderful ladies who I am so looking forward to meeting again next February in Fishguard on Kate's advanced writing course.

Of course I would love to be published, but even if that never happens to me, I will never stop writing.  When I write I relax, and there is nothing better than being sent off somewhere into and beyond the realms of my imagination by the characters in my book.

Click here to find out about the Kate Walker writing weekend Kim attended in April

Thank you for sharing Kim! Next week Ros Rendle takes centre stage. Have a great week everyone and thank you for reading.

H-J

6 comments:

  1. Heidi-Jo, thanks so much for having me as a guest on your blog this week. X

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  2. It has been a pleasure Kim. Thank you for sharing your journey and kicking the feature off. I'd love to know how the manuscript assessment goes this year. Perhaps you would consider writing a follow up post?
    H-J x

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    1. Heidi-Jo, I'd love to. I'll let you know when it comes back. Thanks again x

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  3. Great post, Kim. Your childhood sounds similar to mine...the flutter of excitement when asked to write a story and the love of Enid Blyton books! I'm still waiting for my NWS report to come back. It's pretty nerve wracking. Good luck with yours! X

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    1. Same here Sharon. It never ceases to amaze me how early life experiences can have such a dramatic and lasting influence! Good luck with the report!

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    2. Hi Sharon. Thank you for your kind comments. I am still trying to finish but hoping to get lots done next week. It is very nerve-wracking waiting for the report to come back -this is my third year of going through the scheme and it doesn't get any easier, believe me! Good luck x

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