A happy handful

I remember enjoying my very first Writers’ Conference in 2005 – Winchester’s 25th anniversary, writes subscriber Trudie Ellen Thomas.

I returned home with the ridiculously optimistic thought, that it had been a fantastically helpful weekend, but of course I wouldn’t need to attend the following year because I would be published!

Ha! Many, many years later, I still go every June – and I still find those weekends fantastically helpful. Along the way I’ve had two agents, one who sadly passed away, and another who eventually just passed.

I love writing short stories for adults, but also children’s Middle Grade. I’ll never stop trying to be the best writer I can be. Being a subscriber to Writing Magazine is part of that and attending writing festivals and signing up for courses is always a joy. I’ve also accumulated an army of incredibly supportive writing buddies, who can be blamed for my addiction to a frothy cappuccino.

This year I had the huge pleasure of having a book published. A small, but beautifully formed book, thanks to Richard

Bevan at Polarity Publishing, of twelve short stories: Take My Hand. My son Jordan was responsible for each of the gorgeous illustrations to each story. Proud is an understatement!

We’ve just been accepted onto the Waterstones list and are hoping to be able to have a Mum and Son signing very soon.

The launch date was the 30th of September last year, which also happens to be my birthday, and so when Richard told me the book had made it to number 25 in the Short Story category on Amazon, and ranked Number One in Collections and Anthologies, I certainly enjoyed a glass or two of bubbly. The reviews that have followed have been the icing on the (birthday) cake.

Going forwards I’m hoping to gain an agent and add published children’s book writer to my CV. My MG novel Rory Bean And The Reluctant Ghosts is currently out on submission. I’m keeping an eye out for those full-manuscript requests. Wish me luck!

Trudie can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as Trudie3130 or email: trudieethomas@aol.com