Charlotte's War - My First People's Friend Serial

Today is a very exciting day for me as instalment one of my serial, Charlotte's War, has just been published in The People's Friend magazine. It is a romance set on Guernsey during the German occupation of World War 2 and David Young has been illustrating it for me.

After I trotted off to the newsagents this morning to buy myself a copy, the rush I got from seeing it was the same as when I saw my first short story in print. I couldn't wait to get it home to read - not because I love my own writing but because I wrote it over a year ago and I couldn't actually remember what happened! When I looked back on my computer, I found that I started writing the first instalment in July 2013! As you can see, from writing the first words to seeing the serial in print is not a speedy process! You can read my blog post written on the day I had my serial accepted here.

The People's Friend are running an advert this week on Classic FM (South and Midlands) and they are using an excerpt from Charlotte's War - with sound effects! I spent a morning listening to classical music (not something I would normally do!) and wondered why the advert hadn't appeared (I'd been sent a schedule so knew roughly the times). It wasn't until I heard on the traffic news about road works in Yorkshire, that I realised my computer was tuned into the wrong region! Luckily for me, the magazine put a link on their website and anyone interested can listen to it here.

It's strange but thrilling to hear even that tiny part read - shame my name wasn't mentioned though.
 

I have a story, Rhythm of Life, in the same magazine set in the 1920s jazz age. It was one I wrote to accompany this lovely illustration by Len Thurston.

I find that magazine publications are a lot like buses - they often come at once (not that I'm complaining). I also have a story, Home Grown Wisdom, in the People's Friend special - also out today. The illustration is by Ruth Blair and the inspiration behind this story was my lovely father-in-law who has spent most of his life in his vegetable garden!

Before I go, The People's Friend are looking for new serial writers. If you want any tips on writing longer pieces for this magazine, an article I have written on the subject, with pearls of wisdom from fiction editor Shirley Blair, should be in Writing Magazine soon.