Week 1 Day 1 - Home schooling

And so, home schooling begins...

Having two boys, a 15 year-old and a nearly 13-year old (24th he'll turn 13!), who both like (that's an understatement) the PlayStation (PS4) I've had to lay down the rules. In school time, no electronics!

A friend sent me a schedule they saw on social media, which I've adapted to create my own.  I'm hoping this will give the boys enough inspiration to not venture onto the PS4. Both boys are on board with it, as both are school lovers, and will want to complete their work the school provides online.

There is time set aside for exercise and fresh air each day - where we will walk but stay away from people. Amongst the Academic Time, there is Quiet Time which will encourage reading (I hope) and there is Creative Time which will allow them to do puzzles, build with lego, play games etc. I've purchased an adult colouring book. I'm not sure who will need it more! Me or the boys?

My eldest said he was going to use some of his academic time to watch documentaries, which I'm happy with, too. It's all educational.

They need to stay in. That's the whole point of the schools closing. So. by giving them this time table, I'm hoping it will make them focus on their education and keep their mental health sane. School children like routine - well mine do.

They have both said they can't believe they might not be going back to school until September. They will MISS school. I will encourage them to Facetime or whatever their friends, so they have some social interaction with their mates, even if it is virtual. They are going to miss their friends! Today we set up Skype to see Nanny!

Anyhow, hopefully it will work. Only time will tell. I've offered this schedule to other mums to give them inspiration, and there's no point creating rework (I hate rework), so if you would like my table which is in Word format, send me a message. I am more than happy to share.

I'm apprehensive about the coming weeks/months, my anxiety is up and down, but also (at the moment) I'm feeling confident. It's going to be challenging but together we can do this. I have to do this. There is no other choice.

I work in retail so I just hope I don't get sick. (That's another blog post!)

When the school holidays officially start in two weeks, then the time-table will be dropped. It's only to be used during official school periods. I'm not that mean a mum!

At the bottom of the table it reads:

Remember to wash your hands regularly and not to fight. You don't want your mum turning into an alcoholic. 

Ben put: No that would be bad! (lol!)

I will try to stick to my rule of no drinking on a school night!

In September, I'm wondering if I'll be glad to see the back of them, when they return to school, or will I miss my children? Five months is a long time! We are going to form a new routine. Life is having to change for the next few weeks/months... (God, please don't be years!)

I have a feeling my writing time might be depleted. Though if I'm not heading out to work on a Sunday - which I've offered to do - I could write then.

Stay safe, everyone. And stay home!

September I might be a lot greyer!

World Book Day 2020

Happy World Book Day!

What are you reading? And where do you love reading? Bath, beach, by the pool or on the train to work? Or last thing at night, tucked up in bed? 

Or, what are you writing? 

Without authors there would not be books! We provide escapism, other worlds to explore, other lives to live. We enable adventures, reveal secrets, create suspense, and characters to fall in love with. We can even help shed a tear - of laughter or sadness. We evoke emotions.

Do you remember the first book that made you cry? 

Do you remember the first book that made you laugh out loud - in public? 

If you're fed up with this rain - will it ever stop? Should we build a boat? - and looking for a summery read, both Plus One is a Lucky Number and Meet Me At Wisteria Cottage are available in Kindle Unlimited. Just saying. 

Happy reading and/or writing! 

How To Be A Writer

After a fantastic evening with Weston Writer's Nights on Thursday (6th February), where Jenny Kane, Jan Ellis, Fay Keenan and myself were on a panel answering questions about How To Be A Writer, I thought I would create a blog post.

(Photo taken by Weston Writer's Nights)

I'm concerned that although we've shared the reality of being a writer, which might mean holding down another job too, I didn't want to discourage the fact that if you want to write, you must write. But do not be disillusioned that you may make money from it. You might make some, but not necessarily enough to give up the day job.

Anyway, the evening was fantastic and so much fun, so I hope the audience did enjoy the event as much as we did.

And on that note, I thought I would give a quick summary on How To Be A Writer:

1. Write! (You can't edit a blank page - so write!)
2. No ideas are stupid ideas. If you want to write them, then write them! Inspiration can come from anything.
3. Make time to write, too. Do you work best in the mornings, afternoons or evenings? Write when it's best for you. And without interruptions if possible. 
4. Find a writing space that suits you and use it. Everybody is different: Some need complete silence (me!) and some can work in a coffee shop (Jenny!)
5. Find a critique partner or small group of writing friends. It's great to bounce ideas off one another. Writing can be a lonely place, so it's good to get out and be social with likeminded people - those who appreciate and understand you have voices in your head that sometimes won't shut up. 
6. You must have a thick skin. Sometimes you might have to kill your darlings (as they say). But never delete a book. Put it in a drawer for a while. A change of market might mean it becomes suitable for publishing.   
7. Do your research. Check who publishes your genre. Don't send your book out to just any publisher as you'll get a bad name for yourself. It's not professional. The same applies for agents, too. Writers and Artists Yearbook is the best place to look, or in a book shop. (Check the books you enjoy reading in the genre you write).
8. Don't give up the day job, even if you get a contract.
9. Imprint Publishers don't need you to submit via an agent.
10. Most importantly make sure you're having fun! 

And if you want the Mars Bar Scones recipe Jenny talked about, you can find it here. 

If you still have any burning questions about writing then please don't hesitate to contact us via any of our social media platforms. We'd be more than happy to help. 

Remember: if you write, then you are a writer. 

To find out more about Weston Writer's Nights click here!

Thank you to everyone who attended the event. You were a wonderful audience.

Well, well, well...

Well, well, well...

It's been a while since I updated you on my romantic (or not so romantic) liaisons. Last summer, I met a guy who I thought could be The One. We got on so well, talking about everything! It was crazy.

Then, of course, he ended it saying he wasn't ready for a relationship. I blogged about it here.

This spurred me to do something rather unlikely. With a lot of badgering from my writery friends, I applied to First Dates. (As I no longer have an online dating profile anywhere! Yep, deleted them all.)

Then one month later he came back into my life.

Let's call him #MrWells.

Now, this happened all before Christmas... (And I wrote this post before Christmas but decided it wasn't the right time of year to start ranting about idiotic men ann didn't want to taint the Christmas spirit!)

I'm not sure I want to get into the long and the short of it, only that yet again, he was a man with issues.  (Why do I always find the men with issues?) And with my past experience in counselling, the counsellor in my head now tells me I did nothing wrong. Because I did nothing wrong. (Wait till you hear it).

All I will say is, ladies, avoid men with issues. Do not empathise, sympathise, even dream of loving them, do not fear that they will be lonely. In fact, let them be exactly that. Lonely. They do not deserve you because if they do not love themselves then they will not love or respect you. And to be honest, I think they love themselves a little too much in some twisted way, and will not give two shits about you.

After two weeks of no communication from #MrWells, which I was to assume our relationship had expired, he messaged me via email. Am I to presume he deleted my number out of his phone (as I have done with his if truth be told). An email?!

And all it reads is along the lines of sorry it didn't work out between us. Still no explanation. No thank you for returning his watch. (I'll get to that).

I deleted the email without responding. I felt that as I had nothing nice to say it was best to say nothing at all.

However, you know me, I do like to have my say... so I thought I'd blog about it instead.

Dear reader, do you want to know what he did?

We've had a lovely evening, everything appeared great between us (so I thought). We'd only been seeing each other a couple of months - well it's about 4 months from 1st date, but we had a wobble which really should have told me then to walk away. (See link above.)

We watched some TV (like normal couples do) and went to bed, made love....

Now we aren't familiar yet with sleeping together regularly, so at 2am (ish) it wasn't surprising for him to say he couldn't sleep. However, he insisted he would go into one of the boys' rooms. Now being a lot bigger than me, and my boys both have cabin beds, I suggested I go and he stay in my bed.

But he insisted I stay in my own bed. So I made up the sofa bed in my son's room and left him to it. At around 2.40am #MrWells is entering my bedroom, using his phone as a torch, rummaging around in the ensuite. (Honestly it was like a burglar!) When I ask him what he's doing, he says he's gathering his belongings, he can't sleep, he's going home.

Now we'd made plans to do something together Sunday. In this growing relationship, I'd hoped we would get to spend the day together. So, in my confused and very tired state, I'm asking if he's coming back. I help him find other items that he would clearly have behind otherwise - he's a bloke after all - and see him on his way.

I can't sleep straight away, so I put all the sofa bed back etc. In the morning, I've received a message which says he's "home" at 3.43am. I reply, "Hey best text me once you're up."

NEVER GOT A REPLY UNTIL THAT EMAIL OVER 2 WEEKS LATER!

I sent his watch back to him via special delivery when my friends said I should just smash it, or just not bother sending it back until he contacted me. He didn't even thank me!

After knowing how #HeWhoShallNotBeNamed had treated me, confiding in him about the counselling, this is how I am treated! I am soooooo sick of it.

Why me? Why do these fucking arseholes come near me?

I wouldn't mind if they were drop dead gorgeous and fit as fuck, but no, they're average arseholes. And I'm so soft I let them in.

I'm really sorry to say this but the next guy really does have his work cut out to convince me he is worth his salt. Because I am DONE!

I am very happily single.

How To Be A Writer Panel Discussion

It's only the 12th January, and I already have some incredible dates in the diary!*

And this is one of the exciting things happening for me this year! The event is on Thursday 6th February 2020 at 7.30pm.

I'm going to be on a panel with three other wonderful authors discussing how to be a writer. We'll be covering our writing routines, dealing with publishers, getting agents etc.

It is a ticketed event, so, if you live in the Weston-super-Mare area and would like to come along, you need to purchase your ticket here.

If you want to find out more about the four of us, click here.

I'm really looking forward to this night, and it should be a lot of fun! Hope to see you there!

Teresa x 

*(I don't have time to date date - which is a good job, because I'm not even going there right now. That's another blog post!)