The Writers Bureau memoirs course helped me produce the draft for my first book, The Storm Within the Rose: My Family and Alzheimer’s. My next task was to turn this mass of words into a book people would want to read. With no publishing experience whatsoever I decided to self-publish completing each step of the process myself. It seemed slightly less crazy than trying to convince a publisher or agent that I, an unestablished author, had written a book that would sell.

So l started to create my book which I affectionately nicknamed my homemade tart. The filling was to be a mixture of sadness, humour, nostalgia, information and pictures, poured into a casing of chapters, headings, indented paragraphs, page numbers and front section before topping with an eye-catching book cover. Read the rest of this entry »

I always love the chance to have a good look at someone else’s life – I’m just nosy by nature! If you’re like me, then writing up your family history might be a great project for you to get started on. Not only will you get the chance to investigate other people’s lives, but you’ll also find out a lot more about where you come from. Read the rest of this entry »