I first started writing seriously after a traumatic event in my life in 2008 which severely affected my health and mental well-being. During the sleepless hours I would write poetry, something I had done in my teens. I also kept a journal which became my hiding place from the world. I recorded my daily activities and feelings but it grew into something much more. It was an outlet – more an outburst of pent up creativity and imagination I forgot I had. Therefore more notebooks were acquired and I unleashed the beast that is my imagination for everyone else to share.

Besides the ones I remember writing as a child, the first story I wrote and published was called, “Where there is light, there is understanding.” I am a spiritual being and wanted to share my insights and idea’s accumulated from many a sleepless night, reading about all things esoterical. I introduced these new ways of thinking into my writing. This particular story was about Mother’s love, the most unconditional love I believe there is, comes from a parent for its offspring. But not all mother’s or father’s feel this way initially due to circumstances of life and the experiences we go through that lead us to this point. It is the end of our own childhood and the beginning of understanding what life is all about beyond our selfish wants and needs. I wanted to show that love is available to all if only you struggle through and conquer the emotional or physical hurt you have suffered. Everyone can get there with effort and understanding, and there is nothing more satisfying or completing as the look of love between a parent and their child. I have three wonderful girls and now a granddaughter, and as single parent myself, they are my world and reason for living on through all my nightmares and physical trauma’s. This is what I portrayed in this short story.

As my daughter’s, their partner’s and children now live with me in this multigenerational home, my desk has been moved into my bedroom. It is in front of the window, where I can see down our garden and a few other’s (I live in a terraced house) and I can hear and see my family going on about their business. I can listen to the sounds of nature and a new school nosily being built over the road. My desk is big and spacious as I like to spread out, especially when researching a new book or idea. Obviously there is my computer screen on the desk, a keyboard has its own shelf and the CPU sits on the floor. There is a printer which is always running out of black ink and then there is my multitude of A5 notebooks, full of half written stories and poems, and ideas for books not yet fully realised. Of course there is a calendar to record publishing targets; competition dates which I sometimes enter, and the usual family commitments, plus my many DR appointments and hospital visits. Without it I would be in a right mess! Then there is my collection of Elephants, my favourite animal on land, (dolphins in water) and I have too many to count and they come in all shapes, sizes and material. I also have a collection of crystals to keep up my energies and mini Buddha’s to keep up my spirit. There are plenty of photos of all my family to remind me I am not alone and that I am loved. Then there’s the book’s I will not throw away, paperbacks, hardbacks, reference and fiction. I read on my kindle nowadays as it is easier and less painful, but I refuse to get rid of my books and my dream that one day my books will be printed and amongst my collection.

The greatest joy of writing for me is the satisfaction of what I created is being read by someone who does not know me and they liked my work enough to ask for more! As I am a new author and only published in the virtual world, i.e. e-books, I want my work read, not sat collecting dust on the virtual library shelf. Therefore I offer all my work for free initially and then charge just the minimum in hope that I will reach the largest audience possible. It is not about the money for me, or fame, I just want acceptance as an author and hopefully the enjoyment of my readers.
I have designed my own website where I publish my work before distributing it to other sites, the main one being Smashwords. There are other poems and stories which can only be read on my site. (www.stephanie-fletcher.co.uk.) I do not particularly like the marketing side of writing, promoting yourself out there in the real world. It goes against my nature and is hampered by my illness which makes me unreliable. Before 2008 and my traumatic event I was an extrovert, an A-type control freak. Nowadays I am a cuddly sheep who holes up in her bedroom where it is safe, and writes about anything and everything, but has withdrawn from the violent world we now exist in.

Most of my time is spent with my immediate family, when I am well enough. I need this important contact in my life to keep me grounded and not be swallowed up with guilt and regret. It is where I get ideas and therefore keep a notebook to hand to record snippets, and a voice recorder for those night-time ideas. Being disabled with a debilitating, degenerative condition confides me to my house and bed so I have plenty of time to ‘be in my head’ to mull over those ideas before putting them to paper. I watch TV to keep myself ‘current’ and aware of what is going on in the outside world, where I am just an observer. I play memory games on my kindle or pc to exercise my brain, and of course I read! I used to love my crafts, knitting, sewing, crochet but I have carpal tunnel in both wrists’ which is severe and I am awaiting an operation to alleviate it. I am hoping I will get most of my function back, as even holding a pen or typing can be very painful and sometimes impossible. I used to play guitar and sing for my recreation and now too that has gone. Playing with my granddaughter is my favourite time of day now.