Flaming Nora

To my first ever awards bash today where I had my best frock on to receive an award. The ceremony was the North East Museum Volunteer Awards 2016 and was held at the Great North Museum Hancock in Newcastle. Unknown to me, I had been nominated for my voluntary work at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens and Monkwearmouth Station Museum.  I work behind the scenes so I'd been nominated for the Hidden Treasure award - and I won it too.  I can't tell you how proud I feel to have won the award, but also, to have been nominated.  I love my volunteering work at the museums and really feel passionate about it too. I do it because I love it a lot. Volunteering with Sunderland museums one of the most satisfying and rewarding things I have ever done in my life. To have that passion rewarded with this nomination - and to actually win the award - feels amazing. Absolutely fantastic. I am celebrating with tea and cake and I might just have a little beer later, too. Se...

I've been writing Coronation Street weekly updates since 1995 and this week's Coronation Street update has just gone live here . This week in Corrie, Gail and Eileen called a truce. Find out more about my books. Click on the image below : I'm on twitter @flaming_nora

I've been writing Coronation Street weekly updates since 1995 and this week's Coronation Street update has just gone live here . This week in Corrie, Tim dug himself into a hole. Find out more about my books. Click on the image below : I'm on twitter @flaming_nora

  I'm not just in, but also on the cover of, this week's People's Friend magazine.  There's an interview with me about being asked to write the magazine's first ever soap opera, Riverside...    And I have a short story in there too, all about a very special pair of shoes. It's in the shops today. Find out more about my books. Click on the image below : I'm on twitter @flaming_nora

This lovely little book has just arrived in the post today. It's my book of heartwarming, family stories, as previously published in The People's Friend magazine.  I'm particularly chuffed about the cover of the book as it's a photo I took of some of the sea glass I've collected over the last few years. The Sea Glass Collector and other short stories is available here in paperback and for Kindle. Find out more about my books. Click on the image below : I'm on twitter @flaming_nora

I've been writing Coronation Street weekly updates since 1995 and this week's Coronation Street update has just gone live here . This week in Corrie, Pat Phelan proved phenomenal Find out more about my books. Click on the image below : I'm on twitter @flaming_nora

I've been writing Coronation Street weekly updates since 1995 and this week's Coronation Street update has just gone live here . This week in Corrie, the soap sterotype Mad Woman reappeared. Find out more about my books. Click on the image below : I'm on twitter @flaming_nora

I'm very proud to announce that a collection of my short stories is now available in one smashing little book. The Sea Glass Collector and other short stories is a collection of heartwarming, family stories originally published in The People's Friend magazine. Available in paperback and for Kindle here. Find out more about my books. Click on the image below : I'm on twitter @flaming_nora

I've been writing Coronation Street weekly updates since 1995 and this week's Coronation Street update has just gone live here . This week in Corrie, Gail got proposed to - again. Find out more about my books. Click on the image below : I'm on twitter @flaming_nora

Sunderland Literature and Creative Writing Festival 2016 drew to a close last night. I'm going to miss it, a lot. This year is the first that there's been a Creative Writing side to the Sunderland Literature festival and I made the most of every single event that I could.  These were as follows: I met and chatted to local author Amanda Revell-Walton. Under the name Nancy Revell she's been given a six book deal to write about women who worked in the Sunderland shipyards during WW2. I bought her book, which she was there to talk about and we had a long chat about the soap I'm writing for The People's Friend magazine. Another local author and singer-songwriter Celia Bryce held a creative writing session . There were only three of us who turned up for this, so it was very intense, personal and we all learned a great deal.  I was really chuffed when Celia told me my writing had a poetic quality afer I read out a piece I'd written in the session. I walked ...

Everything I know about writing flash fiction I have learned from one person, a lovely woman called Dr Sarah Dobbs. She's a lecturer in creative writing at Sunderland University and is a published writer.  Sarah is launching a new writing project called Seagull City. The Seagull City project is part of events for the Sunderland City of Culture 2021 bid. It takes people on a journey, literally and metaphorically, exploring the literary and cultural heritage of Sunderland. The launch takes place inside the Elephant Tea Rooms in Sunderland on Friday 4 November and all details are here. And the reason I'm blogging this is because Sarah has asked to read out my flash fiction story, called The Seagull, at the event. It's a piece I wrote at Sarah's session on flash fiction, which was part of the Sunderland Literature and Creative Writing Festival 2016. I couldn't be more chuffed. Find out more about my books. Click on the image below : I'm on twitter @fl...