Half of a year is a milestone and time to look back at my writing year so far. It's important to me to write these blog posts as a reminder of what I've done as I tend to take my skills for granted. And also, if I don't make a song and dance about my achievements, no-one else will. Have trumpet, will blow!
And so, here we go. As well as all of the achievements listed below, each week I write my soap opera Riverside for The People's Friend magazine. I've also regularly written short stories which have been published in women's magazines including The People's Friend and The People's Friend Fiction Special, My Weekly and Take a Break's Fiction Feast.
I also blog daily for the Coronation Street Blog where I edit a team of 16 bloggers and during lockdown have been engaging with fans more than ever. I set up a twice-daily quiz for Corrie fans to join in with at the Coronation Street Blog Twitter @CoroStreetBlog, set up daily Coronation Street A-Z fun posts and Coronation Street By Numbers fun posts for Corrie fans to join in with at the Coronation Street Blog Twitter @CoroStreetBlog, continued to write Coronation Street weekly updates for my mailing list of almost 2,000 Corrie fans and regularly updated my Coronation Street fan website corrie.net.
Also, during lockdown I donated a box of my novels set in Ryhope 1919 to Ryhope St. Paul's church for distribution to those self-isolating and donated a box of my novels to a local NHS hospital ward.
As for writing achievements this year so far, here we go!
Interviewed on the Women's Magazine Writers Blog.
Sharon Marshall, soaps queen at ITV's This Morning, said my novels were 'amazing'
I was featured in The Guardian - Corrie changed my life!
Interviewed on BBC Radio Newcastle about my novel Pearl of Pit Lane.
Full-page feature about my novels in The Northern Echo.
March (before lockdown)
Pearl of Pit Lane was published in paperback on March 7, World Book Day
Visited Ryhope St. Paul's CE School to talk to each class about my novels set in Ryhope. This was March 7, World Book Day. I dressed up as Meg from my debut novel Belle of the Back Streets.
Pearl of Pit Lane book launch at Waterstone's, Sunderland
Pearl of Pit Lane book launch at National Glass Centre, Sunderland
Interviewed on SUN FM radio about my novel Pearl of Pit Lane.
March (after lockdown)
Coronavirus caused all my author events to be cancelled - so this is what I did instead
Was interviewed on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour about my gritty novels set in a northeast coalmining village in 1919. Jane Garvey said I was 'Such a good writer; fantastic' and my novels were 'Real sagas with female characters right at the heart'.
Wrote my 6th novel for Headline, set in the coalmining village of Ryhope, where I was born and bred, and set in 1919
Worked with Ryhope Florists to offer my Ryhope-set novels with their bouquets for Mother's Day, which proved hugely popular.
Reading my novels was listed in my local newspaper The Sunderland Echo as one of the most mackem things to do during lockdown
Featured on the FemaleFirst website with 5 things I want my reader to know and 5 things I don't
Interviewed by The Guardian about writing in lockdown.
Won the Evesham Festival of Words Short Story Award 2020 with my short story The Fan Club Man.
Was featured in my local newspaper The Sunderland Echo in my pinny.
My Weekly magazine celebrated their 110th anniversary and I was given a special mention.
Set up my YouTube channel and, gulp, recorded myself speaking about my books.
Was asked by two local libraries to record online author talks to replace the talks I was due to give this summer.
Had two short stories longlisted, one in the University of Essex prize and one in the Limnisa prize.
Invited to be the featured author on Saturday Book Chat.
And so here's to the next six months and all it may bring!
You might like to take a look back at my year in writing for last year, 2019
And here's a list of all the PRESS AND NEWS items I'm featured in this year. As well as all of the EVENTS I took part in this year too - in real life and online.
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Glenda Young
Author of historical novels with Headline
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor
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