In the past three years, my love of books has turned into something you could only really describe as an obsession. I have discovered all of my favourite authors in these years, and learned to explore a variety of different genres rather than just sticking to my favourites (mostly fantasy and science-fiction). After I finished my A-levels, I took a gap year - I wanted to be able to take some time out to really consider what my next move should be and to make sure that I was making the correct decisions. During this gap year I applied several times over for a job at Waterstone's, and after a couple of failed applications and one failed interview, I finally got my job as a Bookseller at the Sutton Coldfield branch (although, I consider myself lucky as the first interview was for a Christmas temp. position - they obviously wanted to give me a job when they'd be able to keep me!). Before I got my job at Waterstone's, I didn't think it was possible to enjoy a part-time job in retail (or many jobs at all for that matter), but I was soon proven wrong - I love my job.
Starting at Waterstone's was possibly a further catalyst in setting off my great obsession with the written word - having that glorious discount on books has not been kind to my bookshelves, which are now
I also used my gap year to take the chance of joining a book club. Before I started working at Waterstone's, I joined the reading group that one of my colleagues runs once a month, and although I was the youngest in the group by many years (I shall be kind and not guess at just how many), I found that this didn't particularly matter any more - age wasn't a factor that really came into the group when we were discussing something that all of us were passionate about, and I definitely learned a lot from various members of the group. The group gave me a greater appreciation of different genres of fiction and even got me reading a couple of non-fiction titles (something I'm still not very good at choosing to read without prompting). It was an extremely valuable experience.
So, I started my degree course back in September 2010, and I couldn't be happier with the decision I made to study at BCU. When I started the course, I was worried that because of my year out of education, my writing skills would have stumbled a little, and that I may find it difficult to get back into the flow of education. This was an unfounded concern though - the tutors were particularly helpful when introducing us to the course, offering extra guidance and easing us in gently, rather than throwing us all in at the deep end, so there was nothing particularly overwhelming about it.
Although reading is a large part of my life, it's obviously not the only thing that I'm interested in. I also enjoy music (I'd say that Paramore is probably my favourite band - if you don't know of them, you need to check them out!), and I try to see artists/bands live as much as I can, as well as seeing comedy gigs. I also really enjoy going to the theatre. In the last year or so I've seen a number of particularly fantastic productions, including The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekov (which starred Josie Lawrence, so it was a truly wonderful experience), The Author by Tim Crouch (possibly one of the more disturbing stage productions I've ever seen), The Secret Garden (a musical Christmas production at the Birmingham REP last year), and The Years Between by Daphne Du Maurier, among others. To me, theatre is a much more exciting experience than going to see any film at the cinema - it's much more real and the audience is much more involved. One play I've never been able to see performed, and I'm desperate to see, is Oscar Wilde's A Woman of No Importance - I'm determined that I will see this on stage one day!
Another of my passions is baking, but unlike reading, this is one I have to restrain from giving in to too often - I'd be huge if I baked as much as I want to! My favourite thing to bake is cakes - I'm much better at baking cakes than biscuits - plus, I get to pile them with buttercream, which is never a bad thing in my opinion! My favourite baking recipe book is Baking Magic - the recipes are really easy to follow, and more importantly, they're delicious!
This was still a struggle for me when I set up Pen to Paper, but as I've continued to blog, I've been determined to write a review of some sort for every book I read, and this has helped my reviews to become much more fluent and easier to write. Practice makes perfect.
The blog has developed and moved on to great things in such a short amount of time that I'm not entirely sure how I managed it. I now have over 1200 followers through google friend connect, run giveaways (some paid for myself, and others through blog tours and publihsers), and I've even managed to start getting interviews with some larger, more popular authors - my favourite of whom so far has been Gail Carriger, who is the New York Times bestselling author of the Parasol Protectorate Series - click here to read my interview with her.
My reasons for starting a book blog are simple, and there are only two of them. First of all, I have a compulsive need to write. If I'm not typing something at the computer, or writing little bits and pieces of fiction (or ideas for fiction), then I feel a sudden urge to write a list, or silly little notes - at least I'm writing something.
My second reason for starting my blog, was to get the attention of some publishers. I realise that I am not going to become too well-known to them, but I wanted someone from each publishing house to know who I am and to recognise the passion that I have for the written word. When I graduate, I'm hoping to work for a publishing company (although I'm still undecided about which job in publishing I would like to do), so I'm doing everything I can to show them that I can stand out from the crowd and that this is something I am seriously passionate about. I've become fairly successful in this recently. I am now in contact with six different publishers, who I am working with to promote various titles - they send me books, and I read and review them - it's the perfect relationship!
My work on Pen to Paper is, incidentally, one of the reasons that I am now running this blog - although I will reiterate that I am always looking for others to contribute - so get in touch!
So, for fear of seeming too boring, I shall leave this section here. If there is anything more you'd like to know about me, feel free to send me an email to the address found on the Contact me page on this blog.
