Anniversaries and festivals

Normally on the middle Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of August I'd be in work, sorting through the previous year's A level results, interviewing students, enrolling kids on courses, running the clearing process, placating parents and preparing reports.

This year, I'm packing for Edinburgh. I'm at the Book Festival on Thursday at 5pm, then doing a ten-at-ten reading the morning after. Check out the details, and lists of fabulous other events and authors, here.  

It's a hell of a way to mark a change in direction and I'm thrilled to be surviving as a full-time writer thus far. It was a shift that, at times, I didn't think I'd be able to push through; one that was years in the planning. And advice on what to do was hard to come by - not because people weren't willing to kindly offer their thoughts, but because their circumstances were so different from mine. "Ah!" some would say after telling me how they did it. "You're the main breadwinner are you? Oh. That makes it harder." Or, "Oh, and you've got a daughter to look after as well? Right. That makes it different."

Still, it's done now. And I won't be pulling the ladder up behind me - if you're planning something similar and want any advice, just ping me on twitter here or leave a comment below; I'll be happy to share.

And if you're in Edinburgh tomorrow or Friday, come and say hello. Or maybe you're heading to the Wigtown Book Festival in September - see you there! Or you might be on the Isle of Wight in October... hurrah! Me too!

​A happy anniversary indeed.