Well, it has most definitely been a very up and down year for me so far. I decided to go back to university to retrain as a radiographer, and - much as I love this, and am getting huge amounts of satisfaction from learning new information, and a new skill - I am finding it really hard to establish any kind of balance in my life.
I know those of you that are waiting eagerly for the next Castle Cluny novel, or lets face it anything from me at all, are probably getting more than a bit impatient, but I have found that between keeping up with university, keeping a roof over my head, and staying healthy I don't seem to have much time on my hands! After working from home for 8 years, I am fully out in the real world, and on placement in hospitals too, and so am exposed to a lot more bugs, and my immune system has taken a real battering, I am currently on chest infection number 3 since October, and sound like Muttley from the wacky races!
I was wondering how I managed it all before, the studying, running the business, writing and everything else, and realised that my life goes in definite phases. A friend of mine with bi-polar pointed out that I was just like him before he got diagnosed, and just how much I rely on 'up' periods to get masses of things completed. I did a bit of a reflection on my life and realised how right he was, that everything I achieve is always done in incredible bursts of energy and creativity, and then I spend the rest of the time beating myself up for not being able to maintain that level of achievement, until I hit crashing lows in which I get nothing done at all - and could even appear to be going backwards. A change in my supplement programme seems to have helped to even out my moods - which is great as it seems to mean no crashing lows - but has also taken out the highs which really were my productive patches - I would never have achieved anything in my life if it weren't for these patches really, so I doing it the hard way, and trying to learn to expect myself to be a bit less super-human, but sadly this means it takes much longer to get a book out to you all now.
I am trying to learn to cope, and still make things happen - but it does mean that writing has had take a bit of a back seat to my life - and for that I apologise profusely to any fans out there waiting. I intend to use my summer holiday from Uni to do some really amazing things - so please do keep waiting for me, I will make sure what I put out is worth the wait I promise.
I have Anna and Jim heading in the right direction in the Castle Cluny series, and have an off-the-wall fairy-tale mash-up for you all, and I hope you will love them both, even though they are both very, very different indeed!
xxx
