I love this story: I’ve just finished reading The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd whose first novel was the mega bestseller The Secret Life of Bees. She almost didn’t write her debut novel. The fact that the book was written is down to one tiny bee (a real life one). Sue Monk Kidd was… Continue reading The bestselling novel that almost didn’t get written
I spent most of today at work researching quotes about nature for a book about the great outdoors. Copyright rules state that you can only quote from a source who has been dead for 70+ years. So I found myself in the strange position of finding a great quote and then looking up the author… Continue reading What I learned today: we only get one shot at this
Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat Pray Love) recently posted this photo of herself on facebook. What’s remarkable about this photo is that it is distinctly unremarkable. Yet this is her living her dream. She says: “This photo captures exactly what I did for three straight years. I sat in a chair, reading books about botany,… Continue reading Don’t live somebody else’s dream
I have finished the edits! At first, it was like pulling teeth. I spent weeks working round the clock on the manuscript and, after a two week break, my brain was in no mood to play. But I gritted my teeth and before I knew it, the edits were done. Luckily, there were no major… Continue reading Writing a Book (Part 6): Setting new intentions… with the help of some spine-tingly good quotes
Wow. I actually did it. I have finished the book and emailed it to the publishers! I am in shock. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. Ten- and fifteen-hour days 7 days a week have kind of taken their toll. I emailed the book at 11am last Wednesday. I wish I could say I… Continue reading Writing a Book (Part 4): I DID IT!!!
Read. Digest. And selloptape to your forehead: "Don't just chase your dreams. Stalk them. Hide in the bushes and ambush them. Follow them around town. Make it so your dreams are seriously considering a restraining order against you. They will surrender with joy once they know you really mean it." ~ Maggy Whitehouse
On this day last year my dad lost his fight with cancer. After weeks of feeling numb, I vowed that I would dedicate 2013 to ‘turning my life around’ in honour of dad (I desperately wanted something good to come out of something so bad). Today I am checking in as promised, to see what… Continue reading One year on…
Dream 1 = moving to the coast. And there’s now ONE WEEK to go to Moving Day! I can’t believe it’s actually happening. But it must be because I am frantically packing and throwing stuff out (did I mention the new place is half the size of where I am now?). Yesterday I signed and read… Continue reading One week to go to the fulfilment of Dream 1…
A few weeks ago I interviewed Julian Ranger for my Spark Stories project. Julian is an entrepreneur who sold his company for £19 million and could have retired to a life of leisure but instead opted to continue doing what he loves (namely, “doing my own thing” and building businesses). You may be wondering whether… Continue reading An entrepreneur’s top 5 tips for success
Why do we do it to ourselves? We have an idea for a book we want to write; a business we want to set up; or a product we want to create…and we feel an urge to ask someone what they think. So who do we turn to? Someone who has actually written a book,… Continue reading Never ask these people for their opinion (unless your goal is to feel utterly demoralised)
Katherine Bassford 