Kathryn Ledson
I asked my 8yo great-nephew if he thought I still looked like this. "No way!" he said. I asked him why. "You look much older now."
I asked him if I should put more recent photos on my website so people will recognise me at an event. "Definitely not," he said.
Photo credit all pics: the fabulous Meredith Fuller
I asked him if I should put more recent photos on my website so people will recognise me at an event. "Definitely not," he said.
Photo credit all pics: the fabulous Meredith Fuller
So. For more than 25 years, I was a PA – honestly, I didn’t like it. I worked with some lovely people, don’t get me wrong. But the work? I was no good at it. I always felt like I was wearing a costume or mask, pretending to be someone I wasn’t. So when a fortuitous event occurred in 2005 (being “retrenched” to make room for a company “restructure” - love corporate lingo, don't you?) I leapt on the opportunity to make a change. At the time, I had no idea how huge that change would be, and what it would lead to.
I returned to study. It felt like I was coming home. I took to it like the proverbial duck, and emerged a couple of years later with a Diploma in Professional Writing and Editing. Of course I chose all non-fiction subjects – corporate writing, journalism, editing 1&2, photography for writers whose heart’s desire is to photograph annual reports – to cater for my plans to return to the corporate world as a writer (and photographer) of sexy executive summaries. What I hadn’t allowed for was this persistent voice in my ear; a voice that identified itself as Erica Jewell, and who insisted I give her a life. She wouldn’t leave me alone until I did, she said.
Much to my husband’s distress, I rejected job offers and focused on my new mission.
“But you don’t know how to write a novel,” he complained. “Because you didn’t take novel writing classes.”
“It can’t be that hard,” I retaliated.
“Can’t you get a real job?”
“Ssh, Erica is talking to me.”
Er, well, fast forward a couple of years, during which I acquired enough novel-writing knowledge to start my own school, Erica was born. And here we are, a million years later, with three whole Erica books out there, living the life, having a hoot of a time. I AM writing another one, but these things take time. There are many other important things to do. That washing on the line, for example, the vacuuming and shopping, cups of tea and those tempting biscuits. Procrastination is exhausting.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy Erica’s adventures, and my lovely new website. Drop me a line if you want, via the Contact page, or you can subscribe below to my newsletter (what news?). Meantime, here's my dog. Isn't she CUTE?
I returned to study. It felt like I was coming home. I took to it like the proverbial duck, and emerged a couple of years later with a Diploma in Professional Writing and Editing. Of course I chose all non-fiction subjects – corporate writing, journalism, editing 1&2, photography for writers whose heart’s desire is to photograph annual reports – to cater for my plans to return to the corporate world as a writer (and photographer) of sexy executive summaries. What I hadn’t allowed for was this persistent voice in my ear; a voice that identified itself as Erica Jewell, and who insisted I give her a life. She wouldn’t leave me alone until I did, she said.
Much to my husband’s distress, I rejected job offers and focused on my new mission.
“But you don’t know how to write a novel,” he complained. “Because you didn’t take novel writing classes.”
“It can’t be that hard,” I retaliated.
“Can’t you get a real job?”
“Ssh, Erica is talking to me.”
Er, well, fast forward a couple of years, during which I acquired enough novel-writing knowledge to start my own school, Erica was born. And here we are, a million years later, with three whole Erica books out there, living the life, having a hoot of a time. I AM writing another one, but these things take time. There are many other important things to do. That washing on the line, for example, the vacuuming and shopping, cups of tea and those tempting biscuits. Procrastination is exhausting.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy Erica’s adventures, and my lovely new website. Drop me a line if you want, via the Contact page, or you can subscribe below to my newsletter (what news?). Meantime, here's my dog. Isn't she CUTE?