Quantum
HEALTH
M
y journey to reach that
point had been challenging,
rich and interesting. Intertwined with my development as an author there have been a number of extraordinary experiences as a spiritual healer, which led me to give workshops, to travel the world, to meet hundreds of people with interesting problems which fed the content of my books. Very neat. My own personal “awakening” occurred fi fteen years ago in Malaysia where my husband had been posted and
I lived the privileged life of an ex-pat wife. I had a gardener, cook, cleaner and driver leaving me free to develop some latent talents and unfulfi lled dreams. Up to that point my life had been a crush of computer sales, teaching, small business development, housekeeper and surrogate mother for two teenagers and wife. Not unusual for a would-be superwomen of Maggie Thatcher’s Britain. So to have unlimited time to do my own thing was a luxury. WASP work ethics can never be denied so I spent my days developing and editing the Expat Magazine, fundraising, running PC workshops and oil painting. For balance I played at organising dinners, games evenings and parties. What a life! I then had an extraordinary
I didn’t have a clue how to take my dream into a reality, so discussed my plans with anyone who had experience of publishing and gathered some useful advice. I discovered there are a number of steps to follow, these are:
• Produce a synopsis, with an overview of each chapter, including anecdotes or case studies or, if a novel, the characters, their back story, and the plot.
• Write the fi rst chapter or two. This will give agents and publishers an idea of your writing style.
46 Quantum Health
experience, defi nitely life changing. I was relaxing on my bed one afternoon when I heard a voice, loud and clear, telling me to start healing. I sat up in shock and replied “how?” I was told to speak to Sal, “Miss Piggie” the restaurant reviewer of our magazine. I saw her the next day and she handed me a pile of books by Betty Shine a well- known medium and healer and I was off and away.
Over the next few months I discovered an entirely new dimension of life as I practised my new art on friends and family and as my understanding grew I began to teach and share many of my amazing experiences. I became totally engrossed in my new work and gave up all other pastimes. I had a number of visions and dreams around that time and one night I dreamt I was in a bookshop standing before a huge pile of books – all mine! The next morning I woke up passionate to write my fi rst book.
The toughest call for an author is the discipline of writing. There are thousands of half written novels waiting for the energy and determination to be fi nished. Once I have a deadline agreed with my publisher I mark out weeks in my diary that I keep exclusively for writing, I then set myself up somewhere without a phone and work to a schedule. I determine how many words I will write each day and I don’t start to play until they are written. It can feel like a long haul but just when you think you will never reach the end, it’s
• Give details of:
• your market, for me this has been Mind Body and Spirit and Self Development,
• the number of words you estimate to write, MBS market is about 60,000, for a novel more likely 80,000 plus,
• your deadline for fi nishing your fi rst draft,
• the selling points or plot overview; over 50% of bookstore browsers choose a book from the plot synopsis.
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