Today I’m welcoming Mel Sherratt onto my blog, in a post with the very perfect title - ‘Strong Women’. Over to you Mel…
People tell me I’m strong for never giving up my dream of a book deal, for facing rejection and getting on with it. For picking myself up and starting again, time after time, book after book. I suppose if you look at it like that, I am strong. But behind me is the person who makes me feel strong – my friend, Alison.
I met Alison, erm, some twenty years ago when we were both in our early twenties, (well, she was!) at our local college. We’d both enrolled on an evening class to study Business Studies A level. I was waiting in the queue to go in to the room when a flustered Alison came hurtling up the corridor. She happened to ask me if she was in the right place and we chatted for a few moments while we waited for the tutor to arrive and that was it. One friendship formed over an A Level and many cups of hot chocolate from a vending machine.
Over the next few years we went through everything together. She was always there for me - through my divorce, my heartache over my writing career (this time next year, you’ll have a book in the shops) my recent illness, and my general ups and downs. She’s ready for a hug when I need it. She’s ready to tell me to stop moaning and just get on with it if I need it too. And she gives me strength as well as encouragement. She’s always believed in me – through each year that’s gone on and my dream has passed me by again.
Just lately, though, she’s been there to celebrate my success and that has meant everything to me. You see, no-one understands me like she does. No-one will ever be as proud as she is of me. I love her to bits.
My new book, ‘Somewhere to Hide’, is predominantly about strong women characters. They don’t think they are tough but their lives dictate that they have to be. It’s the first in a new series, ‘THE ESTATE’, and each book will have a different main female character that pops up somewhere in the preceding book. This time, instead of a police procedural, it’s an emotional thriller, more about the fear and affects of crime. ‘Somewhere to Hide’ is about a halfway house for women in jeopardy, run by Cathy Mason. She can pack a mean punch when threatened but has a secret in her past that comes back to haunt her, not only putting her life in danger but also the women that she should be looking after.
I think everyone should have an Alison in their life – what about you? Who is your strong woman?
About the author: Ever since she can remember, Mel Sherratt has been a meddler of words. Right from those early childhood scribbles when she won her first and only writing competition at the age of 12, she was rarely without a pen in her hand or her nose in a book. Born and raised in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, Mel used her beloved city as a backdrop for her first novel, Taunting the Dead, and it went on to be a Kindle #1 best seller in three different categories.
Mel’s new series, The Estate, is set in the fictional place of Stockleigh because she wanted to create a sense of place on the estate itself. She also believes that the Mitchell Estate can be found a few miles from anywhere in any town or city…
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
My ‘writing’ Alison is my ffriend Juliet Archer - she’s guesting on my blog on Monday. We’ve shared ups and downs of rejection and publication, like you. We’ve seen our children grow into young adults. For me, there’s no one who understands where you are coming from better than another writer! Love her to bits!
My strong writing woman is you, Caroline Smailes, aka Dolly. My dear friend and writing mentor
xx
How has the journey been, from “nearly woman” to strong woman?
Ha, Captain, I think unless I get a book deal, I’ll always think of myself as a nearly woman. It’s always been my dream and I’m sure it always will be. But getting recognition, and readers, is a good feeling too!