(Creative) Writing Has Been My Salvation

I got some stick for admitting that – it was an unconventional dream, after-all. In the years since, my life has been turned upside down by episodes of mania, depression and psychosis, but I never let go of my dream. I didn’t expect it to come true – but I held on tight to it all the same. I carried on writing through it all – I can’t help but think that it was the writing that kept me afloat when I was in danger of sinking – and now, after years of writing, editing and re-writing, my dream has actually come true.

The e-book of my novel, The Fire in Your Eyes, went ‘live’ on the Chipmunka Publishing website on the 18th March. The paperback will follow in 6-9 months. If I’m honest, I never actually thought I’d ever see my name in print. It was a dream, that’s all. For the most part, I’ve written for myself, not really with an audience in mind. It’s true that writing is a cathartic process. Whilst The Fire in Your Eyes is a work of fiction, it’s fair to say that I would never have been able to write it without my own bipolar experiences. I’ve written through episodes of mania and depression; writing has given me purpose and direction, and allowed me to express myself through my characters in ways I probably couldn’t have expressed myself otherwise. It’s given me a means of coping with the extremes of mood that have often turned my life into an upward struggle. I couldn’t imagine what my life would have been like if I didn’t have my writing to keep me afloat. It’s not the answer for everyone, but writing – any kind of writing, even keeping a journal or a diary – certainly has its benefits.

I keep on writing. When one novel is finished, I start on the next. I’m currently working on the sequel to The Fire in Your Eyes, which I hope to have published, too, when it’s finished.  

The Fire in Your Eyes is available to download from Chipmunka Publishing: http://chipmunkapublishing.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1315