It’s been nose to the grindstone recently so it was good to get out of the Fairy Glen Writing Cave and spend time with my tribe.

The Bournemouth Writing Festival is a huge event and gaining in popularity with each year it’s on. People travel from all parts of the world to attend. Luckily, my pal Suzy Bussell and I only had to hop over the county border.

It’s a full-on weekend with all sorts of workshops and events and networking opportunities available. I went to three talks, one of which was dry but useful, a second very entertaining one and a third which was a little esoteric for me. Sophie Beal and Gary Dalkin’s session was the highlight.

Can’t say it was the friendliest event I’ve ever attended. When I asked the chap who plonked himself next to me what he wrote, I received the succinct but vague reply, ‘Fiction.’ And that was that. I’m a chatty sort, I love to talk and felt very rebuffed. Luckily, the woman sitting on my other side was far nicer. 

TOP TIP: if you’re attending a writing event, have a ready answer for the question, ‘What do you write?’ Along with an elevator pitch (a pithy summary of your book). You never know who you’re talking to. I’m not an editor or agent but I could have been! 

I haven’t been to Bournemouth since I was a tiny child and my initial impression was how lovely it was. Vestiges of the elegant seaside resort remain but it definitely has an edge too, as if things could kick off at any moment. I’ve obviously lived in a tiny seaside town for too long, it felt very ‘big city!’

The final talk of my day was in St Peter’s Church. A truly magnificent building where Mary Shelley is buried. Sadly, I didn’t feel comfortable exploring the graveyard to find her actual tomb due to the groups of men drinking. 

Despite some of the negatives, I had a good time, found some things useful and found lovely people like Alice May and Nikki Moore to talk to. 

Alice launched her new book at the festival and it’s storming the charts. Looks good, doesn’t it?

A big thank you to Suzy who drove. Check out her new cozy crime series. It has a fabulous premise and is great fun. I’ve read the first two and loved them.

(Also, thank you to the kind bloke on the venue info desk who took pity on me when I found both pens I’d taken with me didn’t work and loaned me one).

If everything pans out this year I could have three books published. Will tell you more when I can. I’ve just been given a sneaky look at the cover of my witchy book, coming out with Bloodhound in September, and it’s GORGEOUS! Can’t wait to show you.

Love,

Georgia x