I have always wanted to write. As far back as my early school years, which are a long time off now, I wrote never-ending essays, often so engrossed in the story that I would still be writing when the deadline arrived, much to my annoyance and my teacher’s amusement.
My first real attempt at producing an actual novel was when my husband and I bought a pub in South Wales. I was standing behind the bar one night, watching the larger than life characters who gave us the pleasure of their presence most evenings, and suddenly felt the urge to write it all down. I sought out pen and paper and didn’t stop writing and typing it up for months. Now, many years later, it still sits in my drawer at home, and I cringe every time I read it. One day, I shall attempt a major re-write and produce something which won’t cause me to be charged with libel!!
After that, life always seemed to get in the way. However, I did manage to fit in a creative writing course when I had to give up work and remain at home to care for my husband who suffered a serious stroke. I loved every minute of the course and built up a good solid amount of work in the shape of several half-finished novels and a four-hour television script.
Life took another expected turn when my husband and I decided to separate and I had to go back to work. Although I had been a secretary and P.A for many years working for two major brewers, a leading Oxford hospital and a Yorkshire stately home, after six years of caring for my husband, I didn’t want to return to an office environment. As we had been lucky enough to be offered respite care, where my husband went to stay with professional carers for a week at a time to give me a break; with the support of Leeds Social Services, I also became a carer, looking after a number of younger people with learning difficulties in my own home for a week at a time. It was a wonderful privilege to be able to give these youngsters regular little holidays and as most were pretty active, we had a great time with cinema trips, shopping trips, swimming, walking, car booting. I loved it so much I did this for ten years.
Then came another major lifestyle change. I have always had a massive love for dogs, having been given my first at six years old. I walked my two, Rocky and Charlie, every day in our local park and became fascinated with the new trend towards professional dog walking. Wanting a new challenge I set up Pampered Pets, and within a short space of time had built a thriving business with a number of people working for me and a huge list of clients. We walked fifty dogs every week, visited cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and even rats in their own homes while their owners were on holiday, home boarded hundreds of dogs and did a spot of housesitting looking after a variety of animals, even pigs, geese, ducks and quite a number of chickens!
However, ten years of working eighteen hours a day, seven days a week, took its toll and coming across another home based business, I pitched in. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me, although I had the pleasure of meeting a whole lot of lovely new people and have the use of some amazing products which really assist my health and those closest to me, including my dogs!
Luckily, I hadn’t given up Pampered Pets, although I had reduced the workload drastically and having reached pensionable age, had the pleasure of walking a few of my favourite dogs every day with my own and while their owners were on holiday, visiting one or two cats whom I have known for years.
So, back to the writing career. A few years ago, I attended an indie workshop for aspiring authors and my passion was re-born. I came home, pulled out all my old manuscripts and haven’t stopped since. Rejection Runs Deep, which has been given two other titles throughout the years, was savagely pulled apart and re-written and re-written again and was published and now has several five star reviews. The follow ups, Delia’s Daughter and Katrina, were presented in the following months and have also had several five star reviews and many lovely comments from my fabulous readers.
Needless to say, Peesdown Park, Panic in Peesdown and Passion in Peesdown, novels in the world of petsitting, have also been published, with the fourth, Poison in Peesdown on its way too.
In October 2020, I moved down to Warminster in Wiltshire after 33 years in Yorkshire. I have now fully retired so can concentrate on my writing when I am not beetling about visiting stately homes and castles and exploring the beautiful local area by foot, finishing Poison in Peesdown and writing the first novel in my new series, for which I am having to do a lot of research. Darnforth commences at the Chateau de Verne in Normandy just as the Germans are invading France in May 1940 and continues on the Darnforth Estate in Wiltshire. Darnforth will be on the same lines as the Canleigh series with tangled lives, misunderstandings, passion, intrigue and scandal, although I don’t think there will be so many deaths!!
A number of other novels, tv scripts and short stories are also in the pipeline, so I envisage writing furiously for many years to come.
So, that’s me. Not a very exciting life but a busy, happy one and now I have the time to indulge myself in one of my real passions, even happier. Lots of authors write because they want and need the money. I do too, of course, but mainly I write because it gives me such tremendous joy. My heart sings with sheer pleasure as I pound the words onto my laptop and I sincerely hope that the end results give you hours of enjoyment too.
Carole Williams