Welcome

I have to thank my audience for all their love, support and well-wishes. I also extend my gratitude to those who have taken a few moments of their day to contact me. To old and new friends, and friends I’ve yet to meet, your appreciation is always a surprise and a pleasure.

Time time ago I was asked a question — to explain why I write. I replied that there’s a simple answer to why writers write: because they have to. To some, it is simply like breathing. Deep down, I’ve never wanted to do anything else, but as well as an art form it is a process whereby you are constantly learning, improving, and ever seeking out new challenges.

Most of us write at some stage in our lives — whether it is the day-to-day record in a diary, a carefree note to a friend, or even a necessary but unhappy letter of condolence or complaint. I believe the ability to read and write are our most basic and necessary skills. Reading and writing opens a door of discovery, access to knowledge, an ability to express ourselves, to communicate and educate. The purpose of storytelling is not solely one of entertainment, though pardon me for shocking anyone if I say I want to do that too! I grew up reading horror. I admit I was reading books for age-groups long before I should have done so, but I’m grateful for it. Whenever the world around me let me down in an odd way those books kept me sane. They were pure escapism and, at heart, I will always wish to be one of those who understands the value, the simple pleasure in writing, reading, or hearing a story.

I think some stories can be life-altering but I see nothing wrong with just being entertained. Life can be wonderful; for all of us it can be hard. It can be miserable at times. It can be dull at best. Stories have never failed me. Ideas, opinions, glimpses into another way of life — all these things and more can be expressed in even the most simple or the most outrageous of stories. Many writers have been visionaries.

Sharon x