As a teacher, I loved nothing more than inspiring my students to write. The classroom became a cauldron bubbling with ideas until the children could no longer contain their enthusiasm and had to put pen to paper. The rewards were far-reaching: children who wanted to write and to read what others had written, children who loved experimenting with words. We made books of all they wrote and displayed them on a long shelf at the back of the room. They were authors.
I was once one of those children. I still am... on the inside.
When I gave up my teaching career it was because I wanted to write. I didn't want to write to a formula, emulating the fantasy and vampire genres that were flying off the shelves. There was a glut of those. Instead, I wanted to write about what I liked to read and what I knew the children I taught enjoyed reading - intricate plots, mystery, adventure.
To date, I have written eight children's novels and one children's poetry collection, all of which are available on Kindle. Click on the 'Look inside' feature and check out the reviews to see if you like the look of them.
I have also produced an anthology of humorous adult poetry and hundreds of short stories for adults from which I have compiled two very different collections, all of which are also listed on Amazon. I am currently working on my first adult thriller and have many more ideas on the back-burner!
I have been shortlisted fourteen times in national writing competitions and won first prize in a poetry competition as well as winning online writing contests. Four pieces of my work have recently been included in the One Word Anthology by Talkback Writers.
I hope you enjoy what you read. I certainly enjoyed the writing of it.
You can find me on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Helen-Laycock-Author/263598357033724
You can follow me on Twitter:
@helen_laycock
