Tessa has been part of the Pop-Up Bookshop since the beginning and has just launched her brand new book.
In the Middle of Somewhere
After years living in big cities…London, Seattle, Tokyo, Zurich……. I finally managed to move to a village in the Kent countryside. Every so often I made notes in my diary about how this experiment in new surroundings was going, the people I was meeting, and the differences in the way of life. But work and family matters meant that it was only many years later that the details of the experience started resurfacing in memory and popping up in my short stories.
I wondered, having self-published a few booklets of themed short stories for family and friends, whether I could make a collection of ‘Village stories’. Friends in my local writing group got used to hearing bits and pieces of the village stories at workshops and encouraged me with their reactions.
Later, I found that characters from one story started wandering about and popping up in other stories in the collection. They were not willing to be confined. Then, one character took over and made a path through the whole lot! It seemed I had somehow arrived at an amusing series of episodes about a couple searching for peace and quiet in rural Kent. But what was to happen to them? And what would the locals make of the newcomers? And who would publish the piece anyway?
I have gone the traditional route, with large established publishers, several times for my professional books. I have gone the hybrid route, and have produced short runs for friends and family…. could I try Kindle Direct Publishing this time? Authors who had used that route said ‘Oh, it’s a matter of ten minutes! Easy!’ But after a year of studying podcasts, watching online seminars, scouring websites, I was too trepidatious to try. Luckily, I bumped into an extremely helpful local author who really knew how to work with this technologically challenging (but enticingly free!) process. The result is out now and thanks to my friend the illustrator Phill Burrows, it has an attractive cover too.
If you fancy a peep, it is available on Amazon kindle and in paperback.
What did you enjoy about writing the book?
The book was fun to write, fun to workshop, fun to edit and proofread. And now, fun to hold in my hands!
I have a website now too that gathers information about the different types of writing I do, all in one place. It's at: www.tessaswriting.co.uk. Come and visit!
Tessa Woodward spent interesting years being a teacher, editor, author and publisher of professional books and articles. She is now enjoying the playful world of fiction writing.
We will have Tessa's books for sale at the next Pop-Up on the 8th April, at The Royal Albion Hotel, Broadstairs.