Thursday 25 August 2011

Barely a Blogger

I have to say, I'm rubbish at this blogging lark.  I have been so busy over the last year that I now face my 31st birthday thinking, "how did that happen?"

I've finally moved to Manchester but I'm still working in Garstang.  The daily commute is a grind and I can't tell you how much I spend on petrol because it makes me want to cry.  It's also preventing me from saving any money towards the proof-reading course I'm desperate to do.

I seem to have developed a knack for editing stories and various texts for people.  A skill I developed while at university.  Recently I have been able to put my skills into practice once more for my good friend Kerry Wilkinson and his debut novel Locked In (available online via iTunes and Amazon).  He's had some good press about this and now I find myself writing reviews for it (again see Amazon and iTunes and of course, www.lancashirewritinghub.co.uk).  The second book has been released in digital format this week, Vigilante (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005IY5X3C), so another review is to be composed by yours truely.  It's an absolute honour to review and proof-read a friend's book although like anyone else in my situation, you do fill with dread at the prospect of the book being awful.  How on earth do you tell a friend it's rubbish?  Thankfully, it's bloody good!  Both are.

I think my current job as an Admin Assistant is fine for paying the bills but proof-reading is where my heart is.  I need to qualify so I can start freelance proof-reading.  If the work is plentiful, I'd be able to quit the 9-5.  But alas, I have no spare cash to save up for the course I want to do while spending a fortune getting to Garstang everyday.  A circle I need to break out of but it's easier said than done.  Proof-reading career is on hold.  I'll crack on with my novel instead...