SUBSCRIBER SPOTLIGHT
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Share your writing success stories. If you subscribe to Writing Magazine and would like to feature here, email Tina Jackson, tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk
Stories find shapes
‘I have been writing for as long as I can remember,’ writes subscriber Karen Ankers.
‘I always enjoyed playing with words. At the age of seventeen, I joined the Chester Poets. These were the first people to take my scribblings seriously, and I probably wouldn’t be writing today if it wasn’t for their early support. Publication in several of their anthologies encouraged me to send more work out, and I had poems published here and there in the ensuing years.
‘It wasn’t until my three children grew up and left home that I decided it was time to take my writing more seriously. After spending some time acting in a local repertory company, I tried my hand at writing plays. Eight of my one-act plays have now been published by Lazy Bee Scripts and have been performed in the UK, USA, Australia and Malaysia. Last year I brought out my first poetry collection, One Word At A Time, which is described by poet/ performer Laura Taylor as “a collection that shines with honesty and integrity”.
This year sees the publication of my first novel, The Crossing Place, by Stepping Stones Publishing. It is a darkedged contemporary love story, set in Chester, in which a desperate decision made by a young homeless couple has farreaching consequences.
‘I host a monthly open mic event at my local arts centre and enjoy reading at various spoken word events. I still write poetry, which is regularly published in online and print magazines, and was very proud to have a short story included in Stories For Homes 2, from which all proceeds go to Shelter. Ideas are now coming together for my second novel, which will be set in Anglesey, where I now live, and I intend to write at least one more play this year. I used to imagine that I might settle down to writing in just one discipline, but I don’t think that will ever happen. I am a storyteller, and stories find their own shape, whether that is as a novel, story, poem or play. As long as I can carry on playing with words, I will be happy. If other people enjoy reading them, that is a real bonus.