Last week I went to a monthly writers event held by Novel Nights in Bristol with my friend Tina. Great evening spent with lovely writers and listening to readings and hearing from three guest speakers about their different experiences with getting published and marketing their books and of course marketing themselves.

With Ordering Flynn Matthews due out in June it’s the latter that makes me feel uneasy. I’m not sure there’s really much about me that people will find interesting. Went to school, college, got a job, went back to college to train to be an OT, got a job, got married, got a dog, had two children etc. I’ve loved every minute but not sure any of it makes me marketable or remarkable!

It got me thinking hard. Surely there’s something remarkable about me? Then a couple of nights ago round the dinner table the one talent (weird though it is) was brought up… drum roll please… I look the part if I wear the gear, like I could do the job, be a professional.

I can’t swim very well. I attempted to resolve this in my twenties by going to classes. It was a small pool and the water only came up to my waist. Compared to everyone else I was a mermaid. Yes there were worse swimmers than me! And I had this navy blue swimming costume with go faster stripes and more than once people thought I was a member of the medal winning swimming team who used the main pool. In my costume I looked like I could have swam for Olympic gold. You want pictorial evidence? Sorry there isn’t a pic of me in my swimming costume, plenty of me in bikinis – nope I don’t look like a model! My talent doesn’t always work, vertically challenged sadly!

However I did do some modelling (it’s who you know!) for a Horse Riding magazine – jodhpurs, riding jacket, boots and crop, add the horse and I looked like a professional show jumper. I do have photos just not sure where they are though…shame!

Every August bank holiday we meet up with family in Wales for what we call the FlanFamClanShazzam. Approximately 14 of us in a bunk house for a weekend of activities including canoeing (count me out, can’t swim very well – see above), horse riding – did that spent rest of weekend sitting on a pillow…ouch! Last year we went paintballing – oh my that was fun, I was useless…army fatigues three sizes too big – check, very heavy gun – check, 100 paint balls – check, arms weak no muscles – check, ability to hit moving target – no check, ability to run, crawl, avoid being hit – no check. Photograph of me looking like paintballing ninja expert – check! See below:

Not sure any of that makes me novel, remarkable or marketable but it’s all I’ve got 😉