Janet Gogerty

I have been writing obsessively for nearly eight years, having thought about it for a lot longer. A weekly writing group propelled me to put pen to paper and learn to type and compute.
One of my short stories turned into a novel which turned into a trilogy.
Along the way I became a competition addict and have had some short stories published on line, on paper and in an audio book.
I recently celebrated my second anniversary as a Kindle Self Publisher, assisted by my long suffering husband with his calm attitude to technology and his digital design skills for the covers.
As authors are exhorted to do, I set up a Facebook page and a website, which has taken on a life of its own. My camera, long neglected while I wrote, was taken out of the drawer again and I have become an obsessive photographer of anything and everything to illustrate my website and post on Facebook.
Visit www.ccsidewriter.co.uk to read about my four novels and two anthologies of short stories.
‘Quarter Acre Block’ is inspired by the experience of emigrating to Australia when I was eleven.
The ‘Brief Encounters’ trilogy is very different, what happens to ordinary people when the extraordinary happens to them.
I have lived in many places, done all sorts of jobs and met many people; I don’t think I will ever run out of inspiration for a new story.

Credentials

Janet Gogerty in 60 seconds

When did you start writing?

2007 Southbourne-on-Sea, Dorset

What do you love about short stories?

The reader can enter a character's life in a few well crafted sentences.

Do you write in other forms?

Novels,regular blogs, occasionally flash fiction and fun poems.

What distracts you from writing?

Nothing - writing distracts me from housework and cooking dinner!

Outside of writing, what are your other passions?

music, reading, gardening, walking, beach hut life, socialising

What is your favourite book?

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Who are your favourite writers?

Sebastian Faulkes, Patrick Gale and Charles Dickens

Where is your dream location?

Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour - no traffic, but regular ferries to the mainland.

What one item would you put into Room 101?

Clelebrity programmes

Do you have any advice for new writers?

Start writing and keep writing.