Live IT & Love IT

Writing Its three years since I wrote Beyond the Past and this week I have been reading it again to make sure the sequel includes all the twists and turns and evidence. Writing the sequel has been much tougher than writing the first one for a number of reasons. Firstly, with your debut novel, while you want it to be perfect and loved by all, there is no expectation or pressure on completing it. I made the decision to write it at my own pace. Secondly, because it is a sequel the pressure is on to ensure that it is more gripping and interesting than its predecessor. So many sequels have failed to live up to the first piece. I am determined mine won’t, well I hope it won’t!! The sequel is Beyond the Lies. This one is not written off the cuff but is planned. I wanted to make sure there were a few more plot twists in the storyline and to do that, it had to be planned. Having said that I only started writing the plan after I had written the first thirteen chapters! ...

Last Friday we found out to what extent some parents and coaches are prepared to go to stop a CHILD from playing a sport they have played since they were six year old AND try to prevent a CHILD from fulfilling a Scholarship opportunity. To say it backfired on them is an understatement but it was truly disgraceful behaviour. You don't have to be an expert in the field of child welfare to know that psychological abuse is as bad, if not worse than physical abuse. There was a pattern that formed in the abuse we received, always being after a training night or after a match day. We put up with it because, naively we thought it would have an adverse affect on the scholarship but they could not have been any more supportive.  The constant drip fed insults and abuse was laughable at times but in the end we were forced out of an amateur club just because my son worked hard enough to get a place at a scholarship. The scholarship is a development programme and there are NO guaran...

Yes, I drafted two blogs depending on the outcome of today’s football matches – forever the optimist! Exam time SO, the long awaited exam period has descended onto us and I am so impressed with my son’s attitude to this period in his life. In spite of nasty, spiteful adults trying to knock him off course, he has once again shown maturity beyond his years organising his time well between his rugby and exam revision.    I would like to wish everyone good luck with their exams. Remember to stay calm, read the paper properly and do the best YOU can do. It is NOT the end of the world.   I have never believed in putting pressure on children. Pressure doesn’t bring results. Encouragement, self-belief, hard work and a really positive attitude provides results. I was overjoyed when my son thanked me for not putting any pressure on him. Motivation is not the same as pressure. My job during this time is very simple – to deflect unnecessary external pressures, ke...