I was born on the Wirral just after World War II when living in the countryside contributed to my imaginings. My father used to take me on long walks through the woodlands and tell me stories of his Irish ancestors, who had made the Wirral their home ...
From Ireland to a tied farm cottage on the Wirral that became a family home!
One day he took me to a place called Denna Point which is situated near the village of Neston on the River Dee. He showed me the place where the cattle boat tied up, when the Irish immigrants who didn’t mind travelling with the transported cows, had made their shelters under the massive oak trees.
"They would stay until they had the energy to travel!"
So many would look for work at surrounding farms or nearby Chester, others moved further afield in search of regular pay. However, it was the Wirral that my ancestors had settled many years before, and my father even showed me the tied farm cottage that became a family home.
When I was 10, my Mum who was a great reader, found me a Saturday job at our local Library returning books to the shelves and that was when my love of writing began. At school, I always did well with my essays and looked forward to my language and literary classes.
As life moved on, I got a job, married and had children, but I always had the story of my ancestors on my mind. I resolved one day to travel to Galway and County Mayo, places that had appeared from some research that had been done by another family member.
When I was about 35, and I in between jobs, I was sitting at the dining room table one afternoon, enjoying the sunshine that was streaming into the room. Hubby and the kids were at work or school, and I was toying with the idea of writing a book about my ancestors, which had been on my mind for a while. Instead, my thoughts turned to another tale that my Dad had told me about a great, great, great aunt of his, who had sailed up the River Dee with sovereigns sewn into the hem of her skirt. It was then that my imagination really kicked in and I swear that the spirit of that lady stood at the side of me, as my author journey began.
After many months of sleepless nights, wild scribblings at two o’clock in the mornings, a worn-out dictionary and lots of scrumpled-up writing paper, I sent my completed manuscript to a well-known publisher. I felt rather dejected when it came back in the post, with a letter saying it needed more work. I put the manuscript into a drawer and got on with my life.
"When I retired in my early 60’s, I was puzzling about what to do with my time!"
I enjoyed pottering around the garden growing veggies, but a lot of time was spent indoors because of the weather. One day, I was idling away, wondering whether I should send my manuscript to another publisher after having another read of it. Yes, it needed a bit of a polish, but it was good as some of the books I had read by published authors.
I had just learnt to use a computer, so I scanned through Google looking for a publisher that was accepting submissions at the time. I found a company that had just set up and was looking for authors, although I hadn’t realised that the man at the helm was promoting self-publishing, until I had read all the blurb. He promised all the aspects of a main publishing house; the editing, proofreading, book cover and printing and also the marketing of my precious saga.
"I knew that this time, there would be no rejection of my work!"
It cost me a pretty penny, but I had some savings, which I felt was better spent on my heart’s desire than a holiday, shoes or the latest fashions. When the author copies arrived in the post, I couldn’t have been happier.
I was born on the Wirral in Merseyside. I've always had a vivid imagination and could talk the hind leg off a donkey since I was two years old. My best selling books A Woman Undefeated and Dreams Can Come True are based on the amazing lives of my Irish ancestors.
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