Last week Friday, my writing group and I went on our first trip of the year. We went to meet local (local to us) author Angela Marsons at Cradley Heath library.
Angela Marsons is the author behind the successful D.I. Kim Stone crime thriller series, and has since reached her one millionth novel sale. She is living the dream that many of us writers would love. You can read more about her success in this Express and Star article.
However, as excited as we were to meet the author our adventures didn’t start there. On our way to the library, it soon became clear that we were heading in the wrong direction. In fact, we actually passed the library without realising. Unsure where we were (there were three adults in the car and none of us had a clue) Jackie risked her life to leap out of a moving vehicle and approached a man who was painting a wall for direction. For all Jackie knew, this man could have bludgeoned her to death with the paintbrush, but still she risked it all so we could meet Angela Marsons. And thanks to Jackie’s bravery, we were able to finally find the library, where Percy had saved us a spot.
Luckily for us, the event wasn’t as formal as the Sharon Bolton visit that I had previously gone to. Everyone sat in groups eating cake and drinking tea (I had some coffee cake, which was yummy), and Angela moved around the groups talking to people and sharing her writing advice and what it feels like to write a novel. While sitting with our group, Angela said that she needed to feel a book to be able to write it and that she doesn’t plan her stories because she likes to be surprised by the outcome, which is something we all agreed on.
I did like the informal feel, especially as I was able to talk to other writers but it would have been nice for our group to have had the chance to speak longer with Angela. We did get a photo though.
The library itself was decorated as a crime scene. I was surprised to see two body outlines on the floor. There was also a board which had photos of buildings mentioned in the novels. It was fascinating to see how a writer can write about her local area and still be successful.
We all had a nice time at the event, and it’s great to see that someone local can be a successful author; it’s really inspired us all. I would be interested to read Angela’s books, especially as I do love a good crime thriller. I also can’t wait for our next group outing.
You can find out more about Angela via her website http://angelamarsons-books.com/
Keep writing, folks!