I am an author.

Hello, my name is Wendy, and I am an author. It doesn’t feel real when I say it and yet it is. In fact, it’s soo real I was asked to attend a local author event, as a local author. As the day of my second story being printed gets closer, I guess feel a little bit more validated. I still work part-time in the same profession, early years, that I joined 30 years ago. Maybe one day I will become a full-time author and storyteller.

When I was invited to join other local authors at an event held at Waterstones I was super excited. Me, a local author? Well, yes I am. I had one minute to talk about The Gingerbread Man, our first story published, to the audience which was mostly made up by fellow authors but there were a few interested locals as well as my partner and my mum.

The event was organised to showcase…you guessed it, local authors. It was an opportunity for us to network and to mark the beginning of the Chiswick Book Festival.  This is the eighth year that the festival has run. It attracts many famous names and raises lots of money for charities as well.  I was invited to join the event at Waterstones by Bridget Osborne who runs The Chiswick Calendar.

Each of us had one minute and it was very interesting to hear about such a wide range of genres all written by local authors. We had our own local famous face, Cressida Cowell, How to Train Your Dragon pop in and say a few words. I sold a copy of The Gingerbread Man, which I was asked to sign. This was a very nerve-wracking experience as I felt more of a fraud than ever but also super excited and very pleased that my Mum was there proudly watching me sign for the eager purchaser.

Running your own business can be a challenge and publishing our second story has been on hold for several months due to a disastrous house move. I do feel that having our second story available will help cement my feeling of authenticity as an author. I do have plans for more stories and other adventures as well. Who knows where the path of the author will take me but I feel it is going to be a great journey.

When I originally wrote this blog I only had one kamishibai available. I now have three kamishibai stories available. Which one would you like to read first?