SUBSCRIBER SPOTLIGHT
46 NOVEMBER 2019 http://www.writers-online.co.ukShare your writing success stories. If you subscribe to Writing Magazine and
would like to feature here, email Tina Jackson, [email protected]SUBSCRIBER
SPOTLIGHT
AS
HAREY
O
U
R STORY‘I am a writer living with bipolar, psychosis and a not-too-
delightful myriad of other mental health conditions,’ writes
subscriber Katie Metcalfe.
‘If I don’t write, I can’t function. I shut down and become less than
a shadow of myself. It must have been that I was born with a pen in
my hand because I can’t remember a time I didn’t write. My mum
always reminds me that the clackity clack of my typewriter keys used
to drive her mad.
‘I was in my seventh month of being a mother in Sweden, a
country where to be myself – a vibrant, passionate creative with big
dreams – was frowned upon by most, and I was suffering.
‘My intake of live poetry and interaction with writers had been
pretty much nonexistent for three years. So I visited home, Teesside,
to nurture and strengthen my soul. It
was while I was home, I encountered
poet Julie Easley at an event at
Middlesbrough Library.
‘The power, the honesty, the witchcraft
in her words was illuminating and
empowering. I felt compelled to make a
beeline for her, to say I wanted to publish
her crone-honouring poem The Beautiful
Emancipation. And that’s where the
idea for the illustrated poetry anthology
Maiden Mother Crone was conceived.
‘Consisting of work crafted by new
and established writers, all of whom haveuniquely interpreted the Maiden, Mother, and Crone, and illustrated
by Logan Smith-Salmon, it’s a book for the witches that have been,
that are and that will be.
‘To describe my work, I’d say it’s very northerly focused and
wyrd. My new book My Heart Is A Forest is a collection of poetry
written between 2009 and 2019. It’s a vast territory of poems, with
subjects ranging from climate change in the Arctic to a woman
watching her autopsy.
‘I’m also releasing my first novel in verse, Song Of The Wendigo
in September, a book that’s meant to haunt your days. For those
interested in an insight into my life as a wyrd writer, I blog at Wyrd
Words & Effigies wyrdwordsandeffigies.wordpress.com and you
can find my website at katiemetcalfewriting.com’Words cast a spell
‘I’ve always enjoyed writing but treated it as a hobby until joining
Skelmersdale Writers group and subscribing to Writing Magazine over five
years ago,’ writes subscriber David Jenkins.
‘Since then I’ve learnt a great deal about the industry, the craft and developed
the confidence to write in various genres and formats. Unfortunately, I’ve had
limited luck with many of my short stories but after several positive rejections, I
decided to collect some of the stories into an anthology.
‘Gardens, Galaxies and Goosebumps spans all speculative fiction genres
and features a variety of unique creatures including the most vicious pest
in your garden the Ground Goblin. It also has some unusual answers to
common questions like why don’t we eat more vegetables.
‘From writing the stories to marketing I’ve enjoyed the whole process
as its drew on different skills and gave me the opportunity to show my
appreciation for the genres. Gardens, Galaxies and Goosebumps is available
on Amazon, Kobo and Barnes and Noble.’From hobby to Goblins