Elaina James

So, I already told you about my plan . Now to tell you how I deviated from it... The problem with living somewhere so beautiful is the ability it creates for countless opportunities for procrastination. Why stay inside the apartment typing, when I could be out walking on the beach, or exploring new places? Okay, so technically my notebook did accompany on these outings, with the best of intentions of being used to jot down ideas sparked by the stunning scenery. However, the reality was that it was my camera that was firmly held in my hand, not my pen. A chance encounter with a film maker turned out to be the perfect remedy to my procrastination. Simply talking to Vahid reminded me what I loved about writing. His passion and determination for his craft lead to long discussions about books, films and the creative process which in turn reignited my own passion for story telling. Except instead of inspiring me to crack on with my partially completed novel, we deviated into writing ...

The Grown-Up Gap Year - The Plan I told myself, when I took my career break, that I would blog each week to chart my experiences. Well, it didn't exactly happen. As in, not at all. But, one of the things this break has taught me is that it's never too late. So here goes… It all began in summer 2018 when Katie Fforde contacted me to tell me she had selected me as a recipient of the Katie Fforde Bursary for 2019 . I was stunned, honoured and unbelievably excited. I can’t even begin to describe the magnitude and mixture of emotions that I felt reading her email. There were a lot of tears, combined with lots of jumping up and down while squealing. Yep, all at the same time. Which paused only for periodic re-reading of the email, just to make sure I hadn’t miss read it, because after all, it’s Katie Fforde and she couldn’t possibly have picked me, could she? Well, apparently she did. And in February this year I was awarded with a trophy to prove it. Though, I have to ...