Journey

Everybody has a book in them, or so it's said. But it's something else again getting it onto the page and to a place where it might be shared.

I have been writing since I was a young child. Always, my dream was to see my name on the spine of a book. Books gave me life, a dream to live by. Through their portals I could escape so easily into other worlds. Books also saved my life ... yes, really!

This is the story of my books and my journey as an author, including a very personal view of my journey through Life. I hope it will inspire and give hope to writers and readers young and old.

Getting published can be a waiting game. It's hard .. and getting harder. But then sometimes it can happen in an unexpected way and suddenly, we truly are living our dream. And we realise that it isn't after all the winning that is important, but the journey that is ours along the way.

I would love to hear from anyone who connects with what is written here. A signed copy of any of my books is available. You have only to write and ask:

janineharrington53@gmail.com







Monday 24 December 2012

A VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

I would like to wish people everywhere a very special Christmas filled with all those gifts money cannot buy - giving, sharing, listening, supporting, caring, friendship, helping someone feel they are not alone and very very special ....

And a very happy New Year!

Always have a dream ... without a dream you don't have a star to reach for in a midnight sky.

And those of you who are travelling, stay safe, hold close to you those things which are most dear.

Wednesday 19 September 2012

EXPERIENCE DEFINES WHO WE ARE!

It's been a while since I've posted on the Blog, but that doesn't mean nothing has been happening. Life never stands still. But this morning, unexpectedly came the question: 

WHO DEFINES THE PERSON THAT I AM?

Pause.

It's worth thinking for a moment and asking yourself the same question.

I came to the conclusion that, other than those born to superstars or super-rich, super-famous and Royalty, then it has to come down to Experience ... and in that I have a PhD! It's as if, since childhood, I have lived several lifetimes in the one. And looking back, I can't imagine being in those places now ... but then again I can. The memories are so vivid. If you climb through the portal there is still that aching wonder, that awful hurt, that stiflement (good word that!), which grabs hold and takes you back through the hall of memories. Like a hall of mirrors, you can see yourself reflected in so many different ways.

As a child, I was defined as 'The Cripple on the Street'. However much I tried to undo that definitiion or try to be otherwise, it didn't happen for me. And that period of my life ultimately remained fragmented, broken. Somehow I held on to the belief that I had been made this way for a reason ... there had to be a reason, please God, or else what was I doing on earth, having to live my life this way?

I guess my song recently published in the first ever issue of JESUS CHILD Christian magazine entitled JUST AS I AM sums up my feelings well. It was who I was at the time, coupled with the fact that Dad entered the ministry and became a Rev. And my label changed to 'Minister's Daughter'.



*   *   *   *

I became a battered girlfriend/battered wife. My life became even more fragmented and broken than it was in the beginning. At least then the pain had some relief ... escaping through the portals of books and writing and imaginary games where home was a castle, safe and secure, and nothing was as it seemed. Like magic it could all just disappear to some other place. But in domestic violence there was no respite. You clawed your way through each day, desperate to recognise danger signs and survive. It was an ongoing battle. And I became defined as 'The Battered Wife' Later, that definition resurfaced as my first books were published under SELF HELP/ABUSE and I moved on to become Founder/Director of LIFELINE, a new national UK charity working with families in abuse, and ultimately an Abuse Consultant specialising in Child Sexual Abuse.

*   *   *   *

Home has always been special.

Home has always been, rather than a place, where I am loved and respected and accepted for the person I really am without having to pretend. Mum and I became soulmates as I shared my past pain. She worked with me on LIFELINE when my parents came to live with me on retirement. And I had the privilege of having Mum not just as a birth mother, but also as a best friend, sharing the delights of womanhood, her past, and what defined her.

This came to mean all the more to me when I gave birth to the child I was told I could never have and recently a book including conversations you can have with a something-year-old was published through FeedARead.com, highlighting the joy of these years: DOLLY MIXTURES: The Magic of Childhood. Through my daughter, I became Child again .... an unfragmented child enjoying everything those golden years had to offer.

*   *   *   *

Through work in later years once Jo was grown up and left home, unexpectedly I took back on the role of A Person with Disabilities. It was an extraordinary feeling. Suddenly my strength lay in being able to teach others, to create a wider awareness of what disability really means on a day-by-day basis. As a Disability Co-ordinator in the Midlands I worked with a multitude of groups, undertook surveys, brought people together through self-help groups and Disability Road Shows. I wasn't afraid any more to be labelled disabled. And that was a huge hurdle overcome.

This year, in the Queen's Jubilee Year and the year when the Olympics and ParaOlympics came to London and the UK, I watched the strength of those athletes ... admired their strength of mind and courage ... that easily came across. In my growing years disability wasn't talked about. There was a swathe of silence that surrounded me. None of my questions were ever answered, not even when I went into hospital for the five unsuccessful experimental operations. I had no idea what was happening to me, much less be able to share the secrets presented to the child at that time from the age of four by an abusive specialist. It took me many tens of years before that secret surfaced and was addressed in BETRAYED, published by FeedARead.com in January this year. It was my way of taking back control from all those years ago.

*   *   *   *

The book BETRAYED brought me back full circle and put my house in order.

In February Tony and I became engaged. I can now adopt the definition of FIANCE, and look forward to our wedding day when not just my role but also my name changes again. I have never been so free or so happy. Home has come back to being where the heart is, at the point where Tony and I meet. Despite our financial struggles and my degenerative health problems, the layers of control fall away. I am free for the first time in my life to truly be the person I was always meant to be. At the same time, I can use all those crumpled feelings of the past in my writings ... which are now many and varied. Nothing is wasted or lost. For me still, the old adage still stands: out of every negative must come a positive, and the greater the negative, the greater that positive must be.

As I continue to publish books, I can define myself as an AUTHOR.

As I wait for another song to be published, I can define myself as a SONG WRITER.

I also have an article with the same magazine, defining me as WRITER

The walls of our home are decorated with my art, so I guess I can still claim the title ARTIST. 

Sadly my keyboard sits idle in a corner, and has done for some years, although I am a MUSICIAN. 

I have been SECRETARY of the RAF 100 Group Association for many years now.

I am also EDITOR of the RAF 100 Group magazine, which is a huge privilege and honour..

I remain a FIANCE until such time as Tony is back in work and we have enough to get married.

I remain a MOTHER and delight in hearing from my daughter who travels the world. I am so proud.

And finally, given my parents have passed on, I am the elder SISTER of three girls.

Next year will be my 60th birthday. I wonder what will be my dreams and aspirations then? And how might my definition of the person I am have changed?




Thursday 12 July 2012

Publications

Suddenly, I have a whole host of very varied publications coming out.

In the July 2012 issue of Writing Magazine I had my article entitled 'A LIFE JOURNEY' published, sharing the path I have taken through the years, stretching back to 1984 when my first book 'A Crying Game' led to the founding of LIFELINE. Completing the circle, and opening all the secrets of those years inbetween, Writing Magazine helped me to launch 'BETRAYED', which is a 'tell all' book, and brings to a close, finally, that chapter ... or book ... in my life. All the black boxes have now been opened, and been closed. And for the first time ever I feel a tremendous sense of closure.

In July I also had my first song published in Christian Magazine. I am still waiting to receive my complimentary copy. However, the editor assures me it sent in and has been welcomed. It was an unexpected achievement.

I also have a very special and personal book entitled DOLLY MIXTURES: the magic of childhood due out shortly. It is aimed at first time mothers and grandparents and all of us with firstborns who delight in those first crazy conversations we share with them as one, two and three year olds. It also includes many of the rhymes that became so well known in our own family at the time my little girl reached that age. It was such a joy to write such a book now, when my daughter aged 31 is just taking off around the world for the second time, trekking to faraway places, wanting to see different civilisations and ways of living and being firsthand. I am so proud of her and everything she has achieved. She too is a writer. She keeps a blog. But one day soon I hope to read a book she has had published about her experiences and adventures. In the meantime, this latest book is dedicated to her and the magic we shared.

And I have almost completed my second thriller UGLY TRUTH, BEAUTIFUL LIES, a historical mystery featuring again the unlikely hero Joe Maddison. It is a book which is writing itself, I'm just along for the ride. And there is always so much history, so much to learn, if only lessons had been this good in school!

Without even trying, the third thriller is already champing at the bit, pushing me to take notes, wanting its voice to be heard above the clamour of the characters of the one I'm writing now. I'm looking forward to it very much, but at the same time loathe to leave some of my old characters behind .... apart from the hero Joe Maddison, that is.

So ... lots happening, lots still to do.

Thank you to everyone who visits these pages. You are most welcome. I'd love to hear from you in person if you'd like to write me an email and share your own interest. I'm always open to new friendships ... 




Thursday 12 April 2012

SHOWCASE

 Writing Magazine Competition

News hot off the press is that the new May edition of Writing Magazine features my book BETRAYED as one of eight books in a competition being run by FeedARead.com publishing. The winner gets a critique of their own work from Dan Brown's publisher Random House. It represents an important opportunity to showcase my book BETRAYED because as part of the competition, readers must read a six page extract and answer one question.

 A Life Journey - A Celebration of My Life & Work

The Swan, Coleshill, Warwickshire, are hosting on 24th May an evening of inter-active talks, Q & A, and an exhibition of my writings and art work. It is truly a celebration given that Tony and I have just got engaged !!!! I will also be signing books and selling !!

2012 Challenge

All my books listed below are now published and on sale from Amazon and local stores. It takes slightly longer to get them out on the high street, but we're working at it. All it takes is someone to go into Waterstone's, for example, and to order a copy to bring it to their attention.

My aim to get a book published each month for one year is steadily progressing -

January 18th - STONE COLD DEAD, a thriller
February 24th - BETRAYED, a True Life/Self-Help
March - HIGH WOOD, WWI adventure
April - SOUL SISTER, Juvenile Fiction/Green Mythology

Watch this space!

Saturday 10 March 2012

University of Life Challenge 2012

I've set myself a challenge ... it's a phenominal challenge and beats every New Year resolution I've ever made in my almost 59 years of life!

One book a month.

That's right, you heard it first on this platform. My aim is to get one book not just written a month, but published. And to date, I'm managing just fine. Starting in December 2011 there are now four books which fall under this challenge, and amazingly I am ahead of the game.

January 18th came my first thriller: STONE COLD DEAD.
February 24th came BETRAYED, a self portrait.
March ... I'm just waiting on a date for actual publication of HIGH WOOD.
April ... SOUL SISTER is already in at the publisher, a children's story.

All are published through FeedARead with Arts Council funding.


This is a book about love and betrayal.

Through the eyes of a child, it looks at whether a victim is born or made; offering a unique insight into how easy it is to take control of another. But far from being a depressing and difficult book, it fosters eternal optimism and a belief that reaches beyond what is ... to what could be.
It is about recovery and breaking free.

It is a story every woman and every man should read as an eductaiton of Life - young women needing to know how to protect themselves, parents wanting to protect their young, those in abusive relationships where hurt is a daily experience, loving partners and husbands desperate to understand their loved one's past; as well as those lucky to have a happy life, whose best friend might turn around one day and say: 'I need help'.

I have written this book for all those who still suffer in silence the pain, humiliation and helplessness of abuse and its effects.

To write this book I have shared a lifetime of personal experience of control and abuse to help and support others. I founded LIFELINE, a national registered UK charity, in 1984 and have worked as an Abuse Consultant in this country and abroad.

ISBN: 978-1-78176-014-7 Available shortly from all high street stockists and Amazon, price £8.99


'A German was coming towards him. He froze ... The German strode on taking slow, measured, almost proud steps. He seemed so sure, so ... unafraid. He could see the stripes which denoted him an officer. It explained the callous look he gave each body as he stepped over them and continued on ... Another face peered out at the scene. It was small, fragile, too white against the background of the wood. It looked very afraid! And he was out of ammo!! Moments ticked by ... and all the time the German officer kept coming on ... on ... on. The taking out a revolver, the German took aim and began to fire.

Bois de Foureauz, commonly known as 'High Wood' stood proud at the top of a gentle slope. Surrounded by relatively flat landscape, it offered a perfect view ... No wonder the Germans wanted it so badly! The British held half the wood. If only they could get a firm grip on the rest then maybe they could take the advantage.

This is the story of Will and Arthur, my two great uncles, during the First World War. It is republished from 'Brothers' and has been known to make grown men cry! The writing of it seemed to come from some other place, and following its first publication, we were visited by Will or Arthur, evidenced by a 'Presence' and the sudden strong smell of tobacco smoke in our front room. And then later in a cafe, approached by a medium who felt I would want to know of the man in uniform standing behind me, insistently trying to tell me something, pushing in and out his pocket a poppy.

ISBN: 9781781760987   Available from all high street stockists shortly, and Amazon, price £7.99.


'A raw red light suddenly pierced the gloom. She watched the strobe search the landscape, startling shadows into shapes, rearing up out of endless Night. Like a bloodshot eye, it watched the girl, knowing her to be a stranger. She did not belong here. And yet ... and yet ... she was here ... so it must be meant to be.

A young girl stands at the grave of her mother feeling so helpless, abandoned, afraid, alone. She is wondering where souls go when a body dies? Does she really want to know? Is she up to the challenge?

Be careful what you wish for ...

ISBN: 9781781761397 
Available from book stockists soon and Amazon
Price: £7.99

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Hello World!

I am absolutely delighted to see so many different countries are visiting with me. I'd love to share comments with you if anyone would like to leave me a message about what they find here.

Otherwise, the new year is bringing a rich flavour of different delights.


 A Bomber’s Moon … perfect conditions for a clandestine operation. And yet not everything is what it seems. Something is wrong. And too late the pilot realises the problem. Sixty five years on almost to the day Joe Maddison steps into a new day … and into the perfect nightmare!

ISBN: 9781908895189 
Published: 18 January 2012
Price: £8.99

My first thriller is published! This was a childhood dream, the kind of writing I always wanted to do until life led me in a different direction. Published by FeedARead.com, it is a new innovation with big publishers backing, such as Random House, and big authors, like Terry Pratchett, with Arts Council funding. It is available through local book stores internationally as well as Amazon.


I am now working on a new thriller featuring the same unlikely hero, Joe Maddison, who becomes embroiled in a new historical mystery entitled: UGLY TRUTH, BEAUTIFUL LIES.