Thanet Writers Question Carol M Creasey

My name is Carol M Creasey. I am a wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Origins

When I wrote my first book in 1993 I had no intention of becoming a writer. With a husband and four children to take care of, as well as a dog and a cat, I barely had time to read a book, let alone write one! But after Philip, my third child, was born, our lives changed dramatically. It was clear from very early on that my son had lots of difficulties, and as he grew, the difficulties became harder, and his health was not good. He was in and out of hospital frequently, a very frail little boy, and I was told he might not live beyond 5 years. At 2 he was also diagnosed with autism, which made everything even harder. But he fought like a tiger to survive, and it was his strength of character and bravery that inspired me to share our journey with him as a family with the whole world, so I wrote his biography entitled My Life Is Worth Living!

Influences

Phil inspired my first book, and later I moved on to write novels inspired by people I meet, and situations that occur in life. Although works of fiction, my books are about situations anyone can find themselves in, and how they cope with them. I truly believe that we all have a book inside us, because we all lead very different lives. I always like to write stories about real people, with feelings of love and loyalty, and sometimes anger and passion. Emotion drives us all in life.

Motivations

My motivation to write is something inside me that drives me to share my inmost thoughts with others. I write something every day, even if I have only time to write a short blog. Writing makes me feel complete as a person, I can lose myself in my characters; it’s almost like directing a play.

Habits

My writing habits are that I usually think about what I am going to write during the day, then in the evening I put down my thoughts for as long as it takes me, sometimes until very late at night.

Inspirations

I am inspired by life, sometimes to celebrate something good, but also, and very importantly, sometimes to raise awareness of something that needs to be put right, or improved.

Barriers

The only thing that ever holds me back from writing is lack of time. If I spend one day without being able to open my lap top and create something, then I don’t feel fulfilled. It is very rarely that this happens.

Achievements

I think my greatest achievement has been seeing the result of 46 years of trying to raise awareness of autism through my writing, and like many other parents, highlighting the need for children with autism to get the extra help they need at school, and campaigning to get children with autism into schools with all other children. There was a time when autistic children were left in a corner, as it was wrongfully believed they could not be educated. Society now realises that with the right help, they can achieve so much, and when a parent comes up to me at some of my events, and tells me how their child is being helped, it makes my heart glow. Our children are unique, and to a parent, all their achievements are special and hard earned.

Advice

I always write from my heart, and my greatest pleasure is not writing a book, but people reading it and telling me they liked it. My advice to other writers is never give up. Your first piece of writing may be rejected, it has happened to the finest of authors in the past, but if there is something in your heart you really want to share, pick yourself up, and keep trying. I am proof you can get there in the end.

Now

My latest novel will be published in April 2018, I recently completed writing it. The title will be One Moment of Madness.

Next

Next I will continue to go out and about to meet the public and promote my books at Craft fairs. I also have Club Talks lined up, my subject is Inspiration. I will also be at the Southern Book Show at Worthing in March 2018.