Brought up on a Council estate in East London by her Austrian mum and Indian dad, Lorraine loved escaping into books and her own imaginary worlds as often as she could. After many years of being scared she finally decided to be brave and try to turn her own stories into books. Many more years later and she is now a very proud published author.
Lorraine now lives in Essex with her family and spends most of her time with her head in the clouds, imagining marvellous fantasy worlds. On her brief forays into reality she teaches part-time Antenatal Classes and spends time with her husband and son while fighting two very fluffy cats off of her lap.
Our chat with Lorraine...
It was on twitter actually! Kate Shaw from the Viney Shaw Agency was a guest on a weekly twitter chat - #geaqa run by the Golden Egg Academy - and I found myself enjoying her humour and honesty very much. I asked her a question which she answered and we chatted briefly online. I was so impressed by her that the very next day I decided to send her three chapters and a covering letter.
A few days later she replied asking me to email her the rest of the book and about a week later she got back to me with her thoughts. We met for lunch after that and she was just as lovely as I hoped she would be. When Kate offered to represent me, I managed to sound reasonably sensible and all but floated home in shock.
I’ve been extremely lucky in my agent and owe her a great deal, not just for her sharp editorial insights, steady steering and constant support but for always fighting my corner.
There was a point with one of my early manuscripts when it grabbed an agent’s attention enough for us to meet. I was desperately excited, met her at her office and we spent a couple of hours working together on my book. She was immensely kind and helpful in her advice and I was so excited about doing the rewrite for her.
I probably rushed it. It was early in my writing journey and I didn’t really know how important it was to let editorial notes sink in before actioning them. I sent it back to her, full of giddy hope and she quite rightly rejected me.
I can see why she did now. I wasn’t ready at all and neither was my book - but at the time it was devastating. I considered giving up writing altogether. I nearly did. But there was some tiny bit of stubbornness inside me that wouldn’t let me. That wanted to prove I could do it. That was determined to get better and better at writing until I really was good enough to get an agent.
I will always remember the young boy who had to put my book into his freezer for a while because it was getting too intense! I figured that meant I was doing something right!
I was a big reader as a child but the one book that totally captured my heart was When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr. I devoured it over and over until I could almost recite it. The tale of Anna and her family fleeing Germany just before the 2nd World War and living as Refugees in Switzerland and Paris enchanted me. The voice was so utterly perfect I felt that Anna was my friend. When I found it again as an adult I was concerned that it wouldn’t be as good, that I would be disappointed but if anything it was even better. The child’s point of view is so perfectly written but now as an adult I could see the situation from an adults perspective too and it only made it more meaningful.
I’m not sure I’m particularly qualified to give advice but here are some of the words that helped me most:
1. Writing is Rewriting. Writing is Hard. Writing takes time to get good at, years usually. Keep writing for writing’s sake, because you love it, not just because you want to be published.
2. Not every book is meant to be published. Rejection isn’t personal. Rejection never stops.
3. Celebrate every triumph. Chart your progress and remember it. Only ever compete against your own writing.
4. Don’t try and do it alone. You need other people to help you see your work clearly. Value feedback, don’t take it personally but also choose your critique partners carefully.
5. And finally - you need other writer friends if you’re going to survive the process. Find your tribe and they will lift you up and keep you sane and in the end you might even find they were the best thing about it all.
One boy with one enormous nose must find the truth behind the despicable poison plot to save his beloved guardian Aggy from the hangmans noose. He’ll encounter true friends and dastardly villains on this epic quest but Mold must follow his heart and his amazing sense of smell to uncover deep secrets that have been hidden for years.
https://www.lorrainegregoryauthor.co.uk
Twitter: @authorontheedge