I went to the theatre last week to see the very funny Jenny Éclair’s stand-up comedy show ‘Sixty! FFS!’ It was hilarious, my cheeks were aching at one point I was laughing so much. I booked the tickets because I’d been listening to her latest book on Audible, ‘Older & Wider: A survivors guide to menopause which I’d highly recommend to any midlife woman who likes a giggle. 

 

There are some proper laugh out loud moments that really resonated with me. It seems even funnier because she’s actually reading it, so you get the intonation and it’s delivered exactly as she intended it to be as the author. I did actually burst out laughing several times throughout the book. 

I don’t often buy actual, hard copy, books anymore. I stick to electronic storage that can be easily accessed on the go. Audible is mostly for personal development and non-fiction business related books – which include inspirational autobiographies. My Kindle is reserved for more leisure reading stuff and novels. 

 

There have been a couple of exceptions to this rule – a couple of years ago I listened to ‘Elinor Oliphant is completely fine’ rather than reading it. It was SOOO good. I actually missed my junction on the A1 one day on the way to see a client because I was so engrossed in the story. It was one of those books that I really didn’t want to finish because I knew I’d miss it. 

 

I have a couple of other novels on Audible by Marian Keyes (love her writing) they’re read by a woman with a lovely soft, Irish accent. The trouble is her voice sends me to sleep. I have to keep rewinding and listening to the same bit over and over again and can’t follow the plot. This is why is tick to the Kindle app for leisure reading. 

 

Audible has always been my go-to while I’m driving or working on creating images and graphics for my work. I’ve ended up with a massive backlog of credits and books to listen to due to COVID because I rarely go anywhere in my car these days! 

 

The other thing that means I have unfinished books is the narrator’s voice – sometimes they are really monotone and boring or just downright annoying to listen to. There’s one book in particular that despite the content being great I can’t get on with the woman’s voice so have to psyche myself up to listen to it. 

I only have one bookshelf these days in my office. I used to have hundreds of books but decided a few years ago to have a big declutter. They were taking up space and gathering dust. I knew I was never going to read most of them again. I’ve only kept books that I use for reference in my business and a couple of really old ones that have sentimental value. One of these is my original copy of Anne of Green Gables which I must’ve bought in the early 1970’s. I loved that series of books. 

 

I was an avid reader as a child. I spent all my pocket money in the book shop and also visited the library weekly – using up all my tickets and half of my sister’s allowance as she wasn’t as much of a book worm as me. I read every single book that Enid Blyton ever wrote from The Adventures of Mr Pink-Whistle, to the Secret Seven, Famous Five and then on to Malory Towers and St Clare’s – I desperately wanted to go to boarding school because of those adventures. 

It’s interesting now, that despite my personal choice of not having books on my shelves at home and preferring to listen or read electronically, that I have published a paperback version of my own book. I know lots of people who actually still prefer a physical copy of a book in their hand – it’s now available for them to buy either on Amazon or direct from me (I’ll even sign it if you like) I have published a Kindle version too. 

 

 

Several people have asked if I’ll be doing a recorded version of it. The answer is I’m not sure. It’s something I’ll probably do eventually but I have no idea how you go about that. I’m just starting to get my head around podcasts and vodcasts – watch this space in 2022. For over 12 months recording interviews chatting to folk about their clothes has been on my to do list – look out for recordings of ‘Style Stories’ coming in the new year. I’m thinking I might start small and start voice recording my blogs for people who prefer to listen on the go – I’ve already got my head around the tech for that. 

What I do know for sure is that in 2022 I will be delivering Project FAB! The Workshop so watch this space for info about that. 

 

This week has been a flurry of activity from my book actually going live on Amazon and receiving the first shipment of 100 copies to fulfil my pre-orders. I have been signing and writing messages in them all and my office looked like a post room at the weekend. I’m looking forward to getting those first few reviews in to add to those of my advance readers. 

 

It feels a bit like I’ve given birth and sent my baby out into the world. It’s been an incredibly exciting few days coupled with receiving the results of my photo shoot the other week – I’ve felt so proud of myself finally getting my book out there. It’s been something I’ve wanted to do for the past few years. But now I’ve done it want to do it all again! 

 

Being sensible though, my next step is to share my book far and wide to help other women feel confident with colour and clothes. I’ve got my official launch party 4th Nov (v excited about that) and have already been invited to speak on a couple of podcasts about it. It’s a whole new chapter! 

If you’d like to have a ‘try before you buy’ experience you can sign up for some preview snippets here or bite the bullet and go for it by buying the book from me here. I’d love to hear your thoughts once you’ve read it.