Do what you love

In 2015 I was looking for a new challenge. Disillusioned with my job, I was toying with the idea of packing it all in and taking a risk. I wanted to write, do something I loved, follow my dream. Then something special happened, looking back it may even have been something magical. One day, in between cycling to meetings I stopped off at the Quayside for lunch. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and I found an empty bench overlooking the Tyne. The water was still, like glass, a mirror. I looked down and beside me was a copy of Skellig by David Almond. One of my favourite authors, he is a local writer, brought up in Felling, Gateshead a couple of miles from where I sat. Almond is a master of the craft, one of the great writers of our time. Skellig is his masterpiece, a heartbreaking modern fairy tale. I knew it was an omen telling me what I needed to do. I handed in my notice at Gateshead Council the following week, and just over one year later published my first novel, ‘Becoming.’ I have never regretted that decision to follow my heart, and always look back on that day as the turning point. Writing is my passion now, and I can’t imagine a future without it. Sometimes we get these signs, more often we ignore them, occasionally we are brave enough to act. My dad had died a few months earlier, and he always wanted me to write. Perhaps it was his guiding hand, or that simply through his death I realised that time was precious and you must make every day matter. Whether you believe in fate or not. You make your own destiny. I made the decision that day. I took the risk. Do what you love.