Did you ever have an itch you couldn’t scratch, a feeling that you’re supposed to be doing something else, something bigger with your life? Something that would touch the souls of the rest of mankind and justify your place amongst our fellow men, but you just couldn’t put your finger on what? I spent the best part of 40 years looking for the answer, and low and behold, I finished back where I started, with writing. I sometimes question why I didn’t just turn in the opposite direction, I would have got there straight away, but my path led me away from writing when I was just a teenager, because I lacked the confidence to pursue the dream. Reminiscing one day, the thought occurred to me that if I had found writing back then, I wouldn’t have taken the journeys that led me to write The Hidden Saga.
My name is Serina Hartwell. I’m the mother of two wonderful children, who grew up when I blinked. I come from an average size town in West Yorkshire, England. The same place where the Bronte sisters were born, and I am from the village in the mill town I write about.
Growing up in an industrial town, and coming from a working class background, I was surrounded by the mills, which were once the life blood of the community. Decrepit and falling into disrepair, they shadowed the place where I lived, serving as a reminder that our town once thrived. I watched as one by one, the mills went out of business and closed, serving to inspire my story, while changing the landscape around me.
My mother worked in the mills when I was a child. I recall every night, my father taking my brother and I to the mill to collect her and walk her home over the lonely beck-side. These trips along the shortcut are embedded throughout Hidden, as my childish imagination finally materialised on the page.
It was only recently that I found my way back to writing, when I suddenly found out that I was seriously ill. It’s funny how life has a way of bringing you full circle and offering you sharp reminders that time is slipping through your fingers. One moment I was fine and the next I was in a very bad place. Today you look upon the writing of one of the luckiest people on the planet, as I recovered and moved forward. Luck I intend to build upon. With doors closing all around me and my timely reminder, my life reached a turning point, I knew I had to find the thing I was supposed to be doing and get on with it. That’s when I really started looking.
In August 2010, I had the most intense urge to write. It came from nowhere, so I did the only thing I could, I borrowed my daughter’s laptop. I didn’t even know at the time if I could write. The last creative thing I wrote was at school. I didn’t know if I could connect with the page, let alone complete a book, but one thing is for sure, I haven’t stopped writing since, nor do I intend to. So, allow me to introduce you to my work. May I begin by introducing Bronte, in The Hidden Saga? I hope you enjoy Hidden and the many more to come.
Serina Hartwell – Author of The Hidden Saga
http://www.serinahartwell.com/
Goodreads Author
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8146251.Serina_Hartwell
If you like what you see here, why not check out the rest of this website? To keep up-to-date with my latest posts, follow me and of course, don’t forget to shout about it and share my posts to your heart’s content.
If you like what you see here, why not check out the rest of this website? To keep up-to-date with my latest posts, follow me and of course, don’t forget to shout about it and share my posts to your heart’s content.
If you like what you see here, why not check out the rest of this website? To keep up-to-date with my latest posts, follow me and of course, don’t forget to shout about it and share my posts to your heart’s content.
If you like what you see here, why not check out the rest of this website? To keep up-to-date with my latest posts, follow me and of course, don’t forget to shout about it and share my posts to your heart’s content.
If you like what you see here, why not check out the rest of this website? To keep up-to-date with my latest posts, follow me and of course, don’t forget to shout about it and share my posts to your heart’s content.
If you like what you see here, why not check out the rest of this website? To keep up-to-date with my latest posts, follow me and of course, don’t forget to shout about it and share my posts to your heart’s content.
If you like what you see here, why not check out the rest of this website? To keep up-to-date with my latest posts, follow me and of course, don’t forget to shout about it and share my posts to your heart’s content.
If you like what you see here, why not check out the rest of this website? To keep up-to-date with my latest posts, follow me and of course, don’t forget to shout about it and share my posts to your heart’s content.
When I had a day that stretched me both mentally and physically, when I was tired or poorly and had no energy to donate to writing; I still had to write.
The writing process is complicated and diverse. I can’t sit here writing this and tell you that it is done one way or another, because it is different for every writer. I can only tell you about my experience. For me, the creativity can come the moment I sit down. Like the flicking of a switch, I can be immediately connect with the page and tune in with the creative flow, yet there are other occasions when it can be a battle, in which case I need to rely on pulling some tools out of my tool box to get the flow moving. You see the one common factor for all writers is that the creativity must flow freely, regardless of what a writer must do to make this happen. The solution varies dependent on what makes a writer tick and can be from the sublime to the ridiculous.
I have to admit that I am the most easily distracted person in the world. Considering the amount of work I am able to output, that may seem a little unbelievable, but it’s something that I have to keep in check, constantly. Some of my earliest memories from school are of being told to get on with my work. Looking through the window and drifting off into some fantasy land that was always much more exciting than scratching my head in despair at Math. I have to admit that the random part of my nature, the thing that houses the place where my creativity is born is unruly and sometimes needs whipping into shape, especially when I’ve got a whole novel inside your head, fighting to get out.
My biggest distraction, as an adult has to be up there with the bills, the school events, my boss’s latest ideas and what time is it? Days are getting shorter and shorter, as demands increase on a daily basis. These are a recipe for the very thing that kills creativity. The day to day stresses trap the creativity needed to write. They cut off its flow and push it into the background, strangling the space it needs to roam free. The end result is sitting in front of my screen, ready to write, but with a head full of junk that won’t empty, so you can get on.
When I wrote my first book, Hidden – Book 1 of The Hidden Saga, I needed to find a way to tune out the hustle and bustle of everyday. Life is amazing, it keeps us moving forward through time; it fills our lives with experiences, which carry us through. It allows connections and love to flow through us, making us whole, but it can also be draining too, when its demands become overpowering. I have to admit that it took me a while to find my solution. There was a lot of head scratching, while it dawned on me that I needed the reset value that music provides. I found that when I had a day that stretched me both mentally and physically, when I was tired or poorly and had no energy to donate to writing; I still had to write.
Despair finally drove me to plugging into my ear phones one day and the relief was instant. Immediately, I could feel myself relax. Unwinding was the answer when tension inhabited my body, the stress took over killing any incentive I had to write. I found that when I initially plugged in, I would listen to the songs, but gradually the melody of the tunes would work their magic and push everything else out. Listening to music also attuned me to what I was writing. The detail of what I was listening to eventually fell away, leaving my mind to unlock itself. By changing the music, I could influence my emotions to write anything from a love story to a battle scene. I’d found my greatest tool. I set about creating a playlist on You Tube, which I wore out throughout the writing of Hidden.
The music in this playlist both motivated me and inspired whole sections of my story. I know that a lot of my followers, who have already read Hidden – Book 1 of The Hidden Saga, readily ask me for more. They want to continue their experience even after they have finished my book. I see this as a great compliment and privilege that something I shared with the world had an impact on somebody else’s life in such a way. With this in mind, I would like to share what I gathered together.
The selection of the artist’s song in this playlist helped to inspire me to write Hidden – Book 1 of The Hidden Saga, available now from Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Serina-Hartwell/e/B00JOOKH06and many other retailers.
Take a listen and lose yourself. Step into my world and let me take you on a journey…
Serina Hartwell 