Featured Writer on Wellness: Georgia Rose

I have always struggled with the stress of trying to balance it all and with feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work there is to get done.

It is a constant irritation to me that my website is out of date, my book promotion hit and miss, rather than strategically planned, and that I have to produce my books via tea-break writing rather than having stretches of time to give to a project.

But I know this is all just the way it is while I am also running my own other business, plus home and family.

However, over the last winter, and if I’m being honest, for far longer than that, I have been through a very difficult time with a terribly low mood and while maybe not full blown depression, something very close to it.

Overwork, Anxiety, and Hormonal Changes Brought on Depression

I still got out of bed, I still functioned, but I never thought I’d feel joy or excitement again. It was no fun at all.

It was brought on by a myriad of things including overwork, anxiety, some family issues and probably most fundamentally, I believe, the menopause.

And it dragged on, and on.

I should have stopped writing. I know that now. What I produced during that time was poor and has had to be rewritten.

But, and this is the good news bit, the upside as it were, and the part I can’t emphasis strongly enough, things always get better, eventually.

There was a turning point a few weeks ago. Mid-April to be precise, and I can’t put my finger on any individual thing that was the cause, only that one day I felt the first glimmer of optimism and my sadness began to lift.

I also began to be able to write again. To actually be able to hold a coherent thought together and craft a decent sentence. And the rewriting began.

Writers Need to Give Themselves Time

I simply tried to give myself time.

I walk the dog a couple of times a day anyway. I do an exercise DVD in the privacy of my bedroom—no one needs to see that amount of jiggling!

I read every day, always have, but stuck with fiction. There’s nothing like a fabulous story to get absorbed in to take you out of yourself.

But mostly I didn’t beat myself up about the way I was feeling. I assumed it was some sort of process, to what end I have no idea, but that I’d find my way through it eventually.

Be kind to yourself, always.

Writers Must Battle that Urge to Eat!

Ahh. That urge to eat!!

I guess it’s tied in with fatigue, and the fact I have a sweet tooth anyway but the sugar cravings are hard to ignore and the knock on weight gain frustrating.

Especially when I have a brother who can literally eat as much as he likes of anything he wants and not put on an ounce!!

The only solution that works is for me is not to have any treats in the house. If they are here, I have no will power. It’s as simple as that.

Otherwise I keep as active as I can, with a desk job, and after going to Slimming World for a while to lose the bulk of the gain I’ve now changed a few things in my diet.

I do need to lose some more weight but at the moment at least I’m managing not to put any more on.

Time is the Key to Everything

Time is to key. This is everything.

For many, many years I have been constantly working very long hours as well as managing all the usual life stuff. It is impossible to allow your creativity to flow when you are always battling deadlines and don’t have a minute to think.

I found this out when, for a couple of reasons, I gave myself a little headspace one year which meant by the time I actually went away on holiday I was already quite relaxed for once. (I’m usually the one who has only just wound down the day before we’re due to go home!)

During that holiday the complete story line for my first trilogy came to me and I haven’t looked back since.

Like I said before, be kind to yourself.

It’s Hard Not to Compare Yourself to Other Writers

The darkest moment: I’m not sure it can be counted as a moment as it’s ongoing, but comparisonitis!

I am actually quite busy so don’t dwell on it that much. However, there are times when it’s difficult to ignore how well so many others seem to be doing compared to yourself.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t begrudge anyone any ounce of success they get. They deserve it. They have usually been doing this longer, worked harder and been more organized.

And that’s the thing.

While I struggle to get a book out once every two years (despite the schedules and planning I do to speed this up) others release more, promote more, sell more.

It’s frustrating, that’s all.

I see authors get those Bestseller tags, get snapped up by publishers, give up day jobs to be able to write full time, and I know that although I have confidence in the quality of the books I put out, I haven’t managed to hit on that winning formula yet to be able to do this better.

The Best Thing for a Writer: Finding Your Readers

Without doubt, my greatest triumph as a writer has been finding my readers.

Every time I get a review, every time a reader gets in contact to say something about my books I am amazed that something I have made has caused another person to feel deeply enough about it to take some sort of action after finishing my book.

It’s brilliant, I never thought there would be actual people reading my stuff. I’m smiling, even as I type this.

Readers asking when the next book is coming out! That’s a great driver, and has been what has kept me going through the dark times.

However, during better times nothing quite beats the delight of enjoying the process of getting words down on a page, of experiencing a story falling into place or a character coming to life. That moment when the words are finally arranged in the order you need them to be and you say yes, that’s it.

Advice for a Young Writer: Dot It Only If You Really Need To

I would say only do it if you really, really need to and if you would do it anyway, even if you never received a penny for having done so.

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Georgia Rose is a writer and the author of the romantic and suspenseful Grayson Trilogy books: A Single Step, Before the Dawn and Thicker than Water. Following completion of the trilogy she was asked for more and so wrote a short story, The Joker, which is based on a favourite character from the series and the eBook is available to download for free at the retailer of your choice.

Her fourth novel, Parallel Lies, encompasses crime along with Georgia’s usual blending of genre and its, as yet unnamed, sequel will be out later this year.

Georgia’s background in countryside living, riding, instructing and working with horses has provided the knowledge needed for some of her storylines; the others are a product of her passion for people watching and her overactive imagination.

Her busy life is set in a tranquil part of rural Cambridgeshire in the UK where she lives with her much neglected husband and dog. For more information on her and her work, please see her website, or connect with her on Bookbub, Twitter, and Facebook.

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A Single Step: A woman wracked with grief. A man with a troubled past. Will trust build a bridge between them or will it be destroyed by dark secrets?

Shattered by her daughter’s death and tormented by her husband’s infidelity, Emma Grayson seeks refuge in solitude. As she slowly re-enters the real world, she takes on work at the sprawling Melton Estate’s stables. Initially distracted by her painful healing process, she realizes that the property’s handsome manager carries his own sadness…

When Emma is thrown from her horse and badly injured, Trent provides tender, selfless care. She doesn’t want to appear ungrateful for the lonely ex-RAF man’s support, but her anxiety keeps her silent. After his secretive past surfaces and events take a dramatic turn at the estate, she can’t help but feel violently unsaddled all over again.

Will Emma ever find inner peace and love again, or is she destined to live with only heartache and pain?

A Single Step is the first book in the Grayson Trilogy, a dark romantic suspense series. If you like wounded characters, slow-building romance, and page-turning twists, then you’ll love Georgia Rose’s powerful novel.

A Single Step is also free to download from the retailer of your choice at the moment. Find it at Amazon.

Parallel Lies: A woman with a hidden past. A new love on the horizon. Will the truth set her free or cost her everything?

Madeleine Ross has meticulously organized her world to leave no trace of her criminal past. After creating a new identity for herself, her only remaining connection to her previous life is the security work she does for a small-town insurance company. But when she starts falling for her handsome boss, Dan, she’s worried letting him in will expose secrets best kept locked away…

As their attraction grows stronger, Madeline’s attempts to keep Dan in the dark go horribly wrong when a dangerous ex emerges from her unsavoury past. After her former flame gives her an offer she can’t refuse, she has one choice left: ditch her life as a thief to let Dan in or embrace her shady dealings to destroy her only shot at a happy future…

Parallel Lies is the first book in a fast-paced romantic suspense series. If you like troubled heroines, character-driven action, and powerful emotions, then you’ll love Georgia Rose’s thrilling novel.

Find it on Amazon.