2 Questions people always ask me...

My fictitious characters are based on a career spanning 40 years in different school settings...

WHY DO I WRITE? WHY DO I WRITE WHAT I WRITE?

Introduction

These are questions that friends, family, and even strangers I have struck up conversations with ask.

I began writing fiction late in life, after retirement, unlike many authors today who stated they knew from a young age they wanted to write. Through researching websites, blogs, listening to webinars, and reading author profiles, I discovered that many young women who kept diaries and loved writing short stories as teenagers later became well-known authors. Perhaps men haven't owned up to keeping journals or writing short stories at a young age!

I was a teacher for 40 years and thoroughly enjoyed my chosen career. I met and worked alongside many brilliant teachers devoted to their vocation and their students. They were a source of inspiration. However, many teachers I worked with failed their students miserably. You will have heard the platitude, 'Those who can't, Teach'. This statement was very true. I came across many who didn't like students per se, did not like the demands of teaching, were absent for long periods and didn't take their role seriously.

Why do I write

My career across four senior schools gave me insight into many different characters and personalities. I noted their peculiarities, aspirations, flaws, and needs, intending, one day, to write my own story about them.

Halfway through my career, I made a determined effort to start writing. I wrote 14/15 chapters before I eventually gave up. Family commitments, a promotion and a pending divorce distracted my attention from writing. Placing my unfinished manuscript in a drawer, I forgot all about it until I retired.

I always intended to finish my manuscript, but retirement, paradoxically, got in the way. I played more golf, booked more holidays, and visited friends and family I hadn't seen for years.

It was only when I was clearing out and tidying my office that I discovered my original manuscript. I had a story to tell and with yet more information and material from the second half of my career. Re-reading the manuscript inspired me to finish the book. I was willing and able to commit myself to writing because it is never too late.

Why do I write what I write?

I write steamy contemporary romance and suspense novels full of conflict, passion and deceit. My fictitious characters are based on a career spanning 40 years in different school settings, working alongside hundreds of teachers and support staff. Education is all I've ever known.

Most adults have been through the school system, but have you ever wondered what some staff get up to behind classroom doors once students leave the premises? You would not believe it.

Such subjects will certainly not be on the school curriculum timetable!

I have currently self-published three books called the 'Tom Stevens Series.'

The story takes place in a school setting in West Yorkshire, England. It is a senior special school for students with learning and behavioural difficulties, including autism. An unlikely relationship develops between two staff members at different ends of the spectrum.

Tom Stevens, aged 40, married, handsome, intelligent and ambitious, is the school's deputy head and has the opportunity to become the acting head teacher for a term. Despite his personal complications, Tom has to make crucial decisions concerning serious school issues. The stakes are high, and success depends on Tom's leadership skills, integrity and tenacity. His life is thrown into turmoil when he defies his moral upbringing and principles and is tempted into an illicit affair.

Michelle Wills, aged 48, divorced and living at home with her teenage daughter, is a special needs assistant at the school and has always liked and admired Tom from a distance. Her simple lifestyle is thrown into chaos when Tom asks for a special favour, which leads to a life-changing outcome.

Meanwhile, a sixth-form student suddenly changes character from a fun-loving and popular individual to being miserable and withdrawn. His angry father blames the school and demands answers from the management. Tom is put in charge of investigating officer by the headteacher.

There are other absorbing and intriguing sub-plots. A teacher takes advantage of his young assistant and blackmails her into a sexual relationship.

How does a lesbian affair between a couple who do not work at the school affect Tom's life?

This steamy romance novel is full of twists and turns, and the suspense will keep the reader turning the pages until the truths are known.

Conclusion

I write such stories because although my books are fiction, they involve real-life situations which can happen to anybody. Readers resonate with such circumstances and find them relevant and authentic. I hope my books will entertain readers and help them identify with the compelling characters. If I can keep readers engaged and turning the pages, hopefully, they will want more of the same. Books in a series can fulfil that need.

Finally, there is always the idea of escapism reading a novel. If I can get lost in reading a book which takes me away from my real world, I'm happy. If the book engages me and creates an emotional connection with the characters in the story, I'm happier.

Happy reading

Mansel