Hi, I’m Lauren. I write things. I’ve done that professionally in the non-fiction world for about 20 years; I’ve done it for fun most of my life. I was that kid always creating her own worlds, “publishing” her own books (handwritten with cover design by the author). I had no choice but to become a writer.
A wise person once told me there was no way to make a living as an author, and so I should become a journalist to pay the bills and write books in my down time. Said wise person never told me there was no down time as a journalist, and so after almost seven years in newspapers I quit it all and moved to the other side of the world (Adelaide ==> London). I still didn’t write books, but I did write copy in agencyland, marketing communications in the NHS and corporateland, and even had a brief stint back in the media. A decade of burnout led me to go freelance and set up my own business. In the back of my mind was the thought this would give me more time for the fiction. Did it fuck.
So, yes. My fiction career has been somewhat stop-start. I’ve always dabbled. I go through phases of entering competitions and doing Nanowrimo and 6 month novel courses and thinking this is it, this is the time I make it work.
Spoiler: I haven’t. Yet.
I’m now in my 40s, we’re coming out of a major global catastrophe (thanks, #plaguelife), and I’ve taken a sabbatical from the content business after totally burning out and breaking down. I’ve been tracking my recovery through the How To Be Self(ish) newsletter (subscribe here), and I’m emerging from the gooey mess that was me. The writing is still there, it’s still bubbling away, and I’m making a proper go of it now. So here we go, bio mk II:
Hi, I’m Lauren. I’m writing my debut novel. (If you don’t count the terrible first novel that’s in the bottom drawer, never to see the light of day again.) I like to explore the spookier side of life, be it through gothic, horror, ghost stories or just plain uncanny real world stuff. I’ll keep this site updated as I work through the novel and start looking into competitions, submissions, and all the other stuff that makes a writer a Proper Writer.
I hope you’ll come along for the journey. Let’s have a chat on Twitter, yeah?
For a chat, follow me on Twitter: @novicenovelist
For rare photos of me pulling faces like the one on this page, or more frequent photos of my quirky accessorising, follow me on Instagram: @lozthewriter