TUESDAY TALK WELCOMES TUTOR AND CHILDREN’S WRITER ESTHER NEWTON

Good morning Esther and welcome. Can you tell us a bit about ‘you’?

I live in Thatcham, Berkshire, with my husband, daughter, three cats and two chinchillas.

I love reading. I enjoy crime, as well as psychological thrillers and I’m especially passionate about children’s books. One of my favourite stories is by the author Cornelia Funke. When Santa Fell to Earth is a beautiful book, full of magic and wonder. It’s a treat to read.

On a Saturday morning I can be found at my local Cats Protection with my daughter. We are socialisiers, which means we spend time with the cats, especially the ones who haven’t had much human contact. I’ve fallen in love with many and have homed three rescue cats so far! I’ve just been asked to take over as editor for their magazine, so that’ll be an exciting new venture for next year.

When did your writing journey begin?

I’ve always loved words and writing, but I started out working with numbers in a bank. I was on an accelerated training programme and studying banking exams, so I didn’t have much time for writing and it wasn’t long before it was a thing of the past – or so I thought. My love affair with writing ignited again when I had an accident and seriously injured my back. It meant I could no longer carry out my job working in the bank. That accident has turned out to be the best thing that’s happened to me! It led me back to writing, which has now become a daily part of my life.

I could hardly move after I first hurt my back and so I spent a lot of time lying out on my bed. I saw an advert in the paper for a distance learning writing course. It felt as if it was meant to be, so I enrolled and it wasn’t long before I was having articles and short stories accepted for publication.

Are you drawn to any particular genre?

When my daughter was small, I loved sharing books with her and developed a love of children’s books. That led me to write my own series, for 5-7 year olds, which has recently been taken on by a publisher. The first in the series is due to be launched next year.

You work as a tutor for the Writers’ Bureau. How did that come about?

The Writers Bureau helped me on my way to becoming a writer. Without them, I don’t think I’d be where I am today. Thanks to the writers’ Bureau, I was having a wide variety of writing accepted for publication so I thought about helping others who’d been in the same position as me and who needed that little bit of support and guidance. So I contacted the Director of Studies and have been a tutor for the past seven years.

Who are your favourite writers?

I love George R.R. Martin and his Game of Thrones series, Kate Atkinson and her Jackson Brodie private investigator books and I have Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse to thank for getting me first hooked on crime writing.

What destination is the top of your bucket list and why?

New York. I love cities and have always wanted to see New York at Christmas.

If you were holding a dinner party and could invite four guests, who would they be and why?

Lee Evans for entertainment, David Attenborough as he’s a fascinating person, Bryan Adams for a sing-song and Daniel Craig needs no explanation!

Catch up with Esther on her social media sites:

https://esthernewtonblog.wordpress.com,

Twitter: @esthernewton201 and

Facebook: Esther Newton.

Esther can also be found on Linkedin.