Mentoring with Cinnamon Press
A couple of years ago the first draft of my novel, Under the Pipal Tree (which needed a fair bit of work) was longlisted in a competition run by Cinnamon Press. I was delighted to eventually secure a place on their mentoring scheme where 25 authors were selected to be part of a year-long support. The first time my manuscript was returned with red lines was a shock! Jan and Rowan Fortune sent me a report on what was good about the novel and what needed fixing. I couldn’t decide whether Rowan was a very clever young man fresh out of university or a middle-aged man with years of experience but I had tweeds and a red bow tie in mind. Much later I met him at a CP workshop and realized he was the same age as my son but had the wisdom of someone much older. It was wonderful to meet my mentors in the flesh - lovely people I warmed to at first sight. I must add that the end of year workshop in Wales was an amazing experience. I was nervous at first but left feeling buoyant at hav