PhD proposal successful

Yes! At last I've had word that my proposal to do a PhD at the University of New England (Australia) is successful. I have been waiting and waiting to see if I have to restructure my plans for the year. The doctorate will be in an area called Creative Practice and it differs from many PhDs in that you aren't limited to writing a thesis (though that does form a part of it). I am going to write a novel for young adults.

My career is forming beautifully. I began with designing and writing a knitting book, then another and now I have four of them under my belt and three non-fiction, text heavy books (meaning that they are more full of words than anything else).

Having finished the 80,000 word text for the first of these, Textiles: a history for Remember When, imprint of UK publisher Pen & Sword, I realised that I could do it. And that was when I began my plans for putting in the PhD proposal.

It is wonderful watching these dreams come true. It is not a miracle, it is not luck (though it helps to have a sprinkling), it all comes down to hard work and determination. I guess for me the biggest lucky break was making contact with Isabel Atherton of Creative Authors, UK www.creativeauthors.co.uk. She runs a boutique literacy agency and she liked my work (the knitted dolls).

From there it was a matter of building a friendship and a strong working relationship, trusting my agent and following her always excellent advice.

Now, my plans are to become a full time writer, illustrator, artist and toy maker (with my own toy shop called Granny Fi's Toy Cupboard). Let's hope money soon rains down on me to buy me the time to achieve these things.