Leitha Martin

I started writing seriously in the summer of 2002. I still see the ping-pong table which was my desk and the view of Mount Vesuvius out my window (I live in Italy and my husband's family is from Naples). I can almost feel the summer heat: my writing time was siesta time, the hottest part of the day. But what a joy, to be finally doing what I had dreamed of for years.

As a child I scribbled plenty of unfinished stories, worked on little plays for school with friends;but after a brief foray into writing on commission in the 1980s, studies then work and children left little time for creating for pleasure.

Because that's what writing gives you: the excitement of research, engagement in a creative process, the power to imagine new worlds peopled with characters of your own choosing, but above all the satisfaction, despite all the doubts and delays, of completing a 'proper' story with a beginning, a middle and an end.

The creative process is a continual surprise. Naturally, planning, editing, rewriting, checking and a lot of plain slog play their part; yet at the outset, a sort of creative flow is essential.

Nowadays you can publish your work without too much struggle and wasted time. What a miracle! The best thing about e-/self-publishing is that it leaves you plenty of time for writing - which is what I want to do above all.

If someone eventually decides to buy and read my stories and likes them too, that is a wonderful, priceless bonus. They are written for children and young adults but I hope they might appeal to all children, 8 to 80.

For lots more about the process of writing, the background to my stories as well as snippets of relevant information, have a look at my story blog: http://leithastory.blogspot.com/

Today I am fortunate enough to be living in Tuscany, Italy, a very beautiful part of the world, in a former farmhouse deep in the Chianti countryside. This is the perfect place for writing, something I try to do each day after the gardening and other jobs have been taken care of.

For a better idea of what life is like in this corner of the world, have a look at my Tuscan blog, http://www.fromatuscanhillside.blogspot.it/