Jenni Hines Author
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
Profile and Writing Career
Jenna Hines Author
Background
My name is Jennifer I prefer to be known as Jenna. Born and brought up in Liverpool I consider myself fortunate to have been a young teenager during the swinging sixties. Although an academic, I always knew that some of my talents lay in creativity. My formative years were spent working in office management. Later on in life I decided to self educate, and obtained qualifications to enable me to set up my own Accountancy practice, where I secured clients from various occupations including actors, directors, artists, together with builders, plumbers, electricians etc. I successfully ran my practice up until I took early semi-retirement. During my time as an accountant, I also studied to fulfil a lifelong ambition of becoming a teacher. Qualifying after completing an intensive course, I was privileged to teach ‘special needs’ students in Herefordshire where I then lived.
I have led a varied and colourful life, working hard to achieve goals despite some horrendous events in my life, which I managed to overcome. Deciding to take on yet another challenge of writing my first novel, completing it and having it published, was I feel my greatest achievement to date.
I certainly get my writing talents from my paternal Grandfather, who was a wealthy mill owner in Scotland in the late eighteen nineties and who wrote two novels about the area where he lived in Dumfriesshire, during his own lifetime.
Being both a writer of prose and poetry to date I have written over two hundred poems and have had several of them published, including a personal poetry book co-written with my youngest brother.
Recently I began to write short stories for children two of which have been published and have also written various articles for magazines.
My first complete novel ‘Annie Logan’ is now available to order via Amazon, Waterstones, Borders and W H Smith or directly from me as the author.
As I currently live in France I have my novel available in two major bookstores and an English library, in two large cities close to home.
I am currently working on my second novel and hope it will be available by the end of this summer.
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Career in Writing
I started to write, scribble really, about twenty years ago, all long hand in those days. The writing was prolific and mainly about the various events, which had happened in my life up until the time, I started to write. I left my notes in a file gathering dust.
My husband John and I lived in Hay-on-Wye, the town of books, renowned for being the largest international, annual book festival held in the UK.
By the time, I was invited to appear at the 2002 book festival where I wrote and
read out a special poem composed especially for the self proclaimed King of Hay, founder of the festival, Richard Booth, I was already well on my way to starting my writing career.
Alas, the constant workload, teaching and writing all took its toll and doctor’s warnings forced me to slow down. This is when John and I decided that it was time to ease away from the roller coaster life, which we were leading.
We came to France in search of a place that could equal our very peaceful retreat, which was tucked away in the Black Mountains on the Herefordshire, Welsh borders.
The area of the Limousin was the closest we could find with its lakes, forests, and tranquillity.
We thought this would be an ideal place to ‘chill out’. So over, we came in November 2003, with our two rescued donkeys, two goats and four cats.
Settling in a foreign country with hardly any knowledge of the language and seemingly not much to do, apart from renovating the property and grounds was quite daunting. Not to be beaten though John set about renovating whilst I returned to England for several months to deal with the disposal of my accountancy practice. Most of my clients did not want me to retire though and to this day, I still maintain thirty or so of them taking care of their financial affairs
when I return to England on a few occasions a year
With more free time on my hands I decided it was time to dust off the file marked ‘scribblings’, this was about fifteen months ago and am now pleased to say that I have successfully published my first novel. ‘Annie Logan.’
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……………….Continued
John as a professional illustrator and designer has produced and designed the cover for my book, which I am delighted with. Without his full support and encouragement, I know I would not have succeeded in completing and publishing my first novel.
I was recently invited to be interviewed on a local radio station where I discussed my writing career and was broadcast live at the beginning of April 2009. The radio presenter is currently arranging some book signings on my behalf and is endeavouring to secure a TV interview for me.
I have written a further article about my career to date, which will be published in a Limousin monthly news magazine.
Enquiries from further afield in France have prompted me to arrange a visit to some local bookshops in the Dordogne to do some further signings.
An order from Saudi is the furthest afield my novel has reached to date.
Memberships
I have recently been accepted as a probationary member of the elite Society for Woman Writers and Journalists (SWWJ). The web site can be viewed at www.swwj.co.uk
Web-Site
I am currently liaising with Zoe King who is the web-site mistress of the SWWJ and who is assisting me in the design of my own web-site.
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Agent/Marketing
My husband John who is currently my PR manager will also be speaking to Zoe regarding the possibility of her acting as my UK agent for the promotion of my current novel and all other future publications.
I have a liaison manager based in the West Midlands’ who is also dealing with distribution.
Book Signings
I have recently successfully, undertaken two public book signing’s at Borders Book Store’s based in Bristol and Solihull, Birmingham and hope to return to these stores and various other venue’s in a few weeks time.