Ten things you didn’t know about me!

Yep, I have an excessive amount of siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, extended family and a family story that makes Eastenders pale in comparison. Last time I checked I was one of 15 brothers and sisters…some half, some step…some reprobates.

I met my fiancee way back almost 13 years ago and although he proposed in a  rather grand fashion less than a year later we never got around to actually tying the knot. An unplanned baby announcement a month later followed by a pretty hectic life kept us from ever actually doing it, maybe one day though.

 My kids will be the first to tell you that when they were handing out mummy awards I was not even in the running. I learned early on that this mom thing was unbelievably hard and despite my efforts, I am one of those disorganized, grouchy mothers on the planet who longs for her kids to get their own houses one day. I love my kids but I find motherhood at odds with everything I am.

 Firstly I have a morbid fear of clowns and butterflies and will run away screaming from either even in public. I am terrified of heights, I also believe there to be monsters lurking under my bed and will jump from a  distance in the dark to get on said bed should they catch me. I also fear wet blood, I can only patch up wounds when the blood begins to congeal. I am extremely claustrophobic too, I cannot be restrained or locked in any small space without windows. 

Now this may not seem to be an odd one at first glance but it goes like this…. from a very early age I refused to eat hot dinners unless my mom left them to sit and get cold first, I would eat an hour after my family, just so the food was cold. I still to this day eat leftovers stone cold…I’m talking all foods like Curry, Mince and tatties, Lasagna…even chips and pizza. It’s taken a lot of self-conditioning to eat normally when other people do, hot food that is, just to be sociable .

 Yes confusing I know… what do I mean? Well, I dress in jeans and trainers most of the time although I trained in beauty and nails…. I played football growing up, climbed trees and worked on cars with my brothers, I’m very much into doing things boys can do yet I have the ability to look like a proper girl and even sometimes behave like one. I spent most of my life having male friends as I could relate to them easier and only a few girly friends despite being a total giggler and having really feminine mannerisms. Go figures.

 This has to be my biggest asset and yet my biggest flaw too, I am very impulsive and when I make a decision that I want something I will just go for it. I do not care about the right process or qualifications, I have an insane ability to blag things I want. In the past this led to being a singer in two bands, getting offered a job in tv, running my own business and running an animal charity. Its now why I have ended up as a writer! I have this undying need to find a fulfilling role beyond being a mother and wifey and I think I will not rest until I succeed in some way.

 Yup both titles I inherited from my beloved parents… Rottweiler because I am very feisty, fiery and loyal and if anyone messes with the people I love then I am usually the one to jump up to defend them in any way I can. I was a very aggressive teen which got me into a lot of trouble and gained me the eternal tag of ‘family rottweiler’. I am also one of the funnies in my family, always managing to get everyone laughing when we are together, I have no shame. I will dance in public, pull faces at people on buses or adopt fake accents to confuse shop staff when I’m out. I have endless sarcasm and drop jokes like they are going out of fashion. 

 As a writer then this is probably the most surprising confession, my grammar, punctuation and spelling leaves a lot to be desired. The truth is I did well at school with writing, winning both poetry and young writers competitions but failed massively in technicality, this is something with the help of a dear friend that I am slowly learning to rectify.

 This one is something most people are surprised by because I seem to be the most happy and sociable person you can meet, I hate people touching me. Even my own family, of course my partner and kids are the exception to the rule most of the time. I have a serious personal space issue, I don’t do hugs and touching.Confined areas such as trains and buses make me very uncomfortable, crowds, concerts etc and when I have to attend social events I literally have to prepare myself before hand. Although I am capable of not freaking out and I can endure when I am given over enthusiastic bodily contact I just happen to prefer when people do not attempt any sort of touching. The contradictory part is that my fiancee of twelve years actually find me to be a very touchy-feely and affectionate person with him, he can hold my hand and cuddle me anytime. I guess that’s love, though…right?

So those were a few alarming facts about me…the romance writer who is actually not very romantic at all…… Did I mention I actually cringe at over romantic gestures and soppy love sonnets. No? Well, I do! So, I find it often hilarious that I then write romance novels effortlessly.