Official Website for Author Sarah Rayner

  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
Sarah Rayner
  • Home
  • About Sarah
    • A Potted History
    • A Day in the Life
    • Sarah Shares Her Writing Room
    • Recommended Reads
    • A Tale of Five Teacups
    • Beach Hut Writers
    • Sarah’s Blog
  • Books
    • One Moment, One Morning
    • The Two Week Wait
    • Another Night, Another Day
    • The Other Half
    • Getting Even
    • Making Friends with Anxiety
    • More Making Friends with Anxiety
    • Making Peace with Depression
    • Making Friends with the Menopause
    • Making Friends with your Fertility
    • Making Peace with Divorce
    • Making Peace with the End of Life
    • Making Friends with Anxiety: A Calming Colouring Book
    • No More Tigers – A Memoir by Mary Rayner
  • For Writers
    • Advice on Non-Fiction
    • Advice on Fiction
    • Advice on Self-Publishing
    • Publishing vs Self-Publishing
  • Shop

Articles & Self Publishing Tips

HomeArticles & Self Publishing Tips

 

Visit Sarah’s author page on Facebook

for details of events, new releases and book-related chat

LATEST NEWS

It’s FIREWORK NIGHT. Are you a plotter or a pantster? – Are you the sort of person who likes everything nailed down and to know where they are going, or someone who flies by the seat of their pants?
Writing workshops in my Brighton home – The half-day creative writing workshop has garnered 5* reviews on AirBnB from every one who has attended so far. Read more…
A new small press, Creative Pumpkin Publishing for non-fiction – CPP will take Sarah’s self-published books to a wider readership, and publish books by other authors under the same imprint …read more
The story of Making Friends with Anxiety – It’s not a long book, or particularly fancy. The subject matter is hardly glamorous. Yet it’s Sarah’s second-bestselling book. Discover why … read more
One Moment wins Silver Bestseller Award – With UK sales of over 250,000, One Moment, One Morning is officially one of the 21st century’s bestselling books, and was awarded Silver at the Specsavers/Nielsen ceremony last month …read more
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

GET A FREE GUIDE AND FREE SHORT STORY HERE

Join Sarah’s mailing list and get a FREE guide to boosting your mood, and an exclusive short story by Sarah, The Polka Dot Umbrella. Rest assured we won’t pass your email onto third parties and you won’t be inundated with SPAM. You’ll receive a quarterly Making Friends magazine and occasional emails with news of author events and forthcoming books.

 

YOU CAN FOLLOW HER ON:

  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

I’m spooked, in a good way. There are so many Ka
I’m spooked, in a good way. There are so many Kates and Katherines In my life, I have to differentiate them somehow. I’ve one Cath. @catherinewell13 👋 One sister-in-law @kate_misrahi One author great mate @katewritesbooks and one of my best mates, Kate Miller, who doesn’t do Instagram. I have also a niece, @katelacey14. I always thought Sarah was the most common name and was cross with my mother for calling me it, But I actually think that Kate outdoes Sarah now that I’m 60 and it has to be one of the most popular names in the UK. My friend, Kathryn Holford, I always called Katy because for me, that was how I differentiate her from the other Kates in my life. But Katy has died. Yes, died. She was only 60 and I’m going to miss her so much. I find it hard to write about on Instagram. The most colourful beautiful woman taken way too soon. Her funeral is next week. But Katy was like my mum, she sort of believed in spooky things and was sort of scientific, but also very arty and I console myself with the idea that she and my mum are painting together somewhere in the universe. In the meantime, there was only ever been one other Katy in my life. She is my first cousin and I have not seen her for 35 years, but she was in my childhood and I’ve missed her and now look at this photograph. And tell me how strange this is: at my mum’s funeral, my first cousin Katy: she is there. One Katy goes and another comes. So now I am staying with Katy to go to Katy’s funeral. My mother would always use words like “spooky” and her first book was called The Witchfinder, and it’s about a girl who thinks her mother is a witch. We came up with that idea together when I was about 10. We don’t know everything. Science has its limits. Animals are wise. I wonder. I just wonder. If they are sparking, my mother and Katy. conniving and planning, and they think it’s funny to put Katy at my mother’s funeral. Or to put it another way the Lord taketh away, but he also giveth. In this photo, the woman on the left is my cousin Katy. How fantastic to be in connection. Katy H, I will see you. My time is not yet up, but we never know when that will come. 💔🤍

A trio of pics from Mum’s funeral. A bunch of Gr
A trio of pics from Mum’s funeral. A bunch of Griglets. The church. Then six piglets.

Thank you all, friends and family, for sending suc
Thank you all, friends and family, for sending such lovely messages and cards and flowers in acknowledgment of our mum, Mary’s death. The funeral is this Thursday (23rd March) in Chiseldon where she lived happily for many years. It promises to rain (appropriate for a Rayner) but also, from responses, to be well attended. If not, those who do come can all get VERY drunk. Bizarrely, I’m sort of looking forward to it. It’s the chance to see so many people - the original piglets from her picture books, friends from Chiseldon who I’ve not seen since she left, stepbrothers and uncles and cousins and more. The only sod? Mum won’t be there.

Thank you to the many people who have sent condole
Thank you to the many people who have sent condolences following the loss of our mum, Mary. So many memories, so much affection, it is a great comfort to hear from so many who remember her and we thank all those who have got in touch. Will, Ben and I look forward to seeing friends and family on March 23 at 1pm at the Church of the Holy Cross in Chiseldon.

Searching for Mr Yesterday is free to download in
Searching for Mr Yesterday is free to download in the run up to Valentine’s, on Amazon and all major online retailers.

Ooh, this is beautiful! My friend Catherine snappe
Ooh, this is beautiful! My friend Catherine snapped her trolley at the airport. We met via Instagram in middle of the pandemic and then it tuned out we’d an ex in common. And Searching for Mr Yesterday is all about a woman, Suzy Hope, going search of hers ex lovers. The book is out now in paperback and ebook. We’re still mixing the audio, which is such a great format. Pete at Greenwave studios and I have had a lovely time recording it.

Hove seafront. A bench. Twirled plastic flowers. A
Hove seafront. A bench. Twirled plastic flowers. A plaque, in memoriam. And Tom, still puzzling it out, as am I, a year in from his bike vs car accident. Yes, I’m glad he survived. Yet still, ‘lucky’? Lucky it wasn’t worse? Lucky he’s alive? No. ‘Justice’ has not been served. The procedures have been protracted, painful, stretched me - us - to breaking point. The payouts are paltry. The assumption I’ve endless caring capacity - well, it’s exactly why the nurses are striking. Carers can’t care ad infinitum. They need a break, recognition, a pay rise too. The young lad who pulled out in front of my husband? 9 points on his licence and a £200 fine. Us? The cost cannot be calculated. The ramifications are like ripples of resentment and rage, ever expanding, not yet ebbing away. We’re still struggling, muddling through. But to have all this, against the backdrop of watching the demise of my beloved mum, the bickering and sniping and small mindedness of family focussing on minutiae, it’s tough. Life can be snuffed out in an instant. That, and ‘do unto others as you would have done to you’ is all I have to say tonight. Tomorrow is another day. #depressionawareness #anxiety #bicyclelife #accident #moneyflow #empathymatters #misery

Lovely walk along the seafront with my friend and
Lovely walk along the seafront with my friend and fellow author Jane. First proper catch-up in months! We seem to have managed 10,000 steps, but I did manage to lose a thermos flask on the way. Such is life, eh? A small price to pay for two hours with a mate. #refuge #walkingchallenge #56milesforrefuge loop #brightonwriters #brightonbeach #brightonbooks #madeinbrighton @sherbetfountain 🥰


Load More…



Follow on Instagram

 

©Sarah Rayner / The Creative Pumpkin / Contact me

    The Creative Pumpkin Ltd. is the limited company wholly owned by author Sarah Rayner