Penned by Jen

I don't shy away from sharing that I have bipolar disorder, and actually it has more recently been triggered by PME - pre menstrual exacerbation and menopause. But I don't share it for sympathy, really I just want to spread awareness of these under-researched and under-funded conditions, for which treatment is still lacking and very little understood.  So I was really impressed by the documentary ' What's the matter with Tony Slattery? ' that I watched on the BBC recently. In it, the late Tony very bravely lets us into his world and we see a man who is a shadow of who he once was. I grew up watching 'Who's Line is it Anyway?' and this propelled his career in TV comedy, but I hadn't realised that, despite his career rapidly taking off, it ended just as quickly and he fell into alcoholism and substance misuse.  A familiar story for successful comedians -  in my TV production career whilst working at Endemol I worked behind the scenes on 'Kings of C...

Clevedon is no stranger to writer Ben Mears, who also earlier this year picked up an award for the fantastic, supportive network he has created, the #Coastal #Networkers. This is where I found myself this morning, being treated to a book launch as a special part of the meeting of kind, like-minded business people. And what a treat it was! I can’t wait to delve into The Jicker Man – a book which is standalone, or can be read as part of the collection of books Ben has successfully published alongside running a busy #graphic #design business, The Dream Loft. This morning we heard about the #dystopian, #fantasy world, akin to Victorian England, where the characters find themselves, and the challenge of writing from a perspective of someone who was uneducated. The world-building brings us to a war-torn place, with a society that has been “melted down” and the book weaves together #monsters, #magic and #myth. Ben Mears read some excerpts from his latest novel and the carefully-crafted langu...