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by J S Morton

My writing career started when a children’s author came to my school while I was studying a PGCE at the University of Chichester. I was in awe of what he had done, and was amazed that he was making a living selling books. And I thought, ‘I can do that.’ Or at least I hoped I could . . .

Phew, it turns out I could.

I started with children’s books because I didn’t think I was capable of writing a novel (don’t ever think like this), and I made a few that were quite good. I even made one in tandem with the charity Sea Shepherd, which made me happy because no one should be allowed to whale hunt, and they try to put a stop to it.

But children’s books weren’t quite for me. I wanted to weave wonderful words. I wanted to work dark, complicated plots. I really wanted to flesh a character out. So, one day, I decided to start writing a novel; it was a novel idea (pun intended), and something I thought would go nowhere. Just a hobby; a pipe dream.

Anyway, that novel was called ‘Solus’, and it sat on my PC unfinished for months and months. Then one night, I was on the walk back from seeing a punk band called ‘The Descendents’, and I saw a sign that said ‘Solus’, and I knew that sign was a sign, and I had to finish the book.

So I did.

Then I figured it was junk (again, never think like this), but I put it into The Wishing Shelf Book competition regardless—I know them to be a good comp, and they will provide feedback regardless of how well you do, so I figured, if I got laughed out of the competition, well, then, I’d tried. And I would know that writing wasn’t for me.

Solus finished four points away from making the final!

And I figured, shit, I can do this.

So I kept writing!

It took me a few attempts to really find my voice. It wasn’t until I wrote ‘You’re Gone’ that I actually found out what I was good at. It’s dark, it’s funny, it’s serious, it’s crass, but it’s good. I remember submitting it to an editor for an editing sample, and he wrote back to me saying that it was the best example of first-person writing he had seen in a long time, but asked if I could, perhaps, use less profanity. I thanked him for his words, but told him in no uncertain terms that the expletives would stay. And people seem to enjoy it.

Then I published, and I sat on it (not literally). I was scared. I was scared of putting it out there. But a friend of mine believed in me, and he paid for it to be reviewed by Kirkus Reviews (also very scary), and we waited, and we waited, and we waited. In fact, I was actually at his house with his wife and children when the review was posted. Not only did Kirkus award it a ‘Get it’, but they also posted it in two of their magazines. One was titled ‘Indies Worth Discovering’.

As great as that was, I didn’t really start to take it seriously until I had a stroke. And then I realised how ephemeral life is, and that if I wanted to take a chance on this, then this is the only life I get to do it in.

So that’s what I’m doing. And I seem to have gained some fans along the way, which is a literal dream come true. I still haven’t found what I would call success. But I am now stocked in six independent book shops, and I have many events booked out for the next year. I am independent and proud. And I owe a lot of thanks to The Book Shop in Lee-on-the-Solent. They were the first shop to take an interest in my work, and I’m not sure that any of this would have happened were it not for them. I also owe a great deal of gratitude to my friend, Jack. I wouldn’t be here without him on so many levels.

And now I’m here. I am gaining local celebrity status, and my books are selling well. And it is at this point that I feel it is pertinent to mention that I have no formal writing training. I take it very seriously, but I didn’t study it in my formative years, so it is never too late to make that change. It isn’t!

Reading and books are such a great passion of mine. I don’t have many uses in life, but I can write, and when it comes to writing, I have bundles of confidence (not arrogance—you can be confident without being arrogant).

So, I am loving life at the moment. I am being invited to events to talk, to be interviewed, to be questioned. People are turning up at my events to see me. I keep having to pinch myself that this is really happening. I can’t even believe that I have been asked to write this article.

I write the books that I want to exist. And let me tell you, it is awesome. Being able to say ‘Why doesn’t a book like this exist?’, and then being able to effect a change and make it happen. I have a degree of versatility, but I think I am best suited to writing dark comedy. Which is amazing, because I think there is a paucity of dark comedy. I don’t really follow any rules (I’ve always been bad with rules), and I don’t filter my content. I have just written a book about Southampton (my adopted hometown), and it is a very local affair. I have tried to support as many of my favourite locations and institutions as possible, and I cannot wait to share it (the book) with the people of Southampton.

Having bloviated about my own journey, I feel that it is important to remember that it is never too late. It isn’t. Life is too short not to chase that dream, but you do need to give it your all. When I started writing, I went back to the basics. I didn’t care if I had learned it before; I was going to learn it again. I dedicated a large chunk of my life to becoming as much of an expert as I can on the English language. I studied to be an editor ostensibly just so I could learn. It took me three days to do that course, and I can promise you: that will surprise my school teachers. I never applied myself at school, and that was largely because I hadn’t found my calling.

And you can, too. It’s out there, and when you find something that you love (that you can do for a living), it is tremendous.

So don’t stop. Keep going, keep searching for that love and be persistent. It can happen, but you are going to have to put in the work. But if you have talent, and it’s something you want to do: do it!

The sky is literally the limit.

I’m hoping that this becomes a full-time occupation for me, and I thank absolutely everyone who has supported me on my journey.

I am working on a dystopian/horror novel, and as soon as it’s done, I will be onto the next one.

I will never stop writing, never.

You can find out more about J S Morton here:

Morton, J.S.

And find his books here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/J.S.Morton/author/B06VX6D64G?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1769767342&sr=1-1&shoppingPortalEnabled=true