Alison Wells Author

Head Above Water – Writing, Headspace, Creativity, Verve

Head Above Water Blog – Writing, Headspace, Creativity, Verve

  • Head Above Water Blog: My Debut short story collection Random Acts of Optimism released September 2023!

    Fantastic news: September publication of my debut short story collection! Readers of the Head above Water blog will have followed my story since 2009 of writing endeavours, resilience and persistence, shortlists and near misses. I have written alongside raising a family, challenging circumstances, a new job in public libraries and a Masters by night in…

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  • Interview with Eoin Colfer on The Last Guardian & what comes after Artemis Fowl

    Eoin Colfer from Wexford has been a worldwide hit with the Artemis Fowl series. (He also wrote a follow up And Another Thing in the Douglas Adam’s  Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy  series) The Artemis series, for young teens, follows the adventures of teenage technical mastermind Artemis Fowl and his adventures in saving his family…

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  • Childlike thinking makes for creative writing

    The transition from childhood to adulthood involves a mental development that allows for more abstract reasoning, logical complexity, a greater awareness of consequence and an understanding of the nuanced dynamics of human relationships. However there are ways that childlike thinking can get us back to the basics of life and enhance our creative endeavours. Mindfulness…

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  • #fridayflash Finding the bog body

    This is a short incident from my novel in revision The Book of Remembered Possibilities. A driver finds what turns out to be a bog body. This piece is one of three juxtaposed ‘moments’. The bulldozer judders, throwing sound across the bog’s wide valley back to the jagged hills. In the broad sweep of a…

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  • The business of self-publishing: Bookshop launches

    Self-publishing is becoming a viable and accepted method for writers to either bring out a book that is hard for publishers to define, for traditionally published writers to relaunch old out of print titles electronically or through print on demand, for writers to supplement their traditional titles or fund their writing on the path to…

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  • New short story collection, #Fridayflash and Smashwords news

    Self-published in a library Smashwords have just announced an exciting new library initiative for their bestselling titles. Read more about it here. Publishing is in a state Here’s a very very interesting article about the state of publishing today and the role of ‘indie’ publishers in that. Today’s #Fridayflash Today my #fridayflash short fiction is…

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  • How to write a novel when you don’t have the time

    Most people’s lives are busy. For me it’s juggling the demands of four children under the age of twelve, and it’s true to say that there’s little time for quiet contemplation or courting the writing muse. But all would be writers are juggling,  whether it’s college, full time work, caring for children, sick or the…

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  • Dear Agent for writers and last free day

    The wonderful Nicola Morgan, of the great writing and publishing site Help, I need a publisher! author of 90 books including Write to be Published has just brought out Dear Agent: Write the Letter that Sells your Book. As readers of her blog will know, the advice she gives is always realistic, practical and sprinkled…

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  • #Fridayflash From the hospital

    This is a segment from my literary novel The Book of Remembered Possibilities which I’m revising for submission. This is a stand alone episode where Freya comes out of the hospital after a coma. The way she placed her feet seemed to have many possibilities, the way this oriented her body in the surrounding space.…

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  • Why I used my Kindle free days when I had decided not to

    The Background I originally signed up for the Kindle free days to be part of the promotion for the launch of the wonderful Jawbreakers anthology in May. I had only launched Housewife with a Half-Life a few days before so perhaps it wasn’t the best time to give it away for free but being part…

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  • My self-publishing experience

    Today I’ve visited the blog of Debz Hobbs Wyatt who works as small publisher Bridgehouse to share my self-publishing experience, the areas where I had costs and how I found the whole process. Speaking to an editor and other writing professionals we decided that it might be a good contender for self-publishing as it’s more…

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Welcome to my Head above Water blog! I’m Alison, writer, mother and public librarian with a background in Communication Studies and Psychology. I have a particular interest in creative resilience, motivation and how nature and wonder can restore us. In my day job I run book clubs and creative events for children and adults.

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