Afternoon Tea with Milly Johnson & Cathy Bramley.

Rebekah Louise
Sep 11, 2017
3 min read

Last week it was 'Bewdley Book Week' where various authors gathered over the week to share their stories of writing success. On Saturday, my friend Sam and I were fortunate enough to have afternoon tea and cake with Milly Johnson and Cathy Bramley. It was my first 'meet the author' event and I have to say I was really looking forward to it. Not only was it a chance to meet two well known authors, but I also hoped to learn from them in order to develop my own writing.

During the first half of the afternoon, Milly & Cathy were interviewed by Rachel. Milly & Cathy shared their past interests and what had led them to writing. Milly shared that she had always wanted to write and good for her as she has now fulfilled a dream of hers. Cathy began writing around 2013 and, after self-publishing her first novel three months later, she was taken on by a publisher. Both of their journeys are amazing, although I could identity with Cathy as I haven't always wanted to be a writer and it's only something that I have recently turned my hand to having self-published Love, Life & Dreams.

The conversation continued and I recall Milly using the term 'colour my characters'. This has resonated with me and I love this expression to describe painting the character in my stories in order to bring them to life. What mannerisms do my characters have? What's their key features? Their annoying habits? Their style and their personality? Both Milly & Cathy shared how important it is to have the protagonist's name before they can fully get into character and write. I could relate to this as I understand how important it is to know who your main character is. I think once you've got a name you can begin to picture what they would look like. I also find myself basing characters around people I know. Certain names just suit a person.

The authors continued to talk about their books and what has inspired them to write their stories. I was impressed that Milly had ideas for her next book (sometimes the next two books) in her mind as she was writing her current book. Having an idea for my next story doesn't come quite so easily to me. I know what I like to read and I therefore try to create ideas from this, it just takes a little time that's all. That said, I am working on my second book this year - so perhaps I'm not too slow.

Next was tea and cake (the important bit), giving us the opportunity to talk to the other women we were sitting with. It soon became clear that there were quite a few people in the room who were also authors and had come for a similar reason to myself. It was great to see Milly & Cathy, but it was also great to learn from them and take this into our own writing and creative lives.

Milly & Cathy accepted questions from the audience and it was a great opportunity for us to ask questions around marketing, writing techniques and to further learn about where their inspiration comes from (including a stay in a cell and a trip to Italy, I'll let you guess which author did which activity. I know what I'd prefer).

Finally we had a chance to have our books signed and our photographs taken. This was a lovely opportunity to say hello and I have to say that both Milly & Cathy were extremely pleasant and friendly. I think it's always nice to know that people in the spotlight are genuine, warm and down to earth. It's more enjoyable to read a book when I not only like, but can also relate to the author.

It was a great afternoon and I would encourage others to attend author events that may be taking place locally to them. I'll certainly be looking out for future meetings.

Right, I'm off to put my feet up and continue to read 'The Yorkshire Pudding Club' by Milly Johnson. I'll leave you with one final photo of the day.