The First Radio Interview

In my last blog post I wondered whether there was anything as nerve-wracking for a writer as waiting to hear the first readers' opinions on the latest manuscript.  Last week, I discovered there was.

I was invited to be a guest on Good Living with Michele Thomas on WGCH, a local radio station, to talk about my writing and self-publishing. I've never been on the radio before and the potential for disaster played vividly in my mind beforehand.

• What if my mind went blank at the sight of the microphones or I could only utter one word answers?

• What if I was long-winded or boring? Or both.

• What if nobody could understand my north-eastern English accent? While I have been away from Newcastle-upon-Tyne far longer than I lived there, the accent still remains and I find I am constantly being asked to repeat what I've said. That would be rather embarrassing on a radio show!

Fortunately, Michele is a wonderful radio host and she quickly made me feel at ease. I soon forgot about the microphones and enjoyed the chance to talk about my writing process, books and characters for half an hour. Afterwards, everyone seemed pleased with how it went but I had to wait until I got a link to the broadcast before I could listen to the show.

The only time I've ever heard my voice is on our answering machine so  it was with some trepidation that I replayed the program.

Want to know how I did? You can listen in:

http://www.wgch.com/desktop.php?show=30  The link takes you to the program page, then click on the show dated 09/20/16.