Tamsin Coates: Author of Meanwhile I Keep Dancing

Tamsin CoatesTamsin Coates is the author of Meanwhile I Keep Dancing, A Changing Skyline and Signs of a Dangerous Past. You can find her books at Amazon and Action Deafness Books, and can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

I am a busy mum of three who spends most of my time looking after them. I was a speech and language therapist for over a decade and I am passionate about the use of all forms of communication where appropriate. I have spent many years restarting the local deaf children’s society and I am currently heavily involved in the organisation of all the teen team events for the group. I am keen to promote deaf awareness and associated issues wherever possible and am also keen to promote support for parents to learn to navigate the many avenues you encounter. It is such an important thing and I feel there is little organised in formal ways by agencies working with the families. In my spare time I love writing, reading and spending time with family and friends.

As a child I always wanted to be a journalist or a writer; I loved reading Enid Blyton and always had my nose in a book. I finally put pen to paper, inspired by the thought of sharing our story to support other families. I enjoy writing romantic suspense but also enjoy writing content which is both emotional and very honest. It is that writing which you will find in my books sharing our story as I feel it is only in sharing genuine emotion that people will be able to relate to what they are reading. My biggest obstacle is time. I have three books in various stages of formation at the moment and I find it hard to switch between them. I tend to immerse myself in them for a spell to take it forward. I enjoy showing pieces of life which people are unaware of in their normal lives. To offer a small piece of insight into challenges other people face and make people think.

What does a typical writing day look like?

I don’t have a typical writing day. I tend to try to write for 2-3 hours a day around looking after my children and all the other components of our life. It could be in the day and often in the evening. I tend to carry whatever I am writing in my head and develop the dialogue or plotline to the point that I am desperate to get in front of the computer and get it all down on paper. A special memory of writing I have is off sitting with my younger son as he read my first book which shared all the early stages of their lives and talking through what the book was sharing but then also all my memories of him back then. It was very special.

What is the hardest and the best thing about writing?

I find the hardest part of writing when you are using real honest emotion is processing that emotion as you are writing. It comes back to you and needs to be acknowledged. The best thing about being a writer is seeing a piece of work coming together and flow. It is so satisfying starting with ideas, expressing them and seeing paragraphs build and link together.

What advice would you give to a young deaf writer or young writer?

The best piece of advice I could give a deaf writer or young writer would be to start. To let what they have in their head flow into words and to take the path the words take you. Don’t be too hung up on the final look, the structure or formality. What you are writing will take its own form and once you have it down there is plenty of time to play with order and structure. I have re-ordered chapters several times once I have everything on paper. My characters tend to respond and lead where the stories go will go so I tend to follow them.

What is the most important advice you have received?

I have two…the first is ‘a delay is not a denial’….you may not get a yes the first time you submit something, you may need to try different places but in the long run where you end up may be better suited than the first place you try. Persevere. The second piece of advice is based around the quote ‘if all you can do is crawl, crawl.’ There are days when you are writing where everything feels difficult, words won’t flow or plots seem to have obstacles. Even a small amount of editing or going back and rereading a section you have already written can keep your head in your writing without taking away a negative feeling. It is a quote I apply to all of my life, it is better to focus on what you can do and do it than get caught up with what you can’t do.

What’s next?

I am writing a new book in collaboration with another author about bringing up hearing siblings of deaf children. It is a switch in focus from my previous books but one which I feel is equally important, often the children who don’t need as much focus can become lost in the needs of their siblings. I am also working on the second book of my romantic suspense series, the follow on from ‘Signs of A Dangerous Past’ – I’m really enjoying being back with all the characters and can’t wait to finish it and share it with everyone. I look forward to all the new things life tends to bring – it is the one sure thing in life that it won’t stay constant so I embrace the ups and downs and all the changes!

One thought on "Tamsin Coates: Author of Meanwhile I Keep Dancing"

  1. kayode says:

    can i be put in touch with this person, aspire to write myself

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