Simon Ward - Author Page

I am based in Sedgley, in the West Midlands of England.

My author journey started when a colleague mentioned a writing competition he had won. Before that I had scribbled down a few short stories but never shared them. He encouraged me to have a look at the 'Create 50' community and I found them very supportive. When I entered my first competition, it was not my genre at all. They were calling for twisted horror.

I dug deep into my weirdness and put in a short story which gained some very favourable comments. They selected it from the many entries to progress into the final selection phase and I received a contract which, if they selected me, would require me to wait two years before I could publish the story.

Whilst I waited for their deliberations, I began writing a new story in a more favourable sci-fi genre. In the short time I had available between work and family life, my novel took shape. When my creative juices got into gear, new stories flowed into my head and onto a jotter but nowhere else. To achieve anything in this world, keeping a focus on one project is key.
When learning a new craft, you require help. I have tapped into the free resources readily available (YT with Reedsy particularly helpful). After connecting with Facebook groups, I also paired with a critique partner who helped point me in the right direction. I also invested in the professional editing software, 'ProWritingAid', which urged me to re-edit my whole book.

After revisiting my poorly edited work, the help I now have around me has eventually dragged my novel into shape. So, after four years my first novel, 'Finding Love in 2045' was finally born. I launched it on Amazon Kindle on 24th March 2020.

I entered the national writing month challenge called '#NaNoWriMo' in November 2019 as successfully completed the challenge of writing over 50,000 words in November. It was a big effort, but it enabled me to complete the first draft of the follow up to 'Finding Love in 2045.' The current title of "Femalatism", which may change. It continues to follow the characters from the first book and also includes more steamy romance portions, but overall it's more sci-fi based with a darker feel, which I only hinted at in the first book.

I have a series of stories plotted to follow on from these, which include the original short story from the Twisted competition. It is on hold at 25,000 words as I'm prioritising the follow up to Finding Love in 2045.

I thoroughly enjoy the escapism from reading and writing. Life is tough and we all need time to delve into a fictional world.