An article I had published in The Birmingham Mail

 An article written about me by Zoe Chamberlain for The Birmingham Mail (April 2014)

 Available from Amazon Kindle 
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My Amazon Book Page goo.gl/GY9Clo

I was ricocheted backwards and forwards when a driver smashed into the left side of our car.
It was 1987, I was a passenger and the car had pulled out of a car park in Smallbrook Queensway in Birmingham, straight into us.
When I got out of the car, I couldn’t feel the ground beneath me.
I suffered whiplash, a frozen shoulder and terrible headaches.
Both drivers were fine but our car was a write-off.
I told myself we’d been very lucky but it did affect me psychologically.
I started having panic attacks where I’d get so short of breath I’d think I was going to have a heart attack.
I was that shaken I’d be walking along the road and all of a sudden I’d find myself lying on the grass verge.
When the whiplash eased and I could turn my head again, I began driving and a car came across me and nearly hit me.
Then, another time, one made me swerve up a verge.
I began to think ‘Is there something telling me not to drive here?’
From that day on, I’ve never driven again. I didn’t think it was worth the risk.
I found I was unable to work anywhere other than from home.
I had suffered from claustrophobia since I was a child.
I don’t really know what started it – I would just panic if I was in a lift or a room with the door closed.
One time, my husband John accidentally locked me in the car when he popped into a shop. It brought on a panic attack, where I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
It’s the thought of being trapped that scares me. Also, I’ve never liked anyone walking behind me.
A few years ago, a friend told me about a time when we were young and had been in a park in Birmingham and a crowd of youths had chased us and we’d both run out of the park, screaming.
I didn’t remember that and realised I had probably blocked it out of my memory.
I decided to do some research into phobias, especially as I knew one phobia could lead to another.
The more I read, the more I thought I’m going to write a story about this.
I thought I’d set it in a back-to-back house in 1950s Birmingham, which is where I grew up.
I came up with the ideas of sisters, Chrissie and Babs, who had a stepfather who disliked them and favoured his own child, Lily, instead.
In the story, Chrissie starts to have terrible nightmares, waking up screaming in the early hours.
In time, it becomes clear something happened to her when she was younger but she blocked it out because she didn’t want to remember it.
From my research, I found this does happen to people.
In my book, Chrissie learns that love conquers all, that you can overcome abuse and that you are stronger than your abuser if you stand up to them.
Eventually, she remembers what happened to her and gets stronger and stronger.
When I self-published The Other Place I received lots of emails from people who had been abused, thanking me for shedding light on the issue and showing that life can be turned around in the end. People can overcome what’s happened to them.
For me personally, I’ve always refused to go to the doctors about it because I was determined to get through it myself.
I don’t believe in taking tablets – they can lead to other problems.
But when I wrote about panic attacks and claustrophobia in my book, I found I began to feel better.
It was like I had written my way through it.
I didn’t experience the same things as Chrissie in my book – I have never in any way been abused – but it made me realise you can work through things.
I used to wake up panicking that I was trapped and have to get up in the early hours of the morning.
One time I even dragged John out of bed for an early morning walk.
Thankfully, those times have gone now.
John and I have a Bearded Collie cross called Sophie and taking her for walks stops me from getting trapped in the house completely.
Writing the book really put things into perspective for me. I didn’t do it with that intention.
The characters just came into my head.
Chrissie is not me but I did grow up in a back-to-back house in Balsall Heath.
I wrote about my life story in my first book, Birmingham Girls, which I published in 2008.
I wasn’t sure about putting it onto Kindle to start with but, as soon as I did, it just took off and my other books have done since.
It’s been wonderful for me because I’d always wanted to write.
John and I had met when we’d both worked for the Co-op in Stirchley – me in the office and John in the garage, fixing vehicles.
We moved to Rugeley, Staffordshire and I looked after our children, Helen and Paul, as they grew up.
I did an office job again afterwards then worked in a garage up until I had my car accident and found I could no longer work.
Now, I write for an hour in the morning and a couple of hours each afternoon.
I find I write the first draft of a book at great speed but then take 12 months or so to sort it all out.
First, I jot a few ideas in a notepad then I write the book on my computer, which is where the story magically comes to life.
I am now working on a new book. The title will be The House Somewhere in Time.
I’ve always had an interest in the supernatural. I worked as a clairvoyant for quite a few years and used tarot cards to help give people something to look forward to. All of my books, apart from Birmingham Girls, are full of mystical happenings.
I have my books professionally edited before I publish them.
Just last month, The Other Place was rated number one in the supernatural and reincarnation books section on Amazon.
I found writing it really therapeutic, it was a blessing for me. It really helped me through and I’m just so glad it has been so well-received.
Link to the Birmingham Mail online  http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/