Dawn Brookes
Festival founder and author, Dawn Brookes started writing seriously three years ago.
I worked in the NHS for many years, and I was working late one night, reminiscing about life as a trainee. I thought how nice it would be to recapture those early nursing days so I began writing my first memoir. I almost gave up after I lost half the work when my computer crashed a few months later, and didn’t write for a year! In 2016, I broke my foot in three places. Unable to drive, and bored, I picked up the laptop and finished the memoir in six weeks – Hurry up Nurse: memoirs of nurse training in the 1970s was the result. This book has been a consistent kindle bestseller for over 15 months in the USA and at times in the UK.
In my early career, I moved to London, working at the London Chest Hospital in Bethnal Green. My time in London is covered in my second memoir – Hurry up Nurse 2: London calling.
I am embracing life as an author and write across genres, more recently focussing on a cosy mystery series based around my love of cruising. The first book in this series, A Cruise to Murder. I have recently finished the third, Killer Cruise and am currently writing the fourth, Dying to Cruise. I continue to focus on writing and have plans for a PI series once the cosy mystery series is established.
What I Bring to Oakwood
I believe there are no limits to what a person can achieve if they set their mind to it, no matter what background we are born into, we should not be restrained by boundaries. I don’t believe that your background dictates who you are. I hope to inspire others through our small festival, and through my writing.