I thought I should introduce myself to those who don't know me. I chose my pen name R.K.J. Adams not because I wanted to be JRR Tolkien or JK Rowling but because there was already a famous author Ruth Adams.
I was born in Staffordshire in the early 1960s. For many years I lived in the West Midlands, then Derbyshire. From there I relocated to the northern Highlands and have lived here now for thirteen years with my long-suffering husband Mr Adams and our menagerie of pets. Currently, we have four rescue dogs, all as bonkers as their humans.
My dreams of being an author began when I was really young. Books have always been in my world but I had no time to write. Working, as a teacher, then head teacher, kept me busy. In 2019 I made a momentous decision to retire early after a lifetime in primary education. My health had taken a downturn and I needed to recover.
Less than six months later the world stopped because of Covid. Everything changed. I found the little girl who wanted to be an author again. In October 2021 I began to write. By early spring 2022 I had the bones of my first novel, 'Wasn't Me, Miss!' published in July 2022. Then came a poetry anthology 'Birth, Death and The Bits In Between'; a collection of poems written over the years about life published in December 2022.
In February 2023 a local school approached me to take part in World Book Day as an author. With no children's book written by me, I set about quickly putting together something for the day which resulted in 'What shall I be?' It was published in March 2023. A second children's book, 'Who's That Snoring?' followed in July, and a third, 'It's Not Fair!' was published in November 2023.
Searching For Light', a second adult anthology of poems is due to be published in November 2024. My next writing venture has taken me to a murder set in the Highlands. It will hopefully be published soon.
Life on the other side of retirement is cool! Apart from Mr A and the pets, my other passion is photography. I am an amateur but I love taking images. Living in the Highlands means there are plenty of opportunities for capturing nature's gems.
Books are available from this website. Please visit my bookstore for more information.
'A dream doesn't become a reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.'
Colin Powell