User Id: bevalex

Email Address: Private

Date Registered: 23 March 2012

Warning: some of this is boring.

I have worked most recently as an English Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University and as a Regional Team Leader for Cambridge ESOL (marking international examinations). I am currently writing more or less full time and teaching English privately from my house in South West France, which is somewhere between a nightmare and a dream. As I spend most of my free time outside in the sunshine I can leave the house renovation to my husband, who has taken up swearing.

I like lots of things including: astronomy (not, as some of my students believe, astrology), reading (Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell, Robert Frost or anything brilliant really), writing, writing and writing.

I discovered this site by accident and am amazed that so many people are just like me, wanting to get real feedback on their work. I've written four books and have started a fifth. The first one is of course a mess, even if it is my favourite. The second one is far more organised and, hopefully, well written (you can judge for yourselves and please tell me the truth). The third is a bit of chicklit I suppose, as it is about the time I worked for Playboy as a blackjack dealer (strange but true). The fourth and most recent one is hot off the keyboard and is waiting for a good edit when I have some uninterrupted time, if you know what I mean.

I'm learning a lot on the site, like how to write reviews that are helpful - apologies to the early victims if I fell short. Also, reading a much wider range of genres than I would normally be exposed to. Very challenging. Being an examiner (boring bit) I am used to being objective. Perhaps not so used to being sensitive and tactful. For myself, I would like the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth - constructively, of course!

The future I would like would be to find a motivated and enthusiastic agent and get into print. No surprises there. So thank you for helping me along the way and I hope t