I’m Sara Thomson: author, creativity coach, and the person behind the tools, resources, and books you’ll find on this site.
I’m passionate about writing and creativity. My fiction will transport you from the late Victorian period right through to the dark days of WWII and my programmes will help you develop your own creative practice.
Hi, I’m Sara author, creativity coach, and the person behind the tools, resources, and books you’ll find on this site.
I write historical fiction set against the backdrop of war, family secrets, and the lives of ordinary women in extraordinary times. And alongside that, I create practical resources to help writers and creatives move through blocks, build confidence, and find a way of working that fits their real life.
Both sides of my business come from the same place, a deep belief that creativity matters, that it deserves proper support, and that everyone who feels the pull toward creative work deserves to follow it.
Pot of tea
First thing everyday
With a book
Favourite place
My Family
most important
Creative life
My mission
My creativity journey…
I’ve always been creative, even when I didn’t have the confidence to call myself that.
As a child I had a strong creative pull; writing was always where it felt most natural, even when life pushed me in other directions. The very first book I ever wrote was a children’s story for my sister when I was seven. I painstakingly drew very bad little hedgehogs and animals, stuck the whole thing together with Sellotape, and presented my work to a delighted little girl. Something about that feeling never really left.
Despite gravitating toward creative work throughout my life, and spending fourteen years in marketing, specialising in content, copywriting, and social media, I spent a long time telling myself that writing a book was something I’d do one day. It took a lightbulb moment to realise that one day would never arrive unless I changed it into today.
I published my first novel in 2016, followed a few years later by the second. Since then I’ve experienced long periods of creative block, times of uncertainty about direction, and seasons where there was simply no room left for anything except existing. It’s all of that, the struggles as much as the successes, that led me to want to help other creatives on their own journey.
Because I’ve been the person who suppressed her creativity for years. I’ve been the person living a life she didn’t recognise, just to fit in with what everyone else deemed successful. And I know that you can only do that for so long before something has to change.
My reading life…
I make sure to find joy in the simple things in life…
And, when things get too much I can always fall back on my first love: reading. There’s nothing better than the pure escapism that comes from entering another world through a book.
My favourite genre is historical fiction, though not the romantic kind. I prefer mystery, intrigue, a psychological thread, and stories that shift through time with multiple protagonists. My favourite authors include Kate Morton, Helen Forrester, Gemma Liviero, Diane Setterfield, and Kate Riordan — and my all-time favourite book series is Helen Forrester’s autobiography beginning with Twopence to Cross the Mersey.
I also read widely in non-fiction — entrepreneurship, business, writing, and mindset.
The people in my life..
My family are the most important thing to me…
I’ve been married since I was very young, and we have four children, three of whom are grown up now and another who is still school age. More recently, I became a Nannie when my eldest son became a Dad and had a son of his own. And, my youngest and I are now embarking on a new home education journey.
We’ve travelled a lot over the years because my husband was a career soldier for 22 years, which meant moving house every three years for the whole 22 years, but he’s happily retired now so we’ve settled back home in the North East of England and couldn’t be more happy not to have to move so often.
I have a cute little dog called Dylan, and a cat called Blake, who I can honestly say is more demanding than the children were, and I spend my weekends with a crochet hook or knitting needles creating something gorgeous. My to-do pile of crochet and knitting is a bit like my TBR pile; huge and never-ending, but that’s the best part.
Qualifications & Experience
What I’m working on
Currently writing The Deadly Secret of Bramblewood: the first full novel in my new murder mystery series set in a small village in the North East of England in the 1940s. Also developing a growing collection of practical tools and resources for writers and creatives.
Want to find out more about the books? → Explore my books
Looking for creative support and resources? → Browse resources and downloads
Have a question? → Get in touch
Fun Facts about Sara…
