It is a little known fact that hard work is the vital element in successful writing, with perhaps a little luck occasionally thrown in. Wendy Hughes is one of the hardest working and energetic writers I know, yet she turned to the craft in 1989 when ill-health and poor vision forced her into early medical retirement. Since then she has published 26 nonfiction books, and over 1,700 articles published. Her work has appeared in magazines as diverse as The Lady, Funeral Service Journal, On the Road, 3rd Stone, Celtic Connections, Best of British, and Guiding magazine.)
Welsh/American Readers
Hughes' books include many on her native Wales, Anglesey Past and Present, The Story of Brecknock, Brecon, a pictorial History of the Town, Carmarthen, a History and Celebration and Tales of Old Glamorgan. She has also co-authored two story/activity books for children, and a book on Walton on Thames in the Images of England series, a company history and two books on the charity Hope Romania. Her latest books are, Haunted Worthing published in October 2010, and a new colour edition of The Story of Pembrokeshire published in March 2011. She has two books coming out in June 2011, Shipwrecks of Sussex and The Story of Gower (colour edition), and is currently working on The Story of Carmarthenshire for the same series,
Stickler Syndrome Support Group
Hughes has spent many years campaigning and writing on behalf of people affected by Stickler Syndrome, a progressive genetic connective tissue disorder from which she herself suffers. She founded the Stickler Syndrome Support Group and raises awareness of the condition amongst the medical profession, and produces the group’s literature, and has written the only book on the condition, Stickler The Elusive Syndrome, and has also contributed to a DVD on the condition.
Hughes' Fictional Work
There is a fictional element to Hughes’ work. She has also written three novels, Sanctimonious Sin, a three generation saga set in Wales at the turn of the century, Powers That Heal set in the Neolithic period and a semi biographical book entitled New Beginnings which deals with two generations coping with blindness and a genetic condition. She also gives talks and runs workshops on the craft of writing. Her latest venture is two audio presentations on how to get published and how to write a novel.
If that is not vigorous enough, Hughes also founded her own writing group, is currently the Hon Membership Secretary for the Society of Women Writers and Journalists and a member of the Society of Authors based in London.
Source: The Woman Writer - History of the Society of Women Writers & Journalists published by The History Press (2010)
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