Moving on ..

The tomatoes are glorious this year. Especially good for the tomato chapter so if you've got a copy of Prepped promise to make the spiced tomatoes Jam on page 128 .. and the tomatoes sauce is delicious as a cold soup.

Well.. the year to write Prepped is up . I feel as though I am ready now for the next stage. I can't tell you all how much I've loved writing Prepped. I've learnt so much a met so many amazing people.

It's been seriously good fun and whilst I don't want to dispel the romance of it all I feel it is only fair to say that it has been the hardest thing I've ever done. Meeting the deadlines and writing Prepped was all consuming and trust me ... it tested all my relationships and pushed my health and waist line to the absolute boundaries!

As I set forth on this adventure I honestly believed I would get Prepped in the eyes of the foodie world up there in the best seller list with ease... I mean It is really fabulous and I was totally convinced it's uniqueness was enough to consider retiring as TV deals and invitations to consult on the menu for the royal wedding were going to come flooding in !

Please don't get me wrong .. Prepped is really selling well which is the scary bit when you consider all the hours of PR and bloggiing and a BBC Radio show, a Newspaper column and a huge Twitter following it's the truth to say that the royalties alone are not nearly enough to pay the bills. I won't say I wan't warned by by other far more experienced and successful authors then me. I was told that that writing on its own is simply not a way to make a good living, despite being such a lovely way to live ones life. . it's financially challenging is the what one seriously famous Author said to me ! The phrase I kept hearing was that is is necessary to supplement you income. . but being ever the optimist I ignored the advise in the hope I would prove everyone wrong. In case my husband is reading this ( Alastair sit down ... !) I'm not always right and so I am going back to work after the summer holidays are over.

I'm not however, going back to my old job. I am starting a whole new chapter in my life with a new set of specialist skills I shall be going back into Management Consultancy within the food, drink and hospitality industry. I already have some commercial recipe development commissions and I've now got several magazines I am writing for.

With the regional and local BBC Radio food shows, my fabulous weekly newspaper column in the Chronicle & Echo, coupled with Prepped I have every reason to believe that all the skills in the highly successful commercial career I once had are transferable .. so onward in my foodie adventures as a journalist, Food Consultant and BBC food journalist .. at www.VanessaKimbell.com

I want to say to you all thank you all from the bottom of my heart for following the adventures of writing a recipe book

........ Hooray for following your dreams!

Love

Vanessa

x

PS this is not the last post of Prepped at all and of course I shall keep updating .. but to follow my day to day journalism and Broadcasting then www.VanessaKimbell.com is the place to go

.. and yes a 2nd recipe book is being worked on .. so I shall be testing again