rockingrector
Hello, I'm Janice B. Scott, and delighted to meet you.
I live in the UK, in Norfolk, which is the bump of south-east England, about 150 miles from London.
I started writing in the seventies, when I had a couple of short stories published. At the time I was working as a chartered physiotherapist, was married to Ian (still am) and bringing up three children (they're all grown and flown, now).
In the late eighties I changed careers and was ordained priest in the Church of England in 1994, one of the first women priests in England. My ordination was in Norwich Cathedral, and although we've moved around four times since then, we are still living near Norwich.
In the nineties, when the internet began to come into its own, I started my own website offering weekly sermons, and a weekly story suitable for both children and adults. This took off, and was eventually taken over by CSS Publications in the USA. They published a volume of my short stories - Children's Stories From The Village Shepherd.
At the same time I started writing for Redemptorist Publications, an international publishing house producing Sunday newsletters and preaching support. Redemptorist describe themselves as "Gypsy priests and brothers", which is quite a good description of my attitude to the church. I guess I'm something of a maverick, sitting lightly to the structures.
By this time I was rector of six rural parishes in south Norfolk, just over the border from Suffolk. Life was rich here in so many respects - laughter and tears, excitements and sadnesses, highs and lows. A rural Church of English parish is a bit like an unwieldy family, with good and bad alike, but still part of the family. This is reflected in my novels.
In 2009 I completed an MA in Pastoral Theology with the Cambridge (UK) Theological Foundation. Pastoral theology starts with people and the events shaping their lives, and asks the question, "Where is God in this?" My novels are lightly based on this sort of question, so as well as the characters and the plots, you'll find some gentle speculation on life's big questions, like, Is there really any life after death?
I'm now writing novels, all with the background of the Church of England in Norwich Diocese, where I live and work. My experiences as rector of small, rural parishes with all the intrigues, humour and sadnesses, form the backdrop to my novels.
Two have been published so far. "Heaven Spent" is about Polly, a young and enthusiastic curate who leaves college full of enthusiasm and energy only to find herself subject to her incumbent Henry and his wife Mavis, who are elderly, old-fashioned and traditional. Clashes soon surface.
"Babes And Sucklings" is also about Polly, but now she has a new incumbent, Vernon, who is very strange. When a small girl goes missing from the local school, rumours abound and Vernon is suspected of being a paedophile.
My third novel is more or less finished, and waiting to go to the publisher. Again, it's about Polly, but now she is a rector herself, with four parishes to look after. This one is a murder/mystery.
I'm just beginning the long process of planning the fourh novel, again a murder/mystery featuring Polly. I think I have the bones of the plot sorted, now working on the characterisation. Once that's done, I'll go over the plot in much more detail, working out what i need in each chapter. Then, at last, will sit down to write!
Happy reading, and watch this space!
