Really? You want to know about me?

Recently, I was asked about me. Not about my books, or my heroes and heroines, their lives and loves, the stories I tell of them, or the research I love to do. I’m always happy to talk about all of those things.

But no. This person asked about ME. Caitlyn Callery. Who was I? they wanted to know. Who was the person who wrote the stories?

The request made me uncomfortable. But then, I can’t be the only writer to feel like that. I suspect most writers are more than happy to sit behind the keyboard, hiding by shining the spotlight on the characters they thrust onto the stage for your delight and delectation.

The question was asked, though, and I did promise to try to answer it. So, here goes…

The Cathedrals at Coventry

I was born in Coventry, and grew up in Leicestershire, but moved to Sussex when I was eighteen years old, and have lived here ever since. I will always have a great love for both Coventry and for Leicestershire, but Sussex is my forever home, the place I love the best, the place I always come back to.

Chapel Green, Crowborough

My actual home is in Crowborough, which is on the Kent and Sussex border. It’s close to Tunbridge Wells, or to give it its full name, Royal Tunbridge Wells, a spa town with strong Regency connections.

I worked for a few years in Tunbridge Wells: at a bank, a Building Society (where I was once held up by a man with a sawn off shotgun), and at a call centre.

My other jobs were in Crowborough itself. When my children were small, I did my bit for the family income by working as a waitress in a pub and restaurant, and as a cleaner, both in people’s homes and after hours in two local supermarkets. I also worked as a mechanic’s mate and as a heavy goods vehicle driver for a local motor repair business, as well as in the administrative office of a church.

For the last few years before I became a full time writer, I was proud to work for World In Need, a charity whose Head Office is in Crowborough. From here, they support people in the developing world through sponsorship, training and education.

While I was at W.I.N., I twice drove a van load of wheelchairs, wheelchair parts and other disability aids from the UK, through France and Spain, and into Morocco, where they were used to give disabled people the chance to do more than they might otherwise have been able to do.

Nancy George Academy, Kenya

I also travelled, with six other people, to northern Kenya, where W.I.N. built a primary school, The Nancy George Academy. As part of our duties, we were given the task of planting 640 trees in one morning! The school staff told us it was an honour to be given this job. I’m not sure why they were laughing as we did it.

In February 2020, a week before the first COVID lockdown, I left W.I.N. to concentrate on writing full time. Since then, I have written six Regency Romances, all published by The Wild Rose Press, as is “A Deal With Her Father,” which is set in 1926. I am currently writing a sequel to that book, and working on my 7th and 8th Regency Romances, as well as a series of contemporary romance novels.

I am proud to say that my book, “Viscount in Hiding,” was shortlisted for the Jackie Collins Romantic Thriller of the Year Award in 2024, and went on to win the Heart Award for a sensual novel, which is sponsored by the Oklahoma Romance Writers’ Guild, a fabulous group of writers who champion Romantic writing in all its forms.

So, that’s me in a nutshell. Hope it answered your questions.