You know that saying 'life begins at 40'? Well, I am discovering that my early 40's are definitely the age where I have found my metier as a writer, author and broadcaster. None of these things I set out to do, nor did I have any great aspirations from birth to become them, but accidentally or otherwise I have found my home. In the first 20 years of my career, I've gathered experiences, knowledge and expertise from some bizarre and interesting places - mostly by not 'settling down', much to my mother's chagrin!

Though, if I look back on my life, it has always involved media and publishing in some form.

My first experiences of PR were in the press box at Headingley cricket ground, as a student, pulling pints and learning what sports journalism was all about.  

I followed a career in magazine publishing, graduating from weekly business to business magazines at Emap to contract magazines at Forward Publishing, gathering a truckload of knowledge and experience along the way.

I've taken the leap into self employment and an interesting journey of self development, becoming a Master Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming, and developing a specific expertise in language and behaviour patterns known in NLP parlance as Meta-Programs. I've used this in training, coaching, interviewing, market research, copywriting, and coming up with creative marketing strategies for all sorts of people and organisations.

I have always had a love of horses and an particular interest in the horse/human relationship. So in 2002 I self-published a coaching manual for horse riders to overcome confidence problems (The Fizz Kit) and then became a mainstream published author following a talk at Your Horse Live in 2004. I now have three books of horsy humour published by Hodder and Stoughton (see my blog for more details), and through that experience know more about the book publishing world than I care to think about. (I'm writing a book about that too!)

The books led me to a radio interview on BBC Radio Leicester with Tony Wadsworth and that sparked off a new interest and career in radio broadcasting. I now co-present the Girls on Top show on Saturday's 11am - 1pm on Boundary Sound. You can tune in here.

I also quite fancied trying out TV presenting, having a desire to be England's answer to Oprah. A chance meeting via Ecademy with a lovely chap called Richard Flewitt, who just happened to live in the next village, led to my presenting The Book Channel - a new programme on Sky 166 for book lovers and writers. How brilliant is that! The Book Channel combines my love of books, knowledge of publishing, my interviewing skills and my desire to present a TV show.

And in the process I have had to learn how to market and promote myself through every available avenue including social media. My book on Social Networking for Rookies is due to hit the shelves on August 27th.

I have a favourite quote by George Eliot (who was of course a female writer) which is this:

'It's never too late to be who you might have been'

That is my mantra and a theme for another book I am researching. If you have tipped over 40 and found your metier in the second half of your life, then get in touch. I'm looking for great stories to inspire, entertain and maybe even educate.

So here I am, living who I might have been, enjoying every moment and hoping I can share some of the knowledge, wisdom and experience that I have gleaned along the way, with you - whether you want to navigate the world of publishing and broadcasting or the world of social media or indeed both!

See my Black Book for some of the associates that contribute to the TLB Media team.