Issues – valerie holmes, author

janlatest-1 — Catching up with Janice Rosser founder of OAPSchat!

Jan’s motto is ‘ONWARDS AND UPWARDS!’ which seems to be the way her brainchild, OAPSchat the community site targeted at over 55’s, is going.

So here is Jan to tell us about it…

Since you interviewed me in 2014, OAPSChat has grown and grown! In June 2014 I was delighted to be one of the recipients of The Independent on Sunday Top 100 Happy List Award. I wrote a blog for the website describing the experience.

My mother passed away on September 1st 2014 and fortunately Margaret my sister and I were both at her side when she died peacefully in my house.

Suddenly I was no longer a carer. Mum’s words to me when she was dying are still with me. “Make an even bigger success of the website love and bring people together to try and end loneliness. You and Margaret have looked after me so well and I have been really lucky having you both.”

Congratulations on The Independent on Sunday Top 100 Happy List Award, but I am very sorry that you lost your mum. She must have been very proud and appreciative of both you and Margaret and the loving care you took of her.

So…… since then, so much has happened. I have been on local radio twice, interviewed my folk hero Ralph McTell, along with Dr Mark Porter, the owner of Laithwaites Wines, and many more celebrities. I appeared in Wetherspoons magazine in March 2015.

I evaluate many products for companies and send out a monthly newsletter to over 480 people.

I have 126 wonderful contributors now and over 1130 articles for people to read and comment on. Ranked at just over 12,000 in UK website rankings as at 11/11/2016, 2016 is drawing to a close better and busier than ever.

So what do you plan for 2017?

My aim is to hopefully be in the top 5,000 UK websites and to be the most popular online community magazine. The purpose for starting the website was to help combat loneliness and bring together people from all walks of life to forge new friendships and online companionship. This has certainly happened, but there is still a long way to go. My ‘baby’ born in November 2013 is now a toddler at three years old this month and true to toddler behaviour is more demanding and growing at a rate that I never thought possible!

I hope you hit the 5,000 ranking!

I love what I do and have met and am meeting new people all the time. One never stops learning and almost every day I receive a new article or write about a different topic myself.

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas Valerie and a Happy and Healthy New Year and thank you for inviting me back for an update.

It is inspiring to read about your progress with this extremely valuable site. I wish you, your family and OAPschat community a Merry Christmas and a very happy, prosperous and healthy 2017!

Click to read Jan’s original interview

Occasionally I drift away from my love of history for a change of pace and venture into a contemporary world of suspense, love and adventure. This usually happens when something in reality has struck a nerve, such as when a friend’s home was burgled.

Jen’s world is turned upside down when she should be at a happy beginning in her life. She is hounded by a string of unnerving events and then someone breaks into her home; her new sanctuary.

We read about burglaries all the time. However, they are not only a violation of a person’s belongings and space, but also their peace of mind. How quickly a person bounces back from such an experience will depend upon the individual and the extent of the theft and damage.

Doubts can linger regarding the motivation behind the crime – Was it a random event? Was I targeted? Did they know my work pattern so that I would not be there? Do they know me?

In fiction we can play with these questions, keeping the answers and consequences within our control. However, in reality, overcoming such a personal violation can take a lot of time. Authors often focus on the crime and catching the criminals, but I respect that for the victim this is only part of the process of healing and restoring that inner peace.

If you want to read Jen’s story, Roses are Dead is available from Amazon and Smashwords.