Contributor

Claire Ayres

Blogger, Writer, Marketer, Volunteer, Mental Health Activist.

Claire always has a book close at hand and devours Fantasy and Romance like some devour chocolate! Possibly an unusual combination of genres, Claire loves a happily ever after followed by lots of sword-fighting and dragons! As a book blogger she shares this love of reading with others by writing reviews, interviewing authors and ensuring there is daily book posts going out to the world. She’s also passionate about music, was a classicly trained musician as a youngster and is now a huge heavy metal fan who can also be found at a fair few classical concerts just to confuse people! Claire has Bipolar Disorder and is passionate about mental health, she is an active advocate speaking out about her own experiences, she is a trained peer-worker and volunteers for Bristol City Council as a walk-leader on a health walk once a week, where she gets to speak to people with varying degrees of mental ill health about their experiences as well as her own. She also volunteers with mental health charity Second Step offering her experience as a digital marketer, helping them with their social media and online marketing. She recently appeared on the radio with Jonny Benjamin speaking about a campaign she set up for them called #WhatMakesMeWell and is also spearheading a new campaign #PuttingMeFirst. Claire has been working in marketing for 17 years, she is a fully qualified and experienced Digital Marketer and holds the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Post-Graduate Diploma in Marketing. She loves marketing and has most recently worked with authors to help them with their marketing, combining her love of reading with her love of marketing. Writing has always been a huge part of life for Claire and she has now completed her first novel, a romance titled Entrapped. About a professional Cellist and a woman battling Depression. It combines Claire’s passion for mental health with her love of music and she love’s these characters thoroughly. She is currently writing a spin-off from this novel featuring another professional musician. After so many years wanting to write, to have finally let down the guard and be doing it is invigorating and she is loving every second of it.