Happy New Year everyone and thank you for checking out my blog; it has been a long time coming, but, with an exciting year ahead, I have finally decided to get organised and get posting.

I intend to focus on writing and reading, but as I have a bit of a cinema-going habit that will be added in from time to time too. As no doubt, will things about life in general; for those who don’t know, I have a husband, four children, two grandchildren, a guinea pig and a crazy Labrador puppy, so life is fun, with a bit of hectic thrown in. At a later date (when I know what I’m doing) I also hope to have guest posts and interviews with some of the lovely authors and bloggers I have met through my writing.

Writing:

January is off to a good start. I have completed the edits to my manuscript. While my previous book, Crazy Over You – self-published through Matador – had several edits, a copy edit and a proofread, editing for a publisher (who has their audience to consider) is new to me.

When I first received Jane Eastgate’s editorial report, along with the Choc Lit tasting panel feedback, being told I had to change aspects of certain characters was overwhelming. I’d spent two and a half years in the company of these characters; they had become my family and friends. It took at least a day to get my head around what was being asked and then, with Christmas approaching and my children breaking up from school, a little longer to stop panicking about when I would fit it in. Once I shut myself away in a hotel room (perks of the job) and got started, it all felt more manageable, and I found the process exciting.

Each step taken now is a step towards publication and my debut with Ruby Fiction, the new imprint of Choc Lit. I can’t wait for my book to be out, and it will be interesting to see how the title, currently Regret Me Not, is changed and what the cover will look like. As I had already commissioned a cover from Drew Bristow (who did the cover for Crazy Over You), before my new book was signed to Choc Lit, it will be interesting for me to compare our interpretation with that of the in-house cover designer. It is all a wonderful learning curve!

I have also booked onto Sue Moorcroft’s writing retreat in June. It is a week in Umbria in the company of other writers; though mostly we’ll be ignoring each other with our heads down writing. I am very much looking forward to it. At the moment, I can’t actually think about leaving my children for that long, or taking the flight by myself, without looking like the image from the scream painting. But, nevertheless, with my forty-fifth birthday approaching – next week arghhh – I am determined to embrace the adventure.

Reading:

My current read is Jane Lovering’s The Boys of Christmas, which happens to be Choc Lit title. Reviews help authors and their work get noticed, even if you only have time to leave a sentence or two, and so I always review the books I read. I’m really enjoying it at the moment, and look forward to sharing more about it next time.

Thank you for getting this far and I hope you’ll stop by again. x