- That 2012 be my year of writing
- That I'd wear nail polish on my toenails
- That I'd drink gin
Interestingly, I've stuck to the first one, and totally bombed out on the second two. Well, I ran out of gin, and am working my way through the alcohol cabinet before I go out and start buying new bottles of anything. I sound like a complete alcoholic now, don't I?
Anyway, without further ado, I'd like to take a deep breath and announce that I've contracted Drive Me To Distraction with Momentum Books, the e-publishing arm of Pan Macmillian.
Which means, I'm going to be a published author again.
OMG, I'm going to be a published author again!!! :D
Its been a long time between novels for me.
After Secret Intentions was published I was diagnosed with a scorching case of Post-Natal Depression. I made a decision, at that time, to step back from publishing (hell, I was such a mess I could barely make myself a cup of tea, let alone market a book). In any case, I found my anti-depressants totally squashed my creativity, and writing took more energy that I had to give.
I let it go.
Well, to a degree. I never stopped blogging! But what I wrote about became what was happening in everyday life. Not fiction.
A year passed. I found my feet and with the help of a brilliant counsellor and the anti-depressants, I slowly recovered from PND.
Then the wonderful Trisha Telep asked me to write a short story for The Mammoth Book of Special Ops Romance (The Grey Man) and the popularity of that led to a big jump in sales of both Running Scared and Secret Intentions. The writing spark began to flicker once more.
18 months after my diagnosis, I stopped taking the anti-depressants. Still wary of putting myself under to much pressure, and dealing with Miss (now) 6, who as it turned out, had Aspergers syndrome, I did not dive right in, but instead started to write. The stories were stories of my heart; named Drive Me To Distraction, The Bunker, Running With The Hunted and Fat Chance. They followed no rhyme or reason, or structure or rules.
And then in early 2012 I decided it was time to start submitting again, just to see what would happen. By mid February I had five full requests from seven query letters, and things were looking pretty exciting.
Which brings us to today.
I have read and signed the contract. Sent it on its way, and am filled with a huge sense of satisfaction and anticipation. My story will be out by the end of the year, and I am so excited to be back.
:)
