Giveaway & Goodbye to My Debut Author Year!

So I am sitting on a sofa in front of a lovely christmas tree reflecting on twenty sixteen. It has been a year of surprises for many people both from a political standpoint and from the shocking amount of celebrities that many now mourn. I don’t pretend to be overly eloquent as far as politics go but with Brexit and the new President Elect soon to take office, 2017 threatens to be another year of unknowns and anxiety for many.

I personally have sat with my eleven year old daughters in the car, on the sofa, in a coffee shop and various other places and felt my heart break for the amount of suffering and violence in this world. Trying to explain why someone wants to drive a lorry into a crowd of unsuspecting people or massacre them in a nightclub; or why life is so desperate people are willing to risk their lives and that of their families only to drown in their thousands in the sea has been difficult and upsetting to say the least. That said I know I cannot shield them from the harshness of this world, and that the reality of life is far more cruel for many people than we will ever comprehend, however I do find it hard to understand the evil of some of the human race. Anyway I did not set out to be morose, it’s just when you actually think about everything that is happening on this beautiful planet it can lure you to be so.

Despite all those things I personally am proud of what I have achieved in 2016. This time last year I had just sent out the first couple of copies of my first manuscript to three friends to get their feedback. It didn’t have a name and was still about 140,000 words. Like many authors I work full time and have family commitments so it took a lot of work to get those 140,000 words into a state I was happy for others, book bloggers, book lovers and book critics to read. I spent months researching and writing to agents, things I had initiated way before this point (back in 2015) I kept adapting my blurb and rewriting the letters I sent. I have to say that I became too impatient to keep writing and waiting months for the big fat rejection. “We are sorry to inform you your book isn’t right for our list at this time” is a standard rejection response by the way, for all you authors brave enough and patient enough to give finding an agent your time. I’m afraid I’m not that patient and only lasted about three months before I set my sights on self-publishing. I released my first book A Bond of Venom and Magic in October and because of that have connected with some amazing people. There is no doubt self-publishing is hard work. I have learnt a lot but I have also discovered I have not done things in the best of ways too. From designing a book cover to formatting to marketing (eeek!) it is all on you. You are essentially director of your own company and all decisions, good and bad are yours. I think, however, finding you needed to do things differently is something most indie authors discover after releasing a book. Finding author groups makes it easier to network with other authors and share ideas.

Another issue you don’t really think about when you become an author is how you will feel when a poor review comes in. I am not a stranger to having a critical review. In my day job as a Resuscitation and Clinical skills trainer a review process is how we improve in a professional capacity, but some reviewers really don’t think about the person who has slaved over writing that book and are thoughtless with their words. Learning to deal with that and not react publicly has been a challenge for me.

So what does 2017 hold for me? I have written the second book in my series and am already in the first Beta reading stage. The feedback I have received on A Bond of Blood and Fire from the awesome readers who have given up their time to help is fantastic. If any of you are reading this thank you so much. I know how busy this time of year is for you all. Another project I have on my list of goals to achieve is completing the pre-quel in the The Goddess and the Guardians series. This tale will explain a little more about the history of the fae kingdom of Avalonia and it’s Royal lineage. I am intending to provide this as a free read for all my current mailing list subscribers and any new sign ups in 2017. I envisage it being completed early summer. I am also very excited to have commissioned a series of book covers for The Goddess and the Guardians series. Book one’s will be ready in March so keep an eye out here and on my Facebook group for sign ups for the cover reveal. My newsletter is also where you will be able to sign up for Advanced Read Copies of ABOBAF. Join here

Thank you to all of you that have given me your support on the beginning of my author journey. My goal is to finish the Goddess and the Guardians series this year, at least in a rough draft and begin the next book that keeps popping up in my head. I am so excited to share the conclusion of Diamond and Hugo’s journey with my readers and begin a completely different series. I for one am looking forward to what 2017 may bring, after all each new day is a blank slate and a place to achieve something more. I know life isn’t always kind and I expect there will be sadness as well as happiness for us all but I for one intend to make the most of it.

To celebrate the new year I have put together a giveaway. Just enter to be in with a chance of winning an ecopy of A Bond of Venom and Magic.