Nerves, Rashes and Insomnia

This morning I woke up a contracted author. A publisher wants to publish my first fantasy novel, Catalyst and I said yes. Signed all the contracts and sent everything in. I am also having my editor begin a review of Book Two, Piaculum. Scary, scary, scary but not cripplingly so. Maybe I need to sleep tomorrow morning.

A large and loving shout out to my friends and family who have been conned or hornswagled into my questioning and moaning. This has been a labor of love and insanity. Love because writing is what I always enjoyed doing but was afraid I would never make a living at it and insanity because at the age of almost 50 who publishes their first book? Apparently me.

I have always written little snippets of things over the years but nothing of substance. Then came children and working in our family business and for many years life outweighed dreams. With the reality of mortgages and PTA, the stories I have always had inside went dormant. But the hope of one day putting it all back together still flickered in the back of my mind.

Then my eldest went away to college, and the clouds soon parted. With time open in my day I began writing the story that had been peculating for several years. That was three years ago.

The initial rough draft took six months to get onto paper. I've edited, rewritten, edited again, gotten professional advice (for the book not for me!) and rewritten more. Eighteen months ago the book was finally ready to start sending to publishers. Query letters and polite rejections later, here we are.

Am I nervous? Incredibly! But the excitement balances the nervousness so far. Writing is a book is raising another child. Your cultivate the story, nurture your characters and discipline them when they threaten to run wild. Releasing that child to the public raises your defensive mode. Will it be well taken care of? Will someone love them the way you do? Did you do the best job you could with the story?

Well, soon all of you will have the chance to see how I did. The process of getting published takes a lot of time. More editing, more revising, artwork, the list goes on and on. I will keep everyone apprised of the situation. Be prepared for ups and downs - I am. Because, this is my third child. I intend to protect her well.