I'd like you all to share a glass of bubbly with me because I'm delighted to tell you... I've signed another two-book deal with my publisher Bookouture!
This means that I will have another two psychological thrillers published in 2020. One in May and the other in December. I've been in discussions for the last month and keeping quiet has been the hardest thing to do when what I've really wanted to do is shout it from the rooftops.
This is what the commissioning editor said in her announcement. I'm so proud!
This novel-writing lark has been quite a journey, a steep learning curve with many ups and downs along the way, but it's been exciting and to be continuing on my new path is something definitely worth celebrating. I've already started my next novel and it's great to get to know new characters. Not that I've forgotten the old ones. I'm delighted that What She Saw is still receiving great reviews (currently 4.8 out of 5 on Amazon) and is still holding its own in the kindle charts.
Exciting things are also happening with my second novel, We Were Sisters, as it's now available to pre-order, I can't wait until publication day on August 8th.
If you'd like to have a digital copy wing it's way to you on publication day, you can order it here
I'm delighted that I'm sharing this publication date with my favourite author, Lisa Jewell. What great company to be in!
Luckily, the announcement of my new signing came just a day before I went to my first publisher's summer party in London, which meant I didn't have to keep things quiet. I went along with writing friend and fellow Bookouture author, Liz Eeles, who kindly allowed me to take the bus rather than brave the tube.
It was a great party. So many authors to try and recognise from their social media pictures,
so many faces to match to books, so many people's names to forget. Who cares if it's now all a blur... everyone was so friendly and didn't seem to mind if I introduced myself to them twice! I also got to catch up with my lovely editor, Jen, and had the chance to quiz other members of the Bookouture team about their roles. I had no idea so much went on behind the scenes.
Maybe it might have been better if my first question to Oliver Rhodes, Bookouture's founder, hadn't been, 'So, what do you write?' or thrown two canapes on the floor but I came home exhausted and proud that my hard work has paid off and I am now part of this great family.
It's been a long and hard slog to get here but I think my fortunes finally turned when I won the Flash500 Novel Competition. If you fancy reading more about what happened after my win, you can pop over to Loraine Mace's blog and have a read.
It's back to my work in progress now but I'd just like to say one last word.
'Cheers!'
My husband and I have just come back from a holiday in our favourite part of England... The Lake District.
It's the seventh holiday we've had there and, whatever the weather, we just love it. As you can see from the photograph below, that's just as well! (Luckily we had enough breaks in the rain to do many lovely walks).
This year's visit was a special one and those of you who have been following my writing journey will know why. Yes, in May, my psychological thriller, What She Saw, was published by Bookouture and The Lake District was its setting.
The plan, this year, was to revisit all the wonderful places that had inspired the plot and provided key settings.
From our home in the south, it's a long drive to Cumbria (especially when you have lots of holdups on the motorway) but luckily my husband is a member of Audible and we spent the journey there listening to the audio version of my book. As Beth described her walk on the fells, just as we rounded a corner and the first peaks appeared, it was a very proud moment indeed.
We usually stay in a terrace of small miners' cottages near Chapel Stile called Lingmoor View (the inspiration for the one where Beth and her family live in my fictitious village of Church Langdon). Unfortunately, this year, it was already booked up in the week we wanted to visit, so we stayed in a different one in Grasmere, complete with a garden loved by red squirrels. We did make a visit to the cottages though so I could take a photograph with What She Saw.
Another key place in the novel is Temple Cavern, a disused slate quarry where Beth sits and draws the birds of prey she's so fascinated with. It features several times in the book and I created the place by merging Cathedral Cave at Little Langdale with Rydal Caves.
I love the majesty and mystery of the former but the entrance to Rydal Cave, with its stepping stones leading through the green water into the disused quarry, is how I envisage the entrance.
Slaters Bridge is another place that is mentioned and is where I took the photograph at the top of my blog. We also visited, The Three Shires pub where Beth has Sunday lunch with her parents.
It's been a wonderful and momentous week in one of our favourite places and, to cap it all, I returned home to the news that What She Saw has sold just under twenty thousand copies in just over a month. I can hardly believe it.
Maybe my husband and I are not the only ones who love this stunning part of the country!
If you'd like to read, What She Saw, you can buy it here
