His Hidden Wife Hits Amazon Top 50!

I apologise in advance for the fact that this is going to be an incredibly excitable post... for many reasons.

The first is that a week ago, my fourth psychological thriller, His Hidden Wife, was published by Bookouture. That's four books in just over two years! I have to admit that although I was passionate about this book, it was a hard one to write. So much so that when I handed it over to my editor, I knew something was off but I was too close to it to know what it was. 

There were two parts to the story (a present day story and a story set twelve years earlier) narrated by different people. After a week or so, my editor came back to me and told me she knew what was wrong: the story set in the past wasn't necessary. It needed to come out. Yes.. all of it!

I could have cried but my lovely editor had worked with me on my three previous books and got it right so I knew I had to trust her judgement. I had to have faith that at the end of it, my book would be a stronger one even though the amount of work needed seemed overwhelming.

So began several weeks of structural edits, followed by several more of line edits that were almost as hard. They were, by far, the most difficult edits I've had to do for any of my books and I'll be honest and say that, at times, I wondered if I could do it. I even wondered, at my lowest point, whether after I'd finished, I'd ever want to write another book. 

But I carried on and eventually saw the light at the end of the tunnel. When I'd finished, I read the new version and thought: Do you know what? This isn't bad at all.

Thank goodness I wasn't the only one to think so because, a week on from publication day, His Hidden Wife has become an Amazon Kindle Top 50 bestseller (peaking at #43). It is number one in the Hot New Fiction charts in both the UK and the US and has sold more books in the first week than I ever could have imagined.

The picture at the top of the page is of me signing books for my local bookshop. I have to pinch myself to believe it! At the moment they're only taking phone orders from customers but I'm looking forward to taking some photos in the shop once they open again. It's a gorgeous little bookshop and one I share with Julia Donaldson (who lives in the same village) who can often be found signing her children's picture books in school holidays.

My books have always done better in the UK than in the US so it was particularly gratifying to find that the book raced up the Amazon charts across the pond as well. I am so very grateful to everyone who bought and shared and reviewed as I certainly couldn't have done it on my own.

You can buy His Hidden Wife here

This was the second publication day I've had in lockdown so I knew that I wasn't going to be having a huge celebration. Instead, I had a mini publication party with my friends via Zoom, drank Prosecco and scoffed the delicious cakes and biscuits my publisher sent me.

And what of the next book? Let's just say it's going well and when it's published at the end of the year, I'm hoping I'll be able to celebrate in (non-lockdown) style!
 

Did I achieve my 2020 Writing Goals?

First of all, I'd like to wish you all a very Happy New Year. 2020 has been an odd year to say the least... many of us at some time in the last twelve months have experienced lockdowns, tiers, panic buying, cancelled holidays, not being able to see who we like when we like and shops, pubs, restaurants, cinema and theatres closing. Sadly, many will also have had to cope with illness and bereavement (mercifully, we have escaped this so far).

But there has also been a silver lining to 2020. For one, my daughter who works and lives in London, started a new job which she could do from home, gave up her tenancy and moved back with us at the beginning of March. It's not just because she's good company that it's worked so well, she's a great cook too!

As a writer, I'm lucky that my working life hasn't changed much at all. After an initial first couple of weeks when I couldn't concentrate at all, I found that with less places to go (and less breaks away) I've actually been more productive than usual rather than less. And this leads me on to the main point of this post... to see if I have achieved the year's writing goals I set in January with writing buddy, Tracy Fells.

Here are the results:

Goal: To finish psychological thriller number 4.

Achieved? Yes! Not only did I finish it but His Hidden Wife is going to be published on February 4th. If you'd like to pre-order it here is the link.

Goal: To secure another book deal.

Achieved? Yes! I was offered another two-book deal with my brilliant publisher Bookouture in October and I couldn't be happier. Book five will be published at the end of 2021 and book 6 in 2022.

... and that's it for another year. Next week, Tracy and I will be meeting for a socially distanced walk and goal set which I'll post in a couple of weeks. In the meantime... HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Cover Reveal for His Hidden Wife

Just a quick post today as I have recently had the cover reveal for my next psychological thriller, HIS HIDDEN WIFE. My fourth thriller! How did that happen? It doesn't seem any time at all since my debut was published. Time certainly works in mysterious ways when it comes to writing books.

I actually think that seeing the cover for the first time is the most exciting part of the publishing process and I've been delighted with all of them. 

Every single one.

In fact, I'm still trying to decide which one is my favourite... maybe this one (but then I say that every time a new book comes out).

I'm really lucky because I've had the same cover designer for each of my novels. She uses a different colour combo for each and makes sure the 'motif' is strong: a pair of children's shoes, a pink hair band, black and white flowers and now a set of rings. Each giving a hint of what is to come in the book.

She also always uses the same font for the title and author name. This is so that when readers see it, they will, hopefully, recognise it as part of the Wendy Clarke 'brand'. Branding was mentioned a lot when I first signed with my publisher, Bookouture, but it's only now I have four books that I can definitely see what they mean. Don't they look lovely together... not that I'm biased or anything!

 

His Hidden Wife will be published by Bookouture on February 4th but you can pre-order it right now (only if you want to, of course!)

Amazon       Apple       Kobo       Google

Sorry Everyone!

This is an apology post. For being absent. For neglecting my blog. For neglecting you.

Although it will sound like a poor excuse, I feel I need to explain...

There was a time when I would post blog content once a week without fail but that was before my writing career took an upward turn (yay!). When I was writing stories for the magazines, which I loved doing by the way, I would write a story a week and how long it took me would vary. Sometimes, if it was a short story or one where the words flowed beautifully, I might complete it in a few hours. At other times, if I was struggling with an idea, it might take me three days before I wrote THE END. Either way, I had a lot of free time to do other things... including writing regular content for this blog.

Then my first novel, What She Saw, was accepted for publication and things changed.

Don't get me wrong, I love what I'm doing now (well most of the time!) and I do still get quieter periods when I can slow down a bit and catch up with things. What's different to before is these quieter times are not at regular intervals. I'll have a precious few weeks after I've handed a completed manuscript to my editor and the same again in between the many edits needed before it's ready to be published. Most of the year, though, I'll be working towards one deadline or another, and when this happens, all I can think about is my work in progress. The carpets go unhoovered, the washing piles up and interesting meals are a distant memory (thank goodness for the freezer). When at last I get that precious break, my poor little blog is at the very bottom of the list of things I need to do.

So how come I'm writing this post now? It's because I am in that beautiful place between line and copy edits. The carpets are clean, the washing is done and tonight's meal is... actually I haven't a clue as it's not my day to cook! Anyway, it's great to be writing on here again and I hope you haven't all deserted me as I have a cracking guest visiting my blog next week and I wouldn't want you to miss them.

It's been a bit of an odd year to say the least (for everyone, not just for me) but, overall, I've been very productive. During lockdown, I managed to write book four and complete two sets of rather difficult edits. If I'm honest, I did wonder at times whether I'd ever get them finished but I did and (despite a lot of hairpulling at the time) sending them off gave me a huge sense of achievement. It's a bit like having a baby... when it's all over you forget the pain. It's seems crazy that by next February I'll have had four psychological thrillers published... how did that happen?

Before I go, I just want to say I've seen the cover for Book 4 and I love it! I'm hoping I'll be able to show you it very soon but I have to go now as I have a very pressing appointment... with the reading book I put down at the beginning of the year!

Celebrating a BIG Milestone

I have some BIG news to celebrate. I hope you don't mind me shouting it from the rooftops but it is a huge milestone in my writing career. 

So what's happened? 

Well, today I heard from my publisher, Bookouture, that in the year since I published my first psychological thriller, What She Saw, my three thrillers have sold a total of 100K books. Yes, you read it right, a hundred thousand... I can hardly believe it either!

When I gave up writing short stories for the magazines, it was always going to be a risk. I'd had over three hundred stories published over the course of six years and become a regular writer for The People's Friend. It was a nice little earner. Whatever I'd thought, and I really did try, I found I couldn't write stories and novels alongside each other. I didn't have the time, but also, I didn't have enough head space to allow the ever-changing cast of characters that wandered through my short stories to co-exist with the ones in my thrillers - ones whose voices were louder and more insistent. 

So many things were going through my head when I made the decision to swap to novels: What if I couldn't do it? What if no agent or publisher liked what I'd written? What if the magazines no longer wanted my stories if my novels failed and I wanted to go back?

But I wanted the challenge. I needed to prove to myself that I could do it and the only way I could do that was by taking the plunge.

My journey from short story to novel has been documented in this blog, both the ups and downs and the highs and lows... and, yes, there have been many of both! It's been both exciting and terrifying and I couldn't have done it without faith. 

I'll be honest, there have been times when I wanted to give up, such as when the agent who plucked me out of the slush pile dropped me soon after, or when I had my first mean review. There have been great times as well, though: my debut winning the Flash500 Novel Competition for example or when I signed with Bookouture only a week after sending my novel to them. In fact, every time I hold a new novel in my hands for the first time, I want to burst with joy and pride.

This news today is the icing on the cake. When I took my first tentative steps along the novel-writing road, I imagined it would only be friends and family who might want to read my offerings.That a hundred thousand people (most of them strangers) have bought my psychological thrillers is humbling.

Mind you... my mum does have a large bookcase!

Just for the Thrill - Guest Post Ruth Heald

It's been a while since I've has a guest on my blog so I'm particularly delighted that today I'm welcoming fellow Bookouture author, Ruth Heald, to the hot seat! Ruth's latest novel, I know Your Secret, was published last week and I've been dying to ask her a few questions about her writing. Here are her replies.

Have you always wanted to write in the psychological thriller genre?

For a long time I didn’t think about genre at all and just wrote books on themes or questions I was interested in. But I’d always read and loved psychological thrillers and I wanted to write something that would find an audience and that readers would really connect with. I saw how popular psychological thrillers were and decided to write one myself!

 

Do you remember where you were and what you were doing when the idea for your latest novel came to you?

My latest book is based on an idea that’s been drifting around in the back on my mind for years. I’ve always been interested in power imbalances, especially between women. I Know Your Secret is about a marriage counsellor and her client. Neither woman is exactly who they say they are and they both try to manipulate each other as the stakes get higher and higher.

 

Are you a plotter or a pantster and how long does it take you to write your thrillers?

I aspire to be a planner, but I can’t seem to stick to my outlines! I tend to know a few key scenes and the ending before I start and these usually stay the same throughout the drafting process. But no matter how much I plan the rest of the book, it all seems to change as the story evolves. 

My thrillers take about nine months to a year to write. I usually have a couple on the go at the same time.

 

Could you describe your typical writing day?

There’s no typical day! I’m looking after my young children a lot of the time, so I have to fit around them. When I have childcare I write the entire time without stopping. Otherwise I write when there’s the opportunity – so during nap time and evenings and weekends.

 

I’m sure my readers would love to hear about your road to publication. Was it long and winding or did you take a short cut?

It feels long, but I think that’s pretty typical! The most common characteristic amongst published writers seems to be resilience. My journey began way back in 2001, when I started writing my first novel but never finished it. Eleven years later I published 27: Six Friends, One Year. Following that I wrote four more novels and started many more, but just kept them on my hard drive. After my daughter was born in 2016, I decided to take my writing more seriously and I started writing The Mother’s Mistake, and I was very pleased when Bookouture acquired it the following year.  

 

Do you ever struggle to find inspiration?

Not at all – there’s inspiration absolutely everywhere, in every person and everything going on around us. I don’t struggle for ideas – I couldn’t write all the books in my head if I had all the time in the world. I do struggle to stay focused on one book at a time and not be tempted to start a new book whenever a new idea comes in.

 

Describe a typical publication day.

There’s always a lot of social media to do to let readers know the book’s out. I also make sure I take a bit of time to celebrate with a nice lunch with family and try to do something relaxing too like going for a walk or treating myself to a Thai massage.

 

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

At the moment, I spend a lot of time with my young children, going out for walks and watching them delight in the simple pleasures of life.

 

Which writers in your genre inspire you?

There are so many brilliant writers in my genre. Recently I’ve really enjoyed books by Lisa Jewell, Tammy Cohen and Victoria Helen Stone.

 

Persuade my readers to buy your book in one sentence.

I think I’ll get someone else to do it for me! Here’s a quote from a review: “Completely unpredictable and a fantastic read from start to finish!”

 

What next for Ruth Heald?

I have another psychological thriller in the pipeline for release in February. It’s about a doomed wedding. I’ve just finished the first draft and I’m looking forward to the edits! 

Ruth Heald is the bestselling author of psychological thrillers The Mother's Mistake, The Woman Upstairs and I Know Your Secret.

Ruth studied Economics at Oxford University and then worked in an eclectic mix of sectors from nuclear decommissioning to management consulting. She worked at the BBC for nine years before leaving to write full time. Ruth is fascinated by psychology and finding out what drives people to violence, destruction and revenge. She’s married with two children and her novels explore our greatest fears in otherwise ordinary, domestic lives.

You can connect with Ruth on Twitter @RJ_Heald, or Facebook 

 

Amazon links to Ruth's books: 

I Know Your Secret

The Mother's Mistake

The Woman Upstairs

My First Lockdown Publication Day!

Last week was a very exciting week for me! Why? Because on Wednesday, I celebrated the publication of my third psychological thriller, 'The Bride'. Although of course, because of lockdown, this publication day was very different to my others.

Contrary to what readers of your novels might think, most of an author's day after the book has gone 'live' isn't spent hanging around bookshops stroking your cover or sitting on the Richard and Judy couch (okay so that doesn't happen now but I still imagine it). Instead, it's spent on social media: posting the news, sharing other people's posts, re-tweeting and thanking all the lovely well-wishers who have taken the time to message you their congratulations. It's very tiring on the typing fingers and mentally challenging trying to keep up with it all as the last thing you want to do is offend anyone.

Flowers from my husband

What I've done in the past to manage my day, is allow myself time to meet up with friends at lunchtime. For the launch of What We Saw, I had a sneaky pub meal with writing buddy, Tracy Fells and for We Were Sisters, I had a beach walk with fellow Bookouture author, Liz Eeles.

I also had evening celebrations - a small one involving Prosecco with local friends for the first novel and a full-blown book launch at the local bookshop for the second. Both fabulous occasions.

There was nothing like that this year of course but I still managed to raise a glass of Prosecco to 'The Bride'. Instead of meeting in real life, my friends and I had a publication day Zoom celebration... almost as good! This was followed by another celebration with my husband and daughter.

Strangely, it was the most relaxing publication day I've had. Nothing to organise and only myself to please!

The following day, I did  something a little more out of my comfort zone. I was invited to be one of the authors at Noir at the Bar Edinburgh. Under normal circumstances, this would involve going to a real bar (I'm all for that!) and speaking to a real audience (not so happy about that!) but, with lockdown in place, it was going to be completely virtual.

I spent most of the day preparing. From the way I was behaving, you'd have thought that it was an all day event not just a ten minute slot but I hate being taken by surprise (it's why, when I was a teacher, I never liked supply teaching). Can you believe I worried about what to wear, what extract of my novel to read, what questions I might be asked and even which room in the house looked least like a hoarder live there (we've emptied my daughter's flat and her things are everywhere!).

By the time I got to speak, I could have done with a real bar, but as often is the case when you stress about things, the event was lovely. In fact, the host couldn't have been more welcoming, there were no trick questions and I didn't make a complete fool of myself thank goodness. If you like, you can watch it here.

So now all the fun and games are over and I've allowed myself to wind down a little. I've nearly completed the first draft of the next novel and am looking forward to working on it before submitting to my editor.

My fingers are crossed that come December I'll be able to have a proper launch for the next book but, in the meantime, the sun is shining, my roses are blooming and I'm feeling proud to have published three novels.

If you'd like to read The Bride, you can buy it here: Amazon

A Year as a Published Novelist!

You know when people say that time flies? Well, it really does!

I can hardly believe that just one year ago, I was celebrating the publication of my debut psychological thriller, WHAT SHE SAW. A very different day it was too as you can see if you read my publication day post.

Happy Book Birthday!

The day started with a frenzy of social media retweets, Facebook shares and thank yous but I was able to take a break at lunchtime to celebrate the launch of my novel in the pub with writing buddy, Tracy Fells. After more publicity in the afternoon, the evening was spent with my good friends and family, raising a glass of Prosecco to my new book baby.

So it's a year on and I have now been a published novelist for exactly twelve months. And what a year it's been. In that time, I've had another thriller published (We Were Sisters) and my third (The Bride) will have it's launch on May 20th. I am also nearing the end of the first draft of novel number four.

Instead of leaving the house to celebrate, the Coronavirus has meant I'm in lockdown reflecting.

So what's this year really been like? Has being a novelist changed things? 

In a word 'yes'.

As most of my regular readers know, I've been a published writer of short stories since 2012 and have had a successful career writing for the women's magazines. You wouldn't think publishing a novel would be very different, but believe me it is. And mostly it's due to this unassuming little word... deadline. What I've learnt is that writing to a deadline is a very different thing to writing when you want to. With short stories, I had my own self-imposed deadlines but if I didn't stick to them, no one cared except me. Now, if I don't meet a deadline, a whole series of things will be affected: the timing of the cover reveal, the hiring of the copy editor, the date the book is due to go on NetGalley, the studio time for the studio bookings for the audio, the paperback printing. In other words, if one thing is delayed, everything else is too. It's not just yourself you're letting down, it's your publisher and a lot of other people.

The main difference is the emotional highs and lows you get from having written a novel. If you write a story and it doesn't get accepted, you just dust yourself down and write another. The magazine's publisher will have lost nothing and you might have lost a day of so of your time. With a novel, it's very different. If your novel doesn't meet your publisher's required standard then that's many months of work and expense down the drain. You will have let not just yourself but your publisher down. If, like me, you spend your life anxious to please, that can be a big weight on your shoulders and that's something you're very aware of.

And don't get me started on reviews! If you're lucky, a magazine might pass on to you a nice comment about your story from a reader. More often than not though, you'll have absolutely no idea how it's been received and you'll never know if a reader didn't like it. With a novel you are at the mercy of reviews (NetGalley, Goodreads and Amazon) and although nothing beats the feeling of getting a glowing one, a bad review can send your emotions spiralling downwards.

After three novels, I should be used to all this but I'm not. Maybe I never will be.

But, would I change anything? Sometimes when I'm struggling to think where my novel is going, if I've had some difficult edits or I've received a bad review, I wonder if I might have been happier when I was a short story writer. But then I look at my books on my shelf or in my local bookshop, read the wonderful things people have said about them and remember how proud my family and friends are of what I've achieved. 

It's then I see that everything I've talked about (the good and the bad) is just part and parcel of being a novelist. I'm proud of having written three novels and I mustn't ever forget it.

If you'd like to wish What She Saw a Happy Birthday you can buy it here. 

Cover Reveal of The Bride

Over the last few months, I have been welcoming guests to my blog to talk about their writing and their books but today it's back to me!

I'm delighted that after weeks of keeping it under wraps, I can now reveal the cover of my third psychological thriller, The Bride, and I couldn't be more excited.

But that's not all. The Bride is now available for pre-order on Amazon which will mean you can have it land on your kindle or doorstep on publication day (May 20th).

I actually think this stage of the publishing process is my favourite - better even than publication day. That's because on cover reveal day you have the excitement of letting people see what the book looks like without the anxiety of whether you'll get good or bad reviews. It's all good!

I have loved every one of my Bookouture covers and this one is no exception. Three cheers for my fabulous cover designer! I love how for each book, the font for the titles and author name remain the same (strengthening the 'Wendy Clarke' brand) while the colours change. This means each novel is individual rather than a clone of the others. For What She Saw, the colour choice was blue and red with red lettering, for We Were Sisters, indigo and pink with yellow lettering, and for The Bride, red, black and white with white lettering.

Also, each cover has a 'motif' that gives a clue to something that happens in the novel. What She Saw had an abandoned pair of children's shoes (child in jeopardy) in We Were Sisters it was a child's ribbon tied to a railing (missing child). With The Bride it's a white and black rose... I wonder what that could symbolise?

If you'd like to pre-order The Bride, the link is here. Amazon UK  Amazon US

My Road to Publication - Guest Post Lesley Sanderson

I'm always fascinated to hear about the writing journeys of authors. This week, as part of my continuing 'Psychological Thriller Writers series', author Lesley Sanderson tells me about her road to publication. Lesley's third novel, The Leaving Party, will be published by Bookouture on 31st January.

Over to you, Lesley.

Thank you Wendy for inviting me to your blog. I’m sharing my writing journey here with you as these are the posts I read avidly about my favourite authors!

Like many writers, books defined my childhood. My happiest memories are of being ensconced with a Malory Towers under the bedclothes or those moments when the children’s librarian in the public library produced a new book from her magic cupboard for me. Age fifteen, I was working as a Saturday assistant for Islington Libraries and despite following my other passion for languages and completing a French degree I gravitated back to libraries where I have worked ever since, eventually switching from public to school libraries. Consequently, I have spent most of my working life surrounded by books. Psychological thrillers and crime have always been my favourite genre and I attended author talks and festivals as an avid fan.

I’ve always loved writing; as a child I wrote poems and plays and forced my friends to perform them! I filled exercise books at primary school with ‘novels’. Every now and then I’d attempt a short story, or a novel but lacked confidence and abandoned these projects. As a school librarian I’d chat to visiting authors who often mentioned doing courses had helped them get started.

In around 2011 I changed my working hours from all year round to term time only and decided to make the school holidays count with a serious attempt at writing. This time, once I started I couldn’t stop. The single thing that kickstarted me was entering the Grazia First Chapter competition. I didn’t get shortlisted but I asked for feedback and was told ‘you can certainly write.’ That single sentence gave me the confidence I needed to pursue writing seriously and I was off!

I took a course in Writing for Children and began writing YA fiction. By this time I was keen to get an agent and was receiving the usual rejections - each one stabbed at my soul! Being an impatient person I self published four YA books as I knew I’d have a ready audience in my school library. The students liked the books and this motivated me to keep going. One of the most important aspects of the course was linking up with other writers, and I formed a group with three others. At some point we all switched to writing for adults. In 2015 I wrote the beginning of a psychological thriller and was accepted onto the Curtis Brown six month novel writing course.

In 2017 I entered the Lucy Cavendish prize and was shortlisted which was the most exciting experience of my career and the whole experience was lovely. The extracts we entered were displayed on the website and the day after the winner was announced (not me!) I was contacted by Hayley Steed from the Madeleine Milburn agency asking me if I’d like to submit to them. Would I?! My book was by no means complete but she still wanted to see it (defying all the advice I’d been given about submitting to agents!). Three weeks later I was offered representation and I could finally say those words ‘I’ve got an agent’! This culminated in offers from Bookouture and Audible and my first book The Orchid Girls was published in 2018. My second book The Woman at 46 Heath Street was published lin 2019 and I signed another two book contract. My third book The Leaving Party is published on 31st January 2020 - in ten days time and book 4 will follow in June.

Having my books published has been wonderful. I’ve discovered I love the editing process and working with Bookouture which has a fast turnaround I’ve become much better at planning my books. Instead of making it up as I go along I work through the synopsis with my editor and we plan it together so that when it comes to writing I have a detailed structure to follow. The magic of writing still happens - twists and turns come to me as I write and lead the characters in surprising directions. For me the best part happens after the first draft when I can pull the draft apart and make it work, adding clues and red herrings and extra twists.

Yesterday I received a comment from a reader on social media saying: ‘Love your books! Pre-ordered.’

This is what makes all the effort worthwhile. My favourite authors give me so much joy with their books and to be able to do the same is a gift. To all aspiring writers I’d advise to just keep on working at it and you will get there eventually; I never thought it would happen to me!

Lesley spends her days writing in coffee shops in Kings Cross where she lives and also works as a librarian in a multicultural school. She loves the atmosphere and eclectic mix of people in the area. She has lived and worked in Paris and speaks four languages.

She attended the Curtis Brown Creative novel writing course in 2015/6, and in 2017 was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish fiction prize.

Lesley discovered Patricia Highsmith as a teenager and has since been hooked on psychological thrillers. She is particularly interested in the psychology of female relationships. The Leaving Party is her third psychological thriller.

​

Pre-order your copy of The Leaving Party here 

Find out more about Lesley on her website here

Visit Lesley's Facebook author page here

Did I Achieve my 2019 Writing Goals?

It will soon be time to say goodbye to the old writing year and hello to the new.

Every year in the first week of January, best buddy Tracy Fells and I get together to set our yearly writing goals. At the end of the year, I look back and see if I've achieved any or all of them.

The one thing I've learned over the years is it's important to have goals that will stretch and encourage but which are manageable too (rather than stressful). The other thing it's important to remember is that luck and life circumstances play a big part in what happens as well and that I should not to be too hard on myself if I don't achieve all my targets. The important thing is that I try.

These are the goals I set for myself:

Goal: To enjoy every minute of being a published author.

Achieved? Mostly! As most of you will know, my debut psychological thriller, What She Saw, was published by Bookouture in May this year (you can read my blog post about it here). It was fabulous... exciting... amazing. The same can be said when my second thriller, We Were Sisters, came out in August. But did I enjoy every minute? Not when I was struggling with structural edits or when I was stressing about whether or not my novels were good enough for people to buy or when I received my first bad review. But all these things come with the territory. It's what happens when you're published. In fact it's proof that you've been published! 

The biggest test is whether I would do it all again... and the resounding answer is YES!

Goal: To secure another publishing deal.

Achieved? Yes! I was delighted when in May my wonderful publisher, Bookouture, offered me another two-book contract. Yay!

Goal: To think about and start novel three.

Achieved? Yes! Not only have I thought about and started novel three, I've finished it and it's with my editor (though the hard part will soon start when I get the first lot of edits back in a few days). I have also started novel four.

... and that's it for another year. Next week, Tracy and I will be meeting to set out 2020 goals and I'll be posting you very soon. In the meantime, I wish you all a very Happy New Year.

Lies, Lies Lies - interview with Rona Halsall

Week four of my psychological thriller series and this week I'm delighted to welcome fellow Bookouture author Rona Halsall to my blog. Rona has written four thrillers, with her fifth coming out next May. 

I hope you enjoy the interview.

Do you remember the moment you decided you wanted to be a writer?

Hmmm. Tricky one. I’m not sure there was a precise moment. I think it was an idea for many, many years that I’d like to have a go at writing a novel and that was the goal – just to get a story written. I think once I started though, I loved the process and then my ambitions grew. I felt like I’d found something I wanted to pursue to a higher level. So my first challenge was getting it finished. Then I pitched to an agent at a literary festival and she liked my writing. Once I realised my first story wasn’t going anywhere, I wrote another and worked on that, my ambition being to get an agent. Once I had an agent, my ambition was to get a publisher. And once I had a publisher, then I had a two book deal, so had to come up with another story. So it’s been an incremental process rather than one definitive decision!

What were you like at school? Would your English teacher be surprised to see that you have become a published author?

I was the kid who did other people’s coursework essays for them because I just loved making things up. It was my favourite subject and one of the few lessons where I actively joined in, so I don’t think my English teacher would be that surprised.

How long did it take you to write Her Mother’s Lies?

Crikey that’s another tricky one, because where does the writing start? Is it with that nugget of an idea that slowly blossoms into a story line over weeks, maybe months as you daydream your way through the washing up? Or is it actively putting words on paper? 

The story for Her Mother’s Lies didn’t come fully formed – it developed over time, starting with a what if question that gradually grew into an outline over a period of months. Once I had my outline, the first draft was written from start to finish in just over a month. Then I had another month for the first round of edits, by which time, most of the wrinkles had been ironed out. After that, the second round of edits was a matter of tweaking little bits of the plot and finessing the ending. Then there’s copy edits and proofreading before the book can be considered finished. The whole process takes about 6 months from writing the first word to having a printed book in my hand.

I love the cover. How important do you think the cover is to a potential reader?

I think the cover is key to a reader because if that doesn’t attract their attention, they won’t even bother reading the blurb. But it’s so hard to illustrate the concept of a book with one image – I have the greatest respect for cover designers! And I would have to admit to being a bit of a cover nerd. Yes, I have bought books just because I like the cover!

Are you a pantster or do you plot?

My very first book, I was a pantser, but as I’m with a digital publisher and the pace is quick, I’ve come to understand the value of plotting! And I think psychological thrillers need a bit of careful plotting if the twists are going to work. We love an unexpected twist, don’t we?

Can you tell my readers something about the main character that will make us want to find out more about them?

The main character in Her Mother’s Lies is Martha, a 24 year old animal nurse who still lives at home in rural Cornwall with her diabetic mother, who is also an alcoholic. They have a tricky relationship and Martha feels trapped. After Martha loses her job, they have an argument, her mother drinks herself into a diabetic coma and Martha finds a shocking message on her mother’s phone. That’s the first lie. But there’s more and in her search for the truth, the web of lies that has shaped Martha’s life starts to unravel.

What have you found to be the most difficult thing about writing a novel?

I think structural edits are the hardest stage. That’s when you get feedback from your editor and you sometimes have to turn the whole story upside down and inside out. Or chop big chunks out and put new chunks in. It’s definitely the part that makes my brain ache as I try to keep hold of all the different story threads while I make the changes!

Do you have a special time for writing? How is your day structured?

I like to get up early and write first thing in the morning when everything is peaceful and quiet and before the jobs of the day have to be tackled. But I tend to split my day into chunks – before breakfast, mid morning and then afternoon. That’s the theory anyway, although life often has different plans!

How much research did you have to do for Her Mother’s Lies?

The story is set in Cornwall, so I had to find the right location and get a feel of what would work best for the story, find out where hospitals were etc. Then I had a fair bit of medical research as well, but I really love that stage as you don’t know where it will lead you!

We share the same lovely publisher, Bookouture. In what ways have they helped you with your writing journey?

Bookouture have been amazing!  I love the working relationship I have with my editor and feel the more books we do together, the more we understand each other and the better we work together. My books are so much better with her input and ideas. The editing process is very thorough at Bookouture as well, so there are lots of opportunities to make improvements and fine tune your story to make it the best it can be. They also do great covers, have an excellent marketing and PR team and the audio version they’ve done for Her Mother’s Lies is fabulous.  The other great thing is the author’s lounge, a Facebook group where we can go and have a chat to fellow authors, ask questions, have a moan, procrastinate. It makes you feel connected because writing is a very solitary occupation.

What next for Rona Halsall?

  

More psychological thrillers! I have two more books out next year. The first, which I’ve written and am editing now, is out at the beginning of May and the second is out at the end of September.

I am also going to make sure I get to the Crime Writing Festival at Harrogate next year as I haven’t been able to get there yet and it looks so much fun – meeting readers and other authors, lots of chatting – maybe see you there?

Rona is the author of Best Selling psychological thrillers HER MOTHER'S LIES, THE HONEYMOON, LOVE YOU and KEEP YOU SAFE.

She lives on the Isle of Man with her husband, two dogs and three guinea pigs. She is an outdoorsy person and loves stomping up a mountain, walking the coastal paths and exploring the wonderful glens and beaches on the island while she's plotting how to kill off her next victim. She has three children and two step-children who are now grown up and leading varied and interesting lives, which provides plenty of ideas for new stories!

To find out more about Rona's novels, go to www.facebook.com/RonaHalsallAuthor or follow @RonaHalsall on Twitter or Instagram @ronahalsall.

Amazon author page: hhtps://tinyurl.com/yyppq9fx

8 Things I've Learned Since Being Published - Guest Post Vikki Patis

As mentioned in my last post, during the next few weeks I shall be having some great guests on my blog from the psychological thriller genre (the genre I write in). Today's guest is Vikki Patis, an author I got to know this year as we both have novels out with Bookouture. Vikki's always been very generous with her time and has been a great supporter of my own thrillers on social media so I'm delighted she's joined us today on Wendy's Writing Now.

I asked Vikki what things she'd learned since being published and this is what she said...

Next month, my debut novel will have been out for a year. An entire year! Two years ago, I was desperately trying to get the words down, using NaNoWriMo to write over 50k words in a month. And now I’m working on book four, having just signed another contract. Publishing is a whirlwind experience, and sometimes it’s worth sitting back and remembering your journey. When I wrote what would become my debut novel, The Diary, I had no idea whether it would be published, and I certainly had no idea what would come with it. So here are the things I’ve learned in the year since signing my first book deal.

There are so many paths to publication

My first publisher is a digital first publisher, which means they focus more on ebooks. I learned that I would get paperbacks via print on demand, and that audio isn’t always guaranteed. While digital first publishers are becoming increasingly popular (and they work incredibly well), the experience is somewhat different to what I thought of as the ‘traditional’ route – agent, publisher, advance, bookshops, book tour. I’ve learned that there is no ‘right’ way to be published. There are options that work for some and not for others, and contracts will vary.

You (probably) won’t get to choose your book title

This was a real eye opener for me. Titles are in no way my strong point, but I was surprised to discover just how many authors don’t get to choose their titles, and so is everyone else I tell who doesn’t have experience in the publishing world. I explain it like this: everything you see on the outside of a book is done by the publisher. Of course, editors have a huge impact on the writing too, but in general, the title, cover, tagline, and everything to do with marketing, is controlled by the publisher. And that, I have learned, is how it should be. They know what they’re doing, after all.

You still have to promote your own work

Okay, so you don’t have to, but it definitely makes a difference. Writers should focus most of their time on writing, and your publisher should have a marketing plan for your book, but dipping your toe into the scary world of social media can really help your book succeed, and keep your name in the public eye while you furiously write the next one. The lovely and fantastic psychological thriller author Rona Halsall once said to me ‘a tweet a day keeps bankruptcy at bay’. If only it were that simple, but Rona is absolutely right. Do what you can, when you can, to keep your book in the spotlight.

Reviews are the bane of your life

And also the sunshine filtering through the window as you struggle through edits. Negative reviews can be awful, and I remember taking my first ones really hard. It took every ounce of my self-control not to respond to them on Goodreads (which is like the dark, shadowy place you should never enter), and my spirits would sink every day I looked at Netgalley. I’ve since realised that my debut is a bit of a Marmite book. Some readers love it, and really get the meanings behind the story, and others just don’t enjoy it. And you know what? That’s absolutely fine. I don’t like every book I read. I don’t fully get every book I read. You can’t please everyone. That was a hard lesson to learn, but now, negative reviews don’t really bother me (except for when they tag me on social media!). And the positive reviews, or even neutral reviews that really got what you were trying to say, make it all worth it.

Readers are the key

Seems obvious, right? Authors write books for readers. But it isn’t always as straightforward as that. I didn’t write my debut for readers; I wrote it for me. I write because I have to, because I can’t not write. But while editing my second book, my editor urged me to take note of the criticisms from the first book, and to try to mould the story in a different way. I raged against it at first, feeling like I was pandering to others, but then it clicked. Of course I can’t please everyone, but I can take their comments on board and consider them from a logical (not emotional) point of view. Publishing is a business, and although almost every author feels a very close connection with their books, sometimes we need to put our emotions aside and listen to what the readers want.

Your editor is your champion – and your reality check

I don’t have an agent, so I deal directly with my editor. When I first submitted The Diary, I had no idea that I would be in almost constant contact with this person, directing every question to them, and relying on them in a big way. It must be such a huge responsibility, guiding and supporting their authors, excitedly sharing the good news and tentatively breaking the bad. An email from my editor could make or break my day, and it took me a while to learn that you have to take the rough with the smooth, just like with everything else in life. Publishing is a roller coaster, and your editor is your seat belt, on the ride with you while keeping you anchored.

The struggle is real

I don’t think I’ve encountered an author who doesn’t panic over their edits or Amazon rankings. Authors big and small worry about how their books will do, not just in terms of sales (though authors need to eat too!), but also in the eyes of their readers. The last thing we want to do is let our readers down by producing less-than-perfect books, or let our publishers down by not selling enough books, or let ourselves down by being unable to focus and produce more books. And it is so easy to become envious of other authors, of the books that fly to number 1 and stare mockingly at you from every shelf. Writing is a tricky balance, and it can sometimes become unhealthy, both physically and mentally. The why not me mentality is so easy to slip into, wasting time panicking about things beyond your control instead of focusing on the most important thing: writing.

But you’re never alone

So many authors are keen to support you, ready with words of wisdom when you break down over structural edits, thumbs poised to retweet your exciting news, commiserating and holding you up when things don’t go your way. It’s a fabulous community, full of kind, down-to-earth people, and I’m so lucky to be able to consider these wonderful people colleagues and friends. 

Vikki Patis is the author of psychological thrillers The Girl Across the Street and The Diary, published by Bookouture. When she isn't writing, she can usually be found with her head in a book, baking gluten free cakes, or walking in the Hertfordshire countryside.  

The Girl Across the Street: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Across-Street-compelling-psychological-ebook/dp/B07L8H8KMG/  

The Diary: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Diary-completely-addictive-psychological-thriller-ebook/dp/B07GWBDDXS

Website: www.vikkipatiswrites.wordpress.com 

Twitter: @PatisVikki