Happy IWSG Day – It’s Been An Experience! #IWSG @TheIWSG

Insecure Writers Support Day!

Every 1st Wednesday of the month we all come together to support each other in our writing endeavors. You can join the blog hop by clicking Here

We all looked after by Alex Cavanaugh and his trusty co hosts T. Powell Coltrin,Victoria Marie Lees,Stephen Tremp,Renee Scattergood, and J.H. Moncrieff!

It’s been a Experience…

So in 2019 I got a book deal and entered the roller coaster world of publishing, that didn’t exactly end well 😦 and I was “dropped” and it stung like hell and if I am honest with you I really struggled to even care about writing anymore.

Some how I managed to dust myself off and started to submitting to agents, after the experience I had just had working directly with a publisher…

An author friend recommended her publisher, and with a bit of pixie dust and magic I’ve got a new deal 🙂 contract was signed on Christmas day so Jen, Chris and Co are heading back towards publication. I don’t know if it will have been officially announced by the time this is published but yeah. I am pretty much back on fire again : )

I’ve been working on book 2, which is a general mess as I work to remove the mention of MI5 and try and re word where Jen was working for. I am also looking forward to hearing from my new publisher when they are back at work this week. So who knows I might update before Wednesday.

So anyway enough of me rambling about book stuff January’s question awaits…

What started you on your writing journey? Was it a particular book, movie, story, or series? Was it a teacher/coach/spouse/friend/parent? Did you just “know” suddenly you wanted to write?

It all began for me back at school, when we did exams and school work I always wanted to write longer stories than I had time for.. Then I guess I started writing about a girl which I guess used to be me. Saving people (boys I loved) I have a possible YA planned out. Which was something I wrote after my friendship with some people started to break down. I used to write to get back at them haha. So yeah I have at least two YA’s in me if anyone happens to be interested.

The inspiration to start writing again, mainly came from being inspired by C L Taylor and Mark Edwards’ novels and I suddenly wanted to write again. I then got onto an adult education class in creative writing and as they say all the rest is history…

My colleagues at work have inspired me to keep going. In fact book 1 will be dedicated is it to them? And the HR lady who made it possible for me to work three days a week. renewing bonds is the most boring thing ever so I always have time to let my mind wonder and come up with things for my novels.

My 2020 plans, book released 😀 and hopefully book 2 will be more in the pipeline. Exciting times ahead…

X

Update:

My 2019 Top Ten – @JoJakemanWrites @WendyDranfield @darrenyoungbook @callytaylor @ConcreteKraken @FailsafeQuery @jmhewitt @laurajm8

This year I stopped ARCing because I just wasn’t getting to read any of the books on my shelves.

So in no particular order

10: Sticks and Stones by @JoJakemanWrites

This was one of the books I had, had for ages which had been sat on my book shelve that I had promised I would read. This is a really strong and powerful read full of girl power and women coming together to support each other. All three women in this book go through some form of a journey of self discovery and triumph. Go read this book you won’t be disappointed.

9: When the Snow Bleeds by @WendyDranfield

This book was an ARC and it was a nice surprise that in some ways I wasn’t expecting to become such a fan of Wendy’s. Though I had dipped in half way through what is now a three book series, I am glad I did. Wendy was also really supportive when I lost my book deal this year and she encouraged me to resubmit with her publishers…

8: Child Taken by @darrenyoungbook

You would think from the subject title of this book it would be a rocky ride but it was most certainly not. To the point I avoided reading it after finishing the Fear by C L Taylor because I was already totally rung out and needed something nice… An enjoyable ride on a subject matter that could of been told in a very different way. Darren is also local to Nottingham so most certainly looking forward to meeting up again in the new year.

7: The Fear by @callytaylor

What is there not to love about Cally, who at last is starting to receive the recognition she deserves. Though it hasn’t come quickly by any imagination as she detailed in her recent blog post. As expected reading the The Fear left me feeling exhausted but I couldn’t put it down without not knowing what was going to happen next.

6: On My Life by Angela Clarke – who it taking a break from Twitter..

I was a massive fan of her Social media series and was really excited when I learned she had a new book out. Angela had previously talked about her visits to prison to teach creative writing and talk to the “in-mates.” This book is a really eye opener about what goes on inside prison’s and the maternity services. This is most certainly one of my top X books of this year.

5: Six Stories by @ConcreteKraken

I had heard alot about the Six Story series via social media and Orenda Books. So when they came to the waterstones in Birmingham I had to go along to meet Karen and some of the authors she had brought along. Which is where I met and talked briefly to Matt, though I didn’t buy his new book I made sure I got a paper copy of Six Stories which lived up to it’s hype! So much so when I ended up with audible credits his 2nd book Hydra was imminently purchased.

4: The Kompromat Kill by @FailsafeQuery

No top ten is complete without the latest Sean Richardson roller coaster ride. Mike’s 2nd book has lived up to the high standards of his first in an how the fuck are they going to get out of this kinda way.

3: The Night Caller & The Quiet Girls by @jmhewitt

Now successfully publishing with Bookouture, J M Hewitt has managed to publish two books with them this year and also the follow up to Exclusion Zone which is waiting to be read on my kindle. It has been nice to read a crime series from J M Hewitt that continues to gain strength…

2: Three Little Lies by @laurajm8

I met Laura this year at a festival and was quick to purchase her next book and like Friends Request it has a very important message about todays society. I know I might be waiting awhile for her next book but I can’t wait for it to arrive! As Laura clearly has an ear to the ground of what is happening in society today.

1: Tubing by K.A. McKeagney who isn’t on twitter

I was given this by her publisher and it left me wondering why the hell I had left it so long to read this. Do you ever look round at other commuters and wonder what they are thinking? This book really has changed my thoughts on others on the tram in the morning like it said it would!

As for next year, Louise Jensen for sure there are also a couple of new authors in the starting blocked Chris McDonald and A Wash of Black, Helen Kist and Stay made Sweetheart. No doubt there will be lots of other surprises along the way.