Blog 300!

Wow! I’ve written 300 blogs! Or at least I will have by the time I reach the end of this one. Coincidentally, I also happen to be writing this one on the morning after I finished writing my sixth novel in three years, and that’s not bad going either.

This latest novel has been something of a departure for me, in more ways than one.

To begin with, I haven’t written a novel like it before, not in subject matter, tone, theme, content or anything else for that matter, and, what’s more I had never before thought about writing in this particular genre. 

This novel is such a departure for me, in fact, that I’m not going to divulge the genre, the title or my latest pseudonym... not yet, anyway.

Having written this book, and having enjoyed writing it, albeit there were some hugely demanding technical issues to overcome, I do hope that I’ll get the chance to write more books in this genre. In fact, don’t tell anyone, but I’ve got the sequel mapped out already, and an outline for book iii. Yes, I know it’s wishful thinking, and I’m probably jumping the gun, but I have great faith in my lovely agent; she can work all kinds of magic.

I had a blast researching this novel, and an even bigger blast writing it, and I can’t help thinking that really ought to translate to the reading experience.

I am not naturally funny. I can remember the punchline to precisely two jokes, but when I come to tell them, I generally mess up the lead-in, and yet, somehow, I have managed to make all three of my beta-readers laugh with this novel... out loud, apparently. I have made them laugh and cry, and once or twice I have made them sigh and even wince.

My readers, poor jaded souls, who generally read whatever comes to them in the order that it arrives, have been turning the various chunks of this book around remarkably quickly. I’ve been getting comments back, sometimes, within hours of sending the latest chapters... They really must be keen! They’ve also been talking about my MCs as if they are living, breathing souls.

I only finished the novel last night, and within two hours one of my beta-readers was clamouring to know the plot of the second book. So, clearly the cliffhanger works too!

Finally, I feel as if I’m doing something right... Finally!

So, this weekend, I’m celebrating... I’m celebrating reaching my 300th blog and finishing my 6th novel, and I’m doing it by prep-ing the book for sending to my lovely agent on Monday. I hope she likes it, and I really hope she can sell it.

In the meantime, tomorrow’s another day. Honestly, it’s a Sunday, and I might just take the day off. So... Monday’s another day, and that means the start of a new project, and I know exactly what it is, and it couldn’t be more different from the last book. In the end, I reckon that’s a big part of what makes all of this worthwhile, because I know that I shall enjoy the next project every bit as much as I enjoyed the last, but for very, very different reasons.