Jan 26 2015

That First Book Feeling

Last night we watched ‘Albatross‘ on Netflix. If you have a subscription to Netflix, I would recommend the movie, it really was good. Hilariously funny in place, and quite sad in others, a good British movie. (Okay, so I suck at writing movie reviews, but that’s not what this is, so read on!)

In the movie, there’s a scene where, having written her first book, the character then gets it printed and bound, and then as she cycles home, she has this massive smile on her face. For any writer who has completed writing a book, they will probably remember that ‘first book feeling’. That sense of having accomplished a dream, of having created something you have always wanted to create.

It’s amazing. It’s exciting. It’s a feeling of pure unadulterated joy, because you’ve finally done it!

But it’s short-lived. Because once you have finished your first book, where you were free to create whatever you wanted, free to dream of your success, and free to be yourself, hidden away from view, with only yourself to answer to – you then move out into the publishing world, and from that moment on, you can never have that ‘first book feeling’ again.

Or can you?

After having written and published eight books, it’s not easy to remember that feeling, because every time I publish a book, my mind is already on whether my readers will enjoy it, how to market it, and what book to write next. Stopping to enjoy the fact that another book has been brought into existence, rarely happens, because I have so much to do.

But in order to retain the pure joy that comes from writing, and to remain passionate about creating another work of fiction – I know I must take that time to revel in it, to celebrate it, to enjoy it. And I implore other authors out there, busy doing their own marketing and promoting, to do the same. In fact, I have added it to the list of 100 things I will do in 2015 –

To all writers out there who are working on their first book – really enjoy every moment! And when you have finished, celebrate like crazy because truly, it is a massive accomplishment and you should be so very proud of yourself for having done it.

If you have any tips on how to celebrate that don’t involve tons of money or alcohol, I would love to hear your suggestions!

Apr 1 2014

5 Years Ago Today…

… I was sat in JFK airport, waiting to board a flight back home. And it was while sat in the waiting area that I got a notebook out and started to write The Earth Angel Training Academy. I wrote the first 900 words in that notebook, then wrote the rest of the book in the two months following, on my old laptop that had no ‘L’ key.

The handwritten beginning of The Earth Angel Training Academy

I still have my original notes from before I began writing. Most of my ideas didn’t make it into the final book. Once I started writing, I really had no control over the story, or the characters. I was merely a bystander, writing down what they were doing and saying.

After those initial two months of writing, it took me a further two years to edit it and get it into print, after a brief attempt at entering the traditional publishing world. Originally, I called the book ‘The Angels Calling’ and even printed and hand-bound in leather a copy for my dad. After a handful of rejections, I decided to take the Indie route, having used print on demand services to publish Heaven Dot Com back in 2007.

The first edition of The Earth Angel Training Academy was published and launched in July 2011, at the Heart of the Dragon Festival in West Wales.

Original Cover

New Cover

Since writing the book, I have actually met several of the characters in real life, including Shelly, the mermaid, who I met in California last year.

In November 2010, I wrote The Earth Angel Awakening, which I then published in the summer of 2012. Then just last year, I wrote and published The Other Side.

In some ways, it feels like a lifetime since I wrote those first words in JFK, and in others, it feels like just yesterday. As you can see from my scribbles, Velvet was originally called Mulberry. Because the lady sat opposite me in the waiting lounge was wearing mulberry-coloured shoes. I can still see her shoes, and hear the noise of the airport, and see the planes taking off. Though I had been writing for many years by that point, and had self-published my novella, that moment in the airport was the very beginning of my journey as an independently published author, and a visionary fiction novelist. And in that moment in time, I had absolutely no idea what the next five years would bring. There have been awesome times, crappy times, frustrating times and absolutely ecstatic times. And I wouldn’t change a single moment, because it has all brought me to where I am right now.

Do you remember where you were five years ago today?

Apr 15 2013

Gallery

The Power of Manifestation

This gallery contains 5 photos.

I created my first Vision Board in 2009, when I was in New York. Working with the available materials I and my friends had to hand, I created it on a thick paper bag, using photos from magazines. Within a … Continue reading →