A Smug Sense Of Achievement

Hello.

Forgive me, but I am feeling a little bit smug today. A mere five minutes ago, I typed the last word on my second book, and can now relax, safe in the knowledge that all of my work is done. Okay, I might have over-egged the pudding on that a little bit. Actually, what I meant was that I had finished the first draft of the book, and now need to push my face into a sink full of ice water before I go all the way back to the page 1 and trim out all of the extraneous stuff, like the fifty-foot robot and the talking badgers. I might leave the Spanish Inquisition because no-one expects the...oh, you get the picture.

It's odd, really. NO SAFE PLACE was probably at this stage a year ago, before it was revised and then sent to edit. But because it was only released in February, it still feels "new", and every sale that comes in still feels exciting and unexpected. (Hey! Make my life more exciting and unexpected and buy NO SAFE PLACE and especially, leave a review. A good one, obviously.) It'll be nice to give NO SAFE PLACE some company on my virtual and actual bookshelves, and then I can see what other cars my dog-imagination wants to go chase.

I'm looking forward to that too. A change is as good as a rest, after all. I've found that writing a book ('ark at this one - two books and he thinks he knows something) requires a real push to get over the line. I found myself frustrated with the characters not behaving themselves, but then, when I find a way of making the plot move forward again, there's a real ease to that writing. Good days and bad days. Just like with homework, there's a real temptation to throw myself into another project when things become a struggle, so whilst I have done a bit of that, I do think a proper sojourn into something else will help me refresh, and hopefully learn some new skills as well.

So the good news is that there will be a second book. I look forward to sharing it with you. Now, if you'll forgive me, I'm going to have a biscuit with my cup of tea. I know, I know. It's like the last days of Rome here.