My Book Is Finally Here..

 

It's hard to believe but my book is finally published online.. the years/ hours writing, the structural edits, the angst over characters, the grammar and spelling edits, the plot changes, the deliberation over cover image, the indecision over marketing strategies, the copy edits and more edits etc have finished..and now it's out there flaws and all.
For one minute I thought the hard work is done...
When in reality the hard work ie how to get people to read it has just begun..
For those of you who want to take a look you will find it on Amazon.com:books mm carter 

It's time..

So at long last all edits have been done and re check after re check completed..I'm quite sure there are no spelling mistakes but have heard that even the best authors can miss a letter or two...so a couple more days and 'Breathless' will be in the eyes of the reader..a friend asked if I am scared? and I can confidently say not so much any more..it is what it is, hopefully a story that will appeal to its YA audience..and that it will be enough appeal to warrant its sequel 'Out of Darkness' to be read..  Ok so will keep you posted real soon..

This is a super great read..

As a prolific reader I'd often thought when I was a child that when I grow up I'd like to write like some of my favourite authors..Enid Blyton. Anna Sewel, John Marsden, LM Montgomery, the Bronte sisters etc.. Now of course I have grown up, well nearly..and 

I'm still a prolific reader but I no longer want to write like some of my favourite authors.. now the field is too wide to choose from, with new authors evolving year by year and tons of new books to discover like this fantastic example of YA writing.. now I want to write with my own writers voice, hold my own platform and share stories through my own eyes of experience..I can only hope and will be happy if I can write half as good as some of my favs from the past and some of the current writers I most admire...

Final Edit Stages

Yoo hoo!! Final edit stages this week from my sweet as, creative writing degreed daughter..can finally see an end to the edit stages of my first book and excited about publishing on Amazon sometime soon..hopefully by the end of the month..

It gets exciting when there is an end in sight..even though a little scary that your baby will be out there for all to see..but that's part of the fun right? Ok back to the grammar, spelling, etc etc edit..

How did it get past Christmas '15 already?

Someone wound the clock forward for sure last year..it's kinda crazy but I feel like we just stepped into a new year a minute ago and all of a sudden we've slipped right out the end of it and stand at the brink of another new one..it's January 4th as I write this and I'm in awe of the year ahead if it's to be anything like last year..a year filled with cleaning out & packing & selling & moving from our Sydney home, relocating to the ....Byron hinterland & buying a century old farm house 8 acres and an orchard..2015 was a year where my writing took a back seat, where lack of familiarity could have tipped me over the edge & stress should have reigned supreme..but it didn't!! It was filled instead with excitement & challenge & adventure & hard physical work..and a sense of peace & contentment & rightness that I totally wasn't expecting..so when I think about 2016, yes that is right it is '16 already I'm not loosing my mind, well not yet anyway..I have to think can it get any better than this?? 

Well..maybe this year I'll get back to my writing..maybe I'll get my book out, or books..or maybe I'll develop a farm blog or establish the orchard.. buy some cows, build a chicken coop..help someone..learn a language..paint a landscape..make new friends..whatever..who knows what will turn up..

all I know for sure is life and it's endless possibilities are out there..it's what we do about them that matters..

Writing, editing, writing..

Oh my, is it ever going to be finished?? Why is it I'm never happy with it..edits edits edits..changes changes changes later and I'm still not sure..has OCD got hold of me.. is it frightful..rubbish..a disaster..a complete failure..will anyone like it..read it..buy it..pay for it..rate it..tell others about it..

Is it unique enough..What if I'm never happy..What if I feel I can't get it right..What if I keep changing it again and again..Can it compete with current YA books..DOES IT MATTER??
 Is one ever totally happy with their manuscript? Questions asking..answers none..
The Writing Life - Is this the way it is?

And then there is Nanonanowrimo..the National Novel Writing Month

Sometimes I wish I could write a sucked into the page because it's so much better than what's happening in your real life at the moment fantasy story. Or a fantastically (is this even a word?) twist and turn crime story.. or even better a jelly legged, fire crackers going off, melt in a puddle romance..
But hey uh uh..no way..not me..not possible..s.o.o.o here I go AGAIN working on the absolute final edit of my (at least that's what I'm telling myself) first complete contemporary YA novel, perhaps with a little bit of fire cracking romance and a touch of twist and turn crime in Nanonano month..and back in the writing saddle absolutely loving it..who knows what will eventuate.

But seriously speaking of  fire crackers and fantastical reads; these are some on my current HAVE read list and I reckon some of the best YA reads of the year..