I feel it in the pit of my stomach. The fiery
flicker of ambition. I haven't felt it
for a while. Depending on how it manifests, it's not always that helpful.
If ambition makes me feel like I should be
doing something other than what I'm doing (playing with the baby, feeding her, hanging out the nappies...), then it's no good to me. It only creates
anxiety. I gave up anxiety when I moved
to Mallorca.
Impatience is a waste of energy too. This writing journey isn't a sprint,
so I need to remember to sit comfortably.
I finished my fourth novel (sixth book) last
week. That's why I'm feeling like this. It's been so much work and I don't want
it to disappear into oblivion. Independent publishing has a lot of perks, and
though sales might be better, it's a route which won't get my book in an
airport book shop (a recurring dream of mine), or made into a film (every
author's dream)!
However, if I was to embark on the
traditional route once again, it could be well over a year before the book saw
the light of day, if at all.
At the moment, I feel like making lists of
small, manageable goals. I've a lot of things to update: website,
blog, social media channels...
I want to give this novel it's best chance.
I haven't settled on a title yet, which is very annoying. As with my last novel, The Hen Party, it is
set on Mallorca and has a multiple character narrative á la Liane Moriarty. The lives of four neighbours intertwine - think
scams, lies, disappointments and romance - and naturally everyone's hiding
something.
It's a cliché, but my heart and soul has gone into this book, and now I'm
wondering what I'm prepared to do for it...
I suppose, first step would be to nail down
a title! Too Good to be True? Too Good to
Miss? The Hidden Agenda? The Pretenders? Change of Heart? Suspiciously Wonderful?
Aaargh it's so tricky!
The baby is waking, so off I go. Perhaps she'll have a good idea.
If you're looking for a summery read, you might enjoy The Hen Party!
