Tuesday, 30 July 2019

Oh hello, Ambition. We meet again.




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! 


No comments: