Showing posts with label celebration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label celebration. Show all posts
It's time for my Second special guest who has kindly agreed to stop by A Page of Love, and tell us all why 2014 has been exciting for her as an author.
This year Kerry Fisher published the amazing "The School Gate Survival Guide" which I have raved about so much that I was worried that people would get annoyed with me. Luckily, people didn't and they read Kerry's book and discovered just why I absolutely LOVE it so much.
Kerry, has become a very special friend to me, and we regularly chat through social media, and I knew that as part of my blogiversary celebrations, I wanted Kerry to be a part of my celebrations and I really wanted you all to get to know Kerry more, discover why I absolutely love her to pieces, and get the urge to read her book if you haven't... if you have - High fives to you! - But how about gifting it this year for Christmas to someone you know who has to do the school run... or maybe a teacher!
So, without further ado, I hand the Page of Love reigns over to the delightful Kerry :)
***
Thank you very much, Dawn, for inviting me
to celebrate your first year blog anniversary…a fantastic opportunity to say a
huge thank you for supporting me by tweeting, reviewing and generally helping
me feel like I haven’t been writing into a big echoing hole!
It’s been an exciting time for me with Avon
publishing my debut novel, The School
Gate Survival Guide in September. I wasn’t in the overnight success
category (more pushing a big fat elephant up the hill
with my ankles tied together) - so the
‘wow’ moment of 2014 was taking my old dad to see the book coming off the
presses. One push of a button and the whole printing factory turned into a sea
of red covers – yet another step in my whole learning process about the
publishing industry.
 |
| Kerry and her Dad |
I feel like a whole decade of knowledge has been distilled
into twelve months.
In no particular order…
I’m more amusing than my
husband gave me credit for…he showed no interest in reading ‘that romantic
stuff’ until he heard me practising for a library talk and suddenly piped up,
‘That’s actually quite funny.’ You’ll know him if you meet him, he’s the one
with the saucepan stuck on his head.
The dog is an excellent marketing
tool - her penchant for rushing up to befriend everyone has introduced me to
more potential readers than I’ve met at book signings. Though I’ve probably
spent more in replacing stolen squeaky balls than I’ve made in book sales.
Book signings are excruciating
unless you are famous and customers are queuing up to see you. Otherwise you’re
stuck there smiling hopefully at people who suddenly develop an interest in
books about road signs or terrapins to avoid you.
It’s no easier to write the
next book. I was in the unusual position of getting a two-book deal and having
two books ready to hand over. Writing book three was like typing with a trolley
of expectations veering out of control and crashing into the keyboard on a
regular basis.
Despite me telling my kids not
to meet anyone from social media under
any circumstances, I’ve met lots of people from Twitter in real life. And
I’ve loved them…there are some great big generous-hearted people out there that
I probably wouldn’t come across in my normal life, but who have become ‘proper’
friends.
Receiving a Christmas card from my 80-year-old aunt (who has never uttered anything stronger than ‘fiddlesticks’), in which she said she couldn’t put my book down, makes me dread the next family gathering. I can feel a swearing explanation coming on.
Receiving a Christmas card from my 80-year-old aunt (who has never uttered anything stronger than ‘fiddlesticks’), in which she said she couldn’t put my book down, makes me dread the next family gathering. I can feel a swearing explanation coming on.
Bad reviews lose the power to
ruin my day the more I get (please don’t feel obliged to help me out with this
aversion therapy!). On the other hand, a five-star review NEVER fails to
brighten my day.
I find it mortifying and
gratifying in equal measure when people tell me they are reading my book. My
next novel has real sex rather than hinted at sex in it. No-one I know must ever
read it. Especially not the husband. Or
the aunt. Or my mother, who already tells her friends that The School Gate Survival Guide is a bit ‘spicy’.
I’d never heard of book
bloggers before this year…or been so grateful to a community who work so hard
for free!
Merry Christmas!
You can find out more about Kerry, get in contact with her, and of course buy her amazing book by following these links:
The School Gate Survival Guide (Avon, HarperCollins) - a funny novel about school gate snobbery
And you can read my review of it here! The School Gate Survival Guide - A Page of Love Review
Thanks for coming back for another day of blogiversary celebration. Yesterday I shared my thanks for all the support I've had over the past year, and I even shared with you my plans for the coming year.
Today, a special friend of mine an author, Rebecca Raisin has taken over my blog and is going to share with you why she loves writing chick lit, why she does what she does. Rebecca is someone that is so friendly, helpful, supportive and totally fun! I don't think I've ever met an author who you instantly relax in the presence of, and can literally sit down with a cup of tea, a biscuit or two and chat! So, this is Rebecca spending time with you, hosting a little blogiversary celebration, I'm sure you will love reading it, and you should absolutely go check Rebecca out and read ALL her books - I've reviewed them on A Page of Love!
Today, a special friend of mine an author, Rebecca Raisin has taken over my blog and is going to share with you why she loves writing chick lit, why she does what she does. Rebecca is someone that is so friendly, helpful, supportive and totally fun! I don't think I've ever met an author who you instantly relax in the presence of, and can literally sit down with a cup of tea, a biscuit or two and chat! So, this is Rebecca spending time with you, hosting a little blogiversary celebration, I'm sure you will love reading it, and you should absolutely go check Rebecca out and read ALL her books - I've reviewed them on A Page of Love!
Thank you so much for asking me here
today, Dawn! And a big, happy blog-birthday to you!
I’ve been writing now for about six
years! It seems crazy to think it’s been that long! Like a lot of writers, I
finally put pen to paper when I had my twin boys and was at home full time
looking after them. Between their naps, I would snatch some writing time. I
also took some creative writing classes, which really inspired me, and helped
me progress when I was a total newbie!
I guess I’ve always been caught up in my
own imagination, so when it came to writing short stories at first, it felt
like I was finally letting that creativity out and putting it to good use!
I started writing short because I felt
like otherwise I’d get lost in thousands of words, and it might’ve killed my
enthusiasm. I think writing short helps as a writer long term because you learn
to be economical with words, but still get a story out there that has all the
elements of a long one. Like hook, conflict resolution all in a thousand words.
As the years have progressed (way, WAY
too fast!) I’ve managed to write longer pieces, and now full length novels. I
enjoy the process pretty much each step of the way, though I’m not a plotter, I
now have to submit my story ideas to my editor, so that has helped when it
comes to nailing down an idea and sticking to it.
It is easier in the long run to have a
plan for most of the book, and then when you do run off into a tangent, at
least you can find your way back to the main goal of the novel.
I’ve written the Gingerbread Café
series, and am now adding to that with stories that will
be linked. For example, the characters all live in the same small town in
Ashford, Connecticut so they run into each other as you do in places like that.
And thank goodness, because in my crazy mind, the girls from the Gingerbread
Café are real, and I miss them!
Writing is my go-to place, and I
couldn’t live without it. Even if I wasn’t published I’d still write. I get
these ideas, usually at the most inconvenient times, like when I’m almost
asleep, or at the doctor, and I must write them. For an addiction I guess it’s
a good one to have!
Thank you for having me here today! And
I hope you all have a safe a happy Christmas!
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