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Almost a teenager

Final tweaks and corrections before it went out into the big wide world.
Final tweaks and corrections before it went out into the big wide world.

As Britney Spears once sang…. Oops, I did it again.

I have set another book loose into the world. Well … almost.

I hit the send button this week on what will be my ninth published book. Assuming of course that my publisher likes it. I think she will – I cried as I wrote the last scene, and that’s always a good sign.

It’s also kinda cool that in the same 24 hour period, a couple of my writer friends did the same thing too – hit the send button. It’s not an easy thing to do… to let your baby go.

It’s a really weird feeling. When and how did I write nine books in just seven years? Ok – a couple of them are novellas, but at 40,000 to 50,000 words, they are pretty long novellas.

There are a lot of people in those books. People I got to know very well as I wrote. People who I now think of as friends. And there are a couple of men I sort of fell in love with along the way (shhh – don’t tell my husband).

I look at the wall above my desk, which has my framed covers. There’s one missing. Book number 8 – Little Girl Lost is released next week. The cover will be up some time after that. I still can’t believe I wrote all those books.

I didn't actually 'write' the foreign language editions. The publishers hired translators to turn my English MS into the language they needed.
I didn’t actually ‘write’ the foreign language editions. The publishers hired translators to turn my English MS into the language they needed.

I vividly remember the rejection letters. In fact – I still have a folder full of them. I get them out from time to time to remind myself that writing is a privilege. And being published has to be earned.

I am back in Australia at the moment – doing what is probably … definitely … research for another book. And I’ll be in Adelaide for the Romance Writers of Australia conference (August 19-21) … and will be joining in the ARRA book signing on the Saturday August 20th. If you are in in Adelaide – pop by and say hello.

And the rest of the time… well, I’ll be working on book number 10. The first draft is almost done. And I’m already tossing around ideas for book number 11.

Double digits – wow. How did that happen? Just think, a couple more and I will be a teenager in book years. That sounds like it could be fun.

In the meantime, this is just my way of saying thank you to all the people who have helped me along the way. And thank you to all those people who have taken the time to read my books. I wouldn’t be doing this if not for you.