Moving Forward

A lot of reflection is done at this time of the year. Looking back to see what went well, what didn’t, how things can be improved, and a writer’s life isn’t any different.

What went well this year – the launch of Second-Hand Daughter. It actually went better than I expected, and I can’t explain why. I wonder if it was the topic, discovering your husband had a secret second life you had no idea about. Anyway, the book sold okay (not thousands, that will be in years to come) but it sold well.

What didn’t go well was the launch of Compromising Positions – this is a fun little romance, but for some reason, I didn’t sell many copies at all. Another writer friend of mine launched her contemporary romance at the same time (November) and she didn’t make many sales either. We both have to wonder if it was too close to Christmas, and people were looking at big ticket writers for their books. It’s hard to say.

As a writer, we often bombarded with so many mixed messages. Write to market / don’t write to market. Write from your heart / don’t write from the heart. Write what you know / write something new / don’t reinvent the wheel. This year, I followed my own thoughts and feelings, and now, more and more people are saying, follow your own goals. I published two books this year, the most I’ve published before. And I loved every minute of the writing and editing process, until I have worked on the piece entirely through and think it’s shite. Then I put it out into the world, and let it float away into the abyss of Amazon / Kobo / Draft2Digital to be swallowed up in the millions of other books out there.

I’m really pleased with both of the books I produced. I’m looking forward to putting more out there next year, which will include Finding Sam Healey, which I am currently editing, and then Carol’s Christmas. Whether I start publishing the Racing Harts series I’m not sure, but I intend to write three books next year.

I wrote three novels this year. The Dragon story, which is part of a five book series, and needs a lot of work, because it became a never-ending story. That doesn’t work in the publishing world, but that’s okay. It needs work.

I also wrote 2 other novels, in the Racing Harts series, Fatih and Hope’s stories. And I hope to have Grace’s started in January. I have ideas for about five other stories, which are all up in the air at the moment, so I’m not sure what will come next, but I’m hoping to write my Ice Planet sequel, featuring the son of Kelvaras and Vyvica.

I’m contemplating splitting off my fantasy / science fiction books under a separate pen name, but again, not something I am fully decided on just yet. If it happens, I’ll let you know, because you’ll want to follow one or the other, I don’t expect everyone to follow me on both. There will be the odd one or two of you, like me, who will read just about anything. I read a large variety of books, and can’t say I’m solely a romance reader. If I have a thriller, I will enjoy the storyline even without romantic elements. But that’s a whole other blog post!

I will list out my goals for 2025 on 6th January, I intend on having a decent break this year. No laptop, no notebooks, just 10 – 14 days of nothing but reading. We’ll see how that goes then aye?

Anyway, I hope you all have a lovely Christmas. Stay safe out there and look after one another. Look forward to catching up with you all in the New Year.

Coming Up with Ideas

Sometimes I get asked how I come up with ideas for my story. So let me tell you about the three that are currently vying to be the next one written, and how I came up with the concept.

First is the Cinderella story. I wrote a New Zealand version of Beauty and the Beast, and I wanted to follow it up with another modern-day retelling of a fairy tale, I just couldn’t decide which fairytale to rewrite. One day, while sitting in the work ute, a story started to formulate in my brain about a woman who has a business that a stepmother is trying to sell out from under her. I have a well-developed plot for this story, but not names, but they will come.

The second story is a follow on from my ice planet story. My original story started from a dream, and this one kind of developed from a half-awake moment, where I thought of a name, Ko’nul, the son of Vyvica and Kelvaras. Ko’nul is the eldest son, the heir to Vyvica’s throne, but he’s a reprobate. He ends up with amnesia and looked after by woman who works in a bar, where he ends up working too. It’s a story of redemption.

The third story, which isn’t quite developed, is the next Racing Harts story, which is Hope. She races sprint cars, and her mechanic is AWOL. But then Thor turns up, and he is exactly as he sounds, tall, blond, beard, braids. He’s American and sent to help Hope with her sprint car, but other than that, I don’t have a real plot for this story yet. But ideas are percolating.

Which story do you think I should write next?