What Next?

For me, February 14, 2014 was not just another day of hearts and candy. This year, Valentine's day was the submission date set by Simon and Schuster, Canada, for my second novel.

On February 14, after consuming copious amounts of chocolate, I held my breath and sent the (hopefully) final version of Dark Territory off to Alison Clarke.

Alison had already read a previous draft and provided me with excellent editorial suggestions as well as some confidence building feedback. She liked it! Phew.

I also sent a copy off to Anne McDermid, my agent, who got back to me within a couple of days to say that she had loved the book, and was looking forward to beginning the process of selling the series. Double Phew!

Meanwhile, my youngest daughter was married in a fairy tale wedding, and we sold our current house and bought a new one. Not to mention our wonderful dog, Sophie, who, having just recovered from knee surgery was forced to go under the knife again when her hip gave out. Stress anyone?

Finally, however, the dust has settled, and I can breathe again. It was an exciting ride but now I am ready to start moving forward again.

What next? Supposedly, I will soon receive advance reading copies of my first novel, Blown Red, although to be perfectly honest, I never count chickens until they are hatched.  But, if I am very lucky and everything goes according to plan, then I expect I will have some major work to do over the next many months in preparation of the publication date. I just read a cautionary tale of an author who neglected his self-promotion duties and paid the ultimate price. Few sales....disinterested publisher. As much as I loathe self-promotion, I know I will have to bite the bullet and get cracking - starting with website development and a regular blogging schedule. At least it will be fun to step out of my comfort zone and learn something new.

Book Three is calling me, as well. I only have a two book contract with S and S so my urge to start plotting the third in the Signy Shepherd series has nothing to do with contractual obligations. Rather, the characters are demanding to be heard. Signy wants to know what is going to happen with Ben Tran. Will he be 'the one' or will their relationship fumble along the way? 

Grace wants to know if she is going to recover from her PTSD, whether she and Kim will work things out, and whether she will ever make it back onto the Line.

The Tracker wants to know who killed his mother and stole him away from his sister. He is dying to know whether he and Signy will be able to work together to solve that terrible puzzle, or whether Signy will continue to shut him out of her life.

And, of course, somewhere out there, a young woman is in desperate need of help from the Line. Will Signy get to her in time?

On a totally different note, my DBT skills partner and I, are also ready to get back on track with our online counselling idea. We will be ramping up our efforts on that front over the coming months.
 
I'm looking forward to the brain-rattling challenges of the upcoming year, as well as the inevitable setbacks. Whatever the final outcome of my various projects, I am already thrilled. It isn't the end result that interests me, it is the journey along the way, and 2014  promises to be a whirlwind.

What could be better?