It’s been an exciting few months since my last update. The door that’s been hanging off its hinges since Storm Arwen has finally been fixed; on my first try at aerial yoga I didn’t break a limb; and I notched up a new top speed of 31mph on my cycle route (all right, it was downhill). I’m also delighted to say that my first novel, Soldier Doll, was placed in the top 10% in the Cheshire Novel Prize. As a result, it will be showcased to agents throughout August and September.
It’s the first year Sara Cox and her team has run the competition. I came across it through Twitter and was immediately drawn to the openness, enthusiasm and warmth of their communications. I’ve entered other competitions in the past, where I’ve paid my fee and heard nothing back, not even ‘it’s rubbish but thank you for your £20’, but I felt this one genuinely had the best interests of the writers at heart. So I took the plunge and sent in a last minute entry, literally squeaking through before the final cut off.
One of the things I enjoyed most in the whole process was the “snippets” stage. This took the form of a series of daily tweets, with each one giving a brief description of a novel that had made it through to the last rounds of the competition. It was a nail- biting tease because, as all the entries are anonymous, there can be no reference to author names or book titles. I was close to hyperventilating when I thought I recognised my own book being talked about. ‘Heartbreaking Northern Ireland history.’ Surely that had to be my story? ‘Wrapped up in gripping, confident prose.’ Could that really be my writing they’re talking about? Yes, it was!
But, for me, the best part was saved until last when I received a full page of individual feedback. This was a collective summary of comments from readers and judges, a valuable added benefit that is as rare as a triple-yolked egg! Since then, energized by all that positivity, the book has gone through a final copyedit. It’s polished and sitting ready for agents, publishers and the reading public. I’m exploring both traditional and self-publishing options. Either way, it will be on a bookshelf, real or digital, soon!