Well, my first novel Barry has had rave reviews – thank you Mum. No, but people have been very kind about it really. I got to work on it in earnest as a personal goal when I was going through tough times there in the early part of 2010. I’m pleased that I finished what I set out to accomplish.

When it came to putting the final product together I learnt that presentation has much to do with how a book is perceived. Chris Lake – who’s doing a lot of editing for me – pointed out (for example) that people don’t want to read paragraphs that are two pages long 🙂 Also, a well-designed cover and the professional impression that it gives are well worth having. You can still grab your free copy, just click on the Barry, the Novel tab above ^^^.

So what now? Well the next one’s due out very shortly! It’s entitled A Jersey Midsummer Tale . Part 1 is set in 1935 and Part 2 in the modern day, with little threads and arcs playing between the two parts. It took a bit of researching but I thoroughly enjoyed the writing process with this one. I think it’s good though I’m frustrated that I could have done better.

I should be looking at images for the cover rather than blogging, but really that will be it done and dusted. And this time I’ll try to sell a few though I’m still flying very much solo.

And there’s more! I’m 31,000 words – about 1/3 – through Tess of Portelet Manor. This is a sequel to Part 1 of Midsummer, picking up my main female character and following her through the thirties, the German occupation of Jersey and beyond. I’m already liking it a lot.

It’s a problem though finding time to write whilst holding down a 9 – 5.30 job. By the evening you’re mentally tired. I took a block of holiday recently to concentrate on it, and I’ll get a bit more done over Easter and the May public holidays. I’m really looking at the end of the year for a finish though.

And neither can I afford to go on self-publishing. I’m absolutely aware that few writers make money. You need to be both good and lucky, with lucky being the main ingredient. I’ve read stuff by well-known authors that I think anyone could knock out. But I think I should try to explore what possibilities there are.

So, what path do I take? Do I hawk my stuff around literary agents? I guess I could get steady sales in the local market for Midsummer and Tess but it is a small market.

Anyone out there in the blogosphere with any thoughts on this please comment away!