Carrying on with our catch up with last year’s Take Four Writers, today it’s the turn of Lucy Coleman and Angela Petch.
Lucy:
This year has flown by and I can’t believe it’s August already – eight months since the last of Jane Cable’s series: ‘Take Four Writers’. As we all catch up, I suspect the main theme running through our updates will be that there are never enough hours in the day. But a writer’s life is never dull, and we are blessed!
Writing as Lucy Coleman, by the end of 2019 I will have had two new books out this year with Aria Fiction, the second of which is ‘Magic Under the Mistletoe’ due out on 5 September. Set in the hamlet of Porthkerry, near Cardiff, it begins in a snowstorm. It was inspired by the heavy snowfall in December 2017, which turned much of the UK into a winter wonderland.
A new publishing contract with Boldwood Books will see the first of six novels published over the next two years, beginning with the release of ‘A Springtime to Remember’ in December 2019. The story is set in Versailles, a place that is very dear to my heart.
I’ve also recently returned to blogging and my monthly feature ‘The Happiness Factor’ covers tips on motivation and generally surviving the ups and downs of a busy life. Also fun things – interior design tips, home spa pampering, the aesthetics of your workspace if you work from home, and my best buys. A treat doesn’t need to break the bank, but it can lift the spirits.
I don’t ‘endorse’ products, but share things I’ve purchased which make me smile, or have helped me. One of my best buys recently was a back brace I wear when typing, which has taken away my spells of backache!
If you get a moment, do drop by my website https://linnbhalton.co.uk/the-happiness-factor-blog/ and check it out.
Angela:
The Tuscan Secret was published by Bookouture on June 26th, after rigorous editing. At first I panicked at the structural changes suggested. I had written this book originally in 2012 and had to reacquaint myself with the story. But then I settled and began to enjoy the challenge. Today my editor told me it has sold just shy of 10,000. I could never have imagined that figure as a self-published author. (There’s also been a knock-on sales increase of my other books).
This week I sent my first draft to my editor of the second commissioned Tuscan novel, and the editorial roundabout will again whir into action. Hopefully, what I learned from the first round will ease the process.
Downsides:
- I’m at least half a stone heavier from spending many hours sitting in front of my laptop.
- I am developing bad posture.
- My hubby says my head’s in another world half the time. (It is!)
Positives:
- I’m loving what I’m doing. There was never enough time to concentrate on my writing before. It’s fun to live in a “what-if” world.
- I have made great new friends in the writing community.
- I’m gaining self-belief.
- Far from being escapist, I firmly believe that writing helps me connect more with the world.
We all know that very few authors make a mint. It would be great to have more pennies and pounds in my bank account… but money is not the only measure of happiness. Connecting with readers (even with those who give less than shining reviews) makes all those hours of being hunched over my writing; all those hours of my head feeling it’s going to burst, my eyes squinty and itching — all worth it. Hand on heart.