What a week.

Its been a week to remember make no mistake.
On Tuesday my book (previously known as BTL) Things I Should Have Said and Done, was published by the lovely people at Accent Press

which made me very happy. I've also been out and about in Blogland and have visited (in no particular order) weheartwriting, My Reading Corner, Swirl and Thread and the first people to invite me over The Guest Room at Wannabeawriter. There was also flowers and lunch out with Mr Mc on Friday and I understand there'll be a champagne breakfast this morning.

It wasn't all good news though. On Wednesday I had a cracked tooth and a warning light on the car on Thursday. Happily both rectified now - so bring on the champagne.

 

 

 

First review

Read my first Goodreads review here. Also I see that the publishers are going a giveaway. Cause for a tipple I think.

Dreams

Can't believe its just over two weeks until the renamed BTL sees the light of day as a real live book. Who says dreams don't some true? I spent a bot of time thinking about this when I woke up at 3am because my internal clock is still running on BST. I wonder how it will feel to see the first copy - a bit like getting my first plastic fiver I expect - a bit unreal. It also occurred to me that this time next year my third book will be (if it has been delivered on time) in the hands of the publishers and I will be out of contract. That made me a bit sad - well a lot sad really if I'm honest because I'm enjoying the ride - so far. I still don't think of myself as a writer though. Inside I think I'm still that 'Gonna Be..' that I was when I started this blog.

This and that

Several things have happened since I was last here.
We went to The Lakes for a few days, the weather was kind to us and it was lovely. I planned on putting a picture here but just remembered that they are saved on my laptop and I'm on Mr Mc's. Never mind imagine blue lake, blie sky with mountains in the background - it was very pretty.
After that I went back to work and hurt my shoulder. Its a common occurrence but seems to be taking longer to heal this time. It happens when you play netball with 7kg bags of rags.
I'm working on the first draft of DB and so far so good nut its very early days and I had a call from Accent on Friday saying that TISHSaD is ready to go to print. Yay!
Think that's the last few weeks up in a nutshell so now it's time to catch up on what everyone else has been up to.

I was recently asked to write a guest post on the weheartwriting.com blog which was exciting. I started to feel like a bit of a writer though the feeling soon passed. If anybody asks I work for Barnardo's - I am not a writer.Anyway, I digress, the subject of my post was 'Planner or Pantser?' Personally I am a pantser. Almost no planning went into TISHSaD and not a lot more for NRIMH. DB will take a lot more planning so hopefully I will discover that I am a planner at heart.
So my question id the same as my post Planner or Pantser? And, if any of the planners out there could give me a bit of advice I would be very greatful.
Mr Mc and I are heading off today for a few days away. We are celebrating our 34th wedding anniversary tomorrow. See you when I get back.

Pretty

I received this yesterday  which is the artwork that will be used to promote my book on social media. There were several versions including "pre order now" and "new release" but this is he blank version. I don't get where the tree comes in but it sure is pretty.

Back to the good old pink pen

I've tried to be a proper writer and sit at my keyboard, fingers flying over the keys to form the words on the screen but to be honest it's not working for me. I wrote the second part of my second book like this and it was such a chore because I found I was doing a lot more editing, correcting etc. So I have just started book three and I did it the way that book one was wrote i.e. on paper using the pink pen and I feel so much more at home.
Guess I'm just an old fashioned kind of girl.

Happy child.

Its been a funny day and not funny haha.
My dad died a year ago today. He was an old man and had  had a good life. His last day had been a good one. He had spent the day doing the things that he enjoyed doing and then he died. I think about him pretty much every day but more so today.
I've also thought a lot about how my life has changed in the last year. This time last year it would be another three weeks before I was offered my book deal. That came on the day that he was buried which was also the day that my mum died. I am so grateful to them for the childhood they gave me.

Book number 1

I'm back from my self imposed technology exile that was in place while I finished book number two. Said book is now finished and in the hands of my editor so please everyone, keep everything crossed that she likes it.
Those of you that have been with me since the early days may remember that back at the beginning this blog was called "Gonna be a Writer," and I didn't even put my name to it, I was just GonnaB. Well a lot has changed since then and now you know that I am Colette McCormick.
If someone asked me today what my profession was I still wouldn't say writer I do have a book contract and I am happy to share with you the cover of book number one which is due out soon.

Now you all can see what TISHSaD means and in case you're interested  it's working title of BTL stood for "Beyond the Light."
I'm not blogging about this to brag or to say look at me but rather to say that if it can happen to me it can happen to anyone and that includes all of you that are still trying hard to get that book deal that you have dreamed of. Anyway, you are my friends and I wanted to share the good news with you all.

Does anyone....

know how to delete a blog? I'm not thinking of deleting this one, just an old one that I no longer maintain. Its sitting on my dashboard minding its own business but I would rather it wasn't there. It's a bit like my obsession for having an empty inbox. Irrational I know, but hey that's me.

Guilty Pleasure

 I'm curious to know about other people's guilty pleasures, we all have them. I'll let you into my secret.
On my day off during the week (usually a Friday but other days are available) I love to iron. I can hear the groans form here but hey what can I say I enjoy ironing. I detest putting the stuff away though but that's just me be irrational but the actual process of ironing I find really relaxing. However that's just a pleasure. The guilty one is that while I'm ironing I love to watch a really bad film. Disaster movies are my favourite, you know the type, killer bees, snowstorms, Armageddon on a global scale that sort of thing. And they can't be well made films, no they have to be the ones with dodgy acting and even dodgier special effects. I love them.
Come on. I've shared mine, what's yours?

Dim question

This isn't the first dim question that I've asked here and I'm sure it won't be the last.
As you know I am currently writing book 2 (NRIMH) and I wondered what state that should be in when I submit it to my publisher. Its not really a question I suppose because I know what state it will be in when I submit  it but I've been reading a lot lately (well a bit at least) how some authors submit their books (and I'm not talking first books here)  to their agents, publishers or whoever and they come back for a sometimes total over-hall. I suppose my question is do I treat it as I did the first one or at least what do you guys do?

Catching up

Anyone who follows me on FB will know that book number 2 has been finished for a while - well the first draft anyway and the revisions are well under way. I am happy (ish) with the way that the revisions are coming along but I am occasionally riddled with self doubt. Is it any good and all that sort of thing. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about.
In other news, Book number 1 has been renamed. It was BTL and is now TISHSaD. I am okay with that because BTL was only ever a working title. I got an email from my editor the other day with the proposed cover, It is really pretty but I'm not sure its what I was expecting. That's not to say that I don't like it because I do - I just didn't get it at first. After a couple of days I now understand what the designers were aiming for.
For years you guys here and my dear friend Jan were the only people that knew that I wrote and now I am having to tell people in the outside world. I am no longer writing just for me. Anyway yesterday I told my boss not because I think I'll be giving up the day job any time soon but because when it comes to promoting the book the fact that I work for a charity might be mentioned so I thought I should warn her. I now have to tell someone further up the pecking order as well so I'll drop them an email next week. I showed her the cover picture that is on my phone and my hand was shaking - it's ridiculous.
Today in my number 2 son's birthday so happy birthday AT.
What else? well I had a couple of days in Blackpool last week when I went for a conference and it was freezing - especially when you were dressed up as a flapper. God knows what the tram conductor thought when we got on the tram, Having said that, I dare say he's used to it in Blackpool.
So that's about it really, life is plodding along quite nicely - work - revisions - work - revisions - nothing much to tell you which is one of the reasons that I haven't been around for a while.
One last thing - next Tuesday is the 3rd anniversary of my kidneys packing in and having my first dialysis session. Well actually the dialysis is probably Wednesday because it happened in the middle of the night. Lot of water under the bridge since then.
So if you can bear the mundane I'll be back soon.

Maybe next time.

I am such a bad blogger. Sorry blog, I have neglected you.
So what's happened since the last time we spoke? Well the day job continues apace and the night job (well evening rather than night) is keeping me busy too. All in all very busy.
Book number 2 (NRIMH) is almost at the end of the first draft. This excites me because I want to get on to the revisions. As I've been writing I've been thinking that this needs changing or that needs rewriting so I want to get on with that. I gave myself the deadline of the first draft being finished by April 30th so we're looking on course for that.
What else? Well the new sofa I mentioned in my past post has settled in quite nicely. The dog doesn't have as much room to spread out as he did with the last one but he manages - usually by laying on someone.
This is day 2 of 4 off work and I've impressed myself by writing 2.5k words this morning though I don't know how some of you write all day. I'm shattered.
I know I'm getting a bit ahead of myself but I've registered for PLR. I need to look into the Society of Authors too as  lovely fellow author who has helped me right from the beginning suggested I do and I trust her judgement.
That's it I think. I really can't think of anything else that has happened in the last month - not that might remotely interest you anyway.
I will try to be more interesting next time.

Hack at Heart

I'm well into the first draft of NRIMH but I was a bit lost about where it was going. Thanks to a proverbial lightning strike  though I now know where I'm going with it which excites me because I want to get on with it and frustrates me because I'm really busy with the day job so I can't get to write as much as I would like.
I sent a short story off the other day - its a long tome since I had any success in that department. I thought just after I got the contract that maybe I should give up on the short stories and concentrate on the book but the truth is that I always saw myself writing different things and no just fiction. I really enjoy researching non fiction too. Hell I've even been known to write the odd poem. I think I'm just a hack at heart. 
On a different note we had a new sofa delievered today which is well overdue. So what if the old one was a but shabby? It was so darned comfy.

What to do

I'm reading a book at the minute that's set in "Dickensian" England and when I was a few pages in I declared (out loud) that it was written by an American. Nothing wrong with that. The give away was that a character got his "check book" out. Turns out I was right (just call me Sherlock) and the book is written by a group of journalists from the New York Times that "love"  that period. So I'm still reading this book because I am interested in what happens but I am constantly on the look out for more "Americanisms". Today's was when a character put something in the pocket of his pants. Oh I should have said that the story is told in the first person by an English gentleman. He would not say pants. However, the biggest faux pas (so far - still a hundred pages to go) was when they said that the nursery rhyme line "and pretty maids all in a row" has something to do with the killing of Lady Jane Grey. Well it may well be because I've got no idea but I do know that it wasn't Mary Queen of Scots that was responsible for it. Wrong person methinks. Part of me wants to email them and point out these things like the "English rose" who describes some bloke as a prick but another part of me tells me to behave and just enjoy the story.

Quick chat

Oh my its nippy.
Just thought I'd pop over and say hello.
I'm on holiday next week and just have to work tomorrow but that'll be an ok sort of day so given that I'm not doing a lot today its like being in holiday already. I did grocery shopping this morning, then a bit of ironing, I've caught up with some admin and got about 500 "new" words down on NRMIH so I'm feeling very chilled. Going to have a cup of tea and watch last night's "Elementary" before meeting up with Himself for a late lunch though you could probably call it tea because I don't think I'll want to eat again later. Hey this body can afford to miss a meal. especially after the other day when I had to sent a photo of myself of to the publisher. I mean I'm not HUGE but I could do with dropping a pound or two. The steroids make that progress slow but I'll give it a go.
Not much else to report this week. Life is jogging along quite nicely. The day job is tickety boo and the night job will hopefully come along better this week. There were other things that needed to be done last week, connected to the book but not actual writing so I know the 500 words I mentioned earlier don't sound like a lot but I'm easing my way in gently.
Anyway must go. Johnny Lee Miller is calling my name as is the tea pot.

Volunteers required

Hello everyone (grovel grovel) I have been asked to provide names of fellow bloggers who would be prepared to host me on a blog tour to promote BTL. I didn't want to suggest anyone without asking first so that's what I'm doing now. Hands up anyone who would like to volunteer. If you'd rather email me than reply here my email address is colettemccormick@yahoo.co.uk.
Many thanks in advance.

Oh no...

I've been asked to provide a recent photograph of myself and as anyone will tell you I detest having my photo taken. I rarely have it taken and like very few of the ones that are.
Not to worry that's a problem for another day. Himself and I are going out for the (late) afternoon followed by early dinner and then off to see a "turn."
A good day. 

Secret's finally out

I thought of how I could tell my friends that didn't know that I wrote about my book and I decided that the "just spit it out and let them deal with it" approach was best - so that's what I did. I have to say that everyone has been so supportive, some were really interested, some wanted to know what the book was about and one wanted to know why I kept my ambition a secret. The answer I gave him was that if people that I actually physically know ie. colleagues, neighbours etc. didn't know then I wasn't putting pressure on myself to succeed all the while I got love and support from the like minded souls that I'd met in cyber-land. Best of both worlds really.
I'm at a bot of a loss at the moment. I'm working hard on NRIMH but I don't know what happens now to BTL. I imagine that my baby is out there being primped and prepared to go out in the world but I don't know how the publishing thing works. I'm sure they are looking after my baby but just like my sons I'd like to hear about them/from them from time to time.

News

When I first started this blog, many years ago when Adam was a lad and dinosaurs still walked the earth, it was called "Gonna be a Writer" and my plan was in the title. I always said that I would never consider myself a writer until I was doing it properly and to do that (in my opinion for me personally) was to write enough short stories/articles to earn a living at it or to have a book contract. Today I can finally (in my own words) call myself a writer because today I signed a 3 book deal with Accent Press. It's like a full circle because Accent Press published the first story of mine that I ever saw in print when they included "Elaine" in an anthology called "Sexy Shorts for the Beach" whose profits went to Cancer Research UK who I was working for at the time.

Almost no-one that I know in the "real" world knows that I write so this might come as a shock to them. I would really appreciate any advice any of you can give me.

Sounding off

I know editors are busy people, and I know that they are dealing with more people than just me so I understand that you have to be patient. I hate it when I have to remind them of something or give them a nudge which is stupid really because in my job when someone reminds me of something I haven't done I don't take it personally. I usually just think "Oh sod!" Okay so its not personal and I'll get in touch. Having said that maybe I should give them a bit longer to get over Christmas.
Thank you dear blog friends for once again being my sounding board. "Chatting" to you has once again put things in perspective.
On a different note I have a cold though it does seem a but better today though I am barking like a dog. I'll keep an eye on it because if you remember my "problem" started as a cold but I think I'll be ok and the last time I saw my nephrologist he said that I would still get colds.
Other than that, not a lot has been happening round here  - apart from rain. Dear God  am sick of it. Thankfully for us all that has been flooded around here is a few roads its just a pain that they are the roads between home and work.

Off and running

Less than 11 hours into the new year and I've done 2 hours (give or take a minute) of actual writing. Not checking emails or surfing the web but actual writing. Current project is 30k words long and want it finished by the end of April which is a deadline that is subject to change but the one I'm working at the moment.
Don't make resolutions as such any more because I hate the feeling of failure when I don't lose 4 stones or learn a new language though I do like a "to do" list and one of my things "to do" today was to wish you al a very happy new year.
Good luck for 2016 everyone.
 x