I’ve written another book.
Four words feels like all I can manage right now, but I’ll try to elaborate before I curl up in a corner and sleep for a week.
For the last six-ish months, I’ve been writing a new book – it’s about relationship expectations, sex and romance myths, and a whole bunch of other things including why it’s hard to fuck in a spreader bar without falling over, and why mental health issues can sometimes cock up your sex life. It’s a love story for people who don’t really believe in love stories, and hopefully a decent response to those relatives who ask ‘when are you going to settle down?’ If you’ve read my first book, it also answers the question I’m most frequently asked about that one – what happened to number 26?
I’ll have more info on it closer to publication, but for now I’ve only just finished the first draft, and I am in a state of total collapse, so I won’t give you all the details right now. It’s really hard to write about it without sounding like I’m boasting, and it’s also hard not to boast without sounding terse, but suffice to say this is intensely, desperately exciting for me, and also scary, because I really want you all to love it.
It’s going to be published by Blink, who are amazing and brilliant, and I have met lots of their team already (they gave me wine! And listened to me bang on about the merits of going to a spanking party versus watching series 2 of Orange is the New Black!). It’ll also be IN PRINT. This wouldn’t have happened without my agent, Lorella Belli, who is spectacular in every way, or Emily Thomas, my editor at Blink, who has actually made my day/week/month/year… sod it… life.
THANK YOU
I’ll do a whole bunch of thank yous in the bit at the end of the book in which I get to thank people, but for now I just want to say that I have been an appalling human for the last six months, as I stress and worry and hide away to write, and ditch plans last minute and cock up deadlines, so massive thank you to everyone who’s been so supportive, and helped me through it.
Not just my real-life mates, who’ve been amazing, but everyone on Twitter and Facebook and via email and comments on this blog, who has been kind enough to understand when I haven’t been able to respond quickly, and offered virtual hugs and nice words and all that stuff. And especially all the people I freelance for, who’ve been lenient when I haven’t been able to take on extra work, and so kind. You’re all awesome, and I’m incredibly lucky.
On a practical note, if I owe you an email I’m going to Get On It early next week (I need a few days rest, sorry), and if you do want me to work for you (freelance writing, consultancy, all that jazz), I’ve now got time to take on some more, so if you have money and you’d like some words, get in touch.
Buy books and stuff
I’ll let you know asap when it’s available for pre-order: if you subscribe to this blog I’ll make sure to tell you as soon as it’s available. You don’t have to have read my first book in order to read the second, but if you’d like to read book 1, which is basically a torrid history of all the people I’ve ever shagged, along with a few rants about why we shouldn’t be ashamed of being horny, please do buy it now because it’s relatively cheap and I have no idea if/when the price will go up.
I suspect I’ll have a lot of rewrites and tweaks and stuff to do, and I’m also going to do something SUPER FUN to celebrate the new book. I’ll tell you about it soon, but first: sleep.
* GOTN collapses into a pile on the floor*
15 Comments
*throws a blanket over GOTN… you sleep more when you’re warm…*
BOOK! *happy kermit gif*
As an author, your state is 100% understood by me and I cheer you to sleep as you celebrate the momentous completion of the book. It’s all good and what you give back earns you the understanding and support of your fans.
Carry on!
If this book is anything like the last one, I won’t stop reading it, despite what the last one did at work (I told this story already, you’ll find it). I am already purchased it in my head.
As Fly from Futurama would say, “Shut up and take my money!”
Yay! This is good news! Enjoy your rest.
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!
Well done!
I’ll try to wait patiently for it to come out !!!!!
And…….
If you need an old, white, American, male, of the carpenter persuasion to read it for ya. Just send it!!!! I promise I’ll keep it a secret.
Congratulations !!!!!!
Awesome news – congratulations – looking forward to reading it! :)
Wow congratulations! That’s very exciting and I can’t wait to read it. You’ve been pretty active here – or so I thought – given what you’ve been up to!
Ann
xo
Congratulations, that’s wonderful! I am terribly impressed that you kept the blog going and all while writing this book!
So fortunate you have a team behind you. Wish I did. Writing is such a lonely business.
Can’t wait to read it. Well done. Look forward to all the reveals. Send love to number 26!!
Thank you all – you’re bloody lovely! I am well excited about the next stages, which I think will involve a fair bit of editing and rewrites, and also finalising title and cover and all that stuff. But for now, lots of sleep. Thanks for the blanket Innocent Loverboy… *zzzzz*
Your work ethic & output is prodigious and excellent. Book & blog concurrently is something else. Marvel that you had time for *research*. One ironic observation in light of your magnificent sallies on gender issues is that no man ever apologised for working hard!
Exciting! And I totally understand the ‘scary’: yes, scary!
Congratulations :)).
Ferns