Two months until publication

The countdown is on ... again

Dear Creative Soul,

With two months until WILDFLOWER comes out (Bloodhound Books, August 10), here’s a quick bookish update.

The new cover design will be revealed by the amazing Bloodhound Books team in the next few days and I’ll share that (and pre-order links) here as soon as I can. I’m so excited for this book to reach a wider audience - but also somewhat wobbly, because it’s a big deal putting your words out there, no matter how many books you’ve had published.

This past week I’ve had to shift my focus away from my WIP and back to Wildflower. The typeset pages had to be read and returned, a blurb had to be approved, acknowledgements had to be written … and deadlines were calling.

I haven’t read this novel cover-to-cover for ages (it was previously published in Australia by Pilyara Press last year before Bloodhound Books acquired it), so it was refreshing to reacquaint myself with the characters and their complicated lives.

It’s the book of my heart and reading it again made me feel so many things: proud, vulnerable, excited … and it reminded me that, YES, I REALLY CAN WRITE A BOOK!

(Remind me of this when I say I don’t know how to write a book. If you’re a writer, you’ll know what I mean.)

A friend mentioned Pip William’s advice about writing at least one word a day and I did try that for the WIP when I took a break from proofing. But, while I’m a polygamous reader, reading according to mood and tiredness level, I’m definitely a one-book-at-a-time writer. (Maybe that will have to change one day … but not while I’m still working full time. I know my limits!) So, I did dip into the WIP once or twice, but found it difficult to focus with said deadline hovering about.

This afternoon I sent the typeset pages back to my editor and I’m sure they’ll come back for a final pass in the next week.

While this means I can get back to the WIP tomorrow, I also have to get my head back into promo mindset. I’m starting to plan a new ‘season’ of the Behind the Cover series I started on my Instagram in 2020 (it’s been a while between videos), as well as arranging some library visits in Perth (my UK publisher can’t do this for me). If you’re in Perth, I’d love to see you at one of these upcoming bookish chats. And if you’re a bookstore owner in Perth and would like me to come and visit, please get in touch by leaving a comment or messaging me on Insta.

I’m excited to have a few podcast interviews locked in already and I’m so grateful to the Aussie writing community for the support.

There’s not much more I can do until the cover is released, so this weekend will be a writing weekend. The next one … I’ll figure that out next week.

With so much on - I’m also deep into planning a month-long trip to Germany - I know I’ll quickly get overwhelmed if I’m not compassionate and mindful of my limits. So, inspired by Meg Dunley’s lovely post “Filling Up My Cup”, here are few ways I’ve been doing that for myself lately:

• Reading - in May I read 10 books (scroll down to see all the titles). My top read was the profoundly moving A Woman in Berlin, recommended to me by Zoe Deleuil (thanks, Zoe) ahead of my visit to Berlin later this year. In an earlier post I wrote about not reading for a week, which was terribly difficult because it’s the way I fill my cup every night.

• Walking in nature - last weekend we went walking in Dwellingup, Western Australia on a cold but sunny afternoon. I say cold, but check out these brave souls in my fave photo from the day:

  

• Photography - I took photos for a theatre production during the week (that was a challenge) but what really fills my cup is nature, all the little things. My husband always says that when we walk, his eyes are in the clouds and canopies and mine are on the ground, looking for mushrooms and flowers and faces in tree trunks. On Tuesday morning it hailed and as soon as it stopped, I was out there.

• Having a bath - bubbles, warm water, soft candlelight, a glass of wine or a herbal tea … a book and maybe some chocolate. This makes me happy.

• Coffee dates with my husband - every afternoon, unless one of us is working or away. His coffee is the bar for every single cup I buy in a café.

I sense I’ll need to keep filling my cup over the next few months (did I mention I have two books coming out in three months?)

And with that, I’m off to make a cup of tea and run a bath. Thanks for being here.