I often get asked what I find hardest about writing a novel. Is it coming up with the ideas or dealing with rejections? For me, it’s neither of those.
Hours spent thrashing out a plot and getting it into some semblance of order is a walk in the park in comparison to releasing a novel.
Under the Warrior’s Protection, which was released on 29th October, is my seventh novel, although it’s only my second for Mills & Boon. Before I wrote books I worked in publishing for a long time, producing over sixty books a year. There’s nothing more exciting than holding a glossy, new book and knowing you are somehow responsible for its existence, whether it’s as an author or an editor. You normally get these copies a month or two before they are sent out to the wider world and I have to admit to spending time, more than is probably normal, staring at them (especially my most recent one as the model is delicious).
So you’d think, after all those publication days, I would be a bit more relaxed about them by now. Sadly, that’s not the case. I’m a wobbly bag of nerves each and every time.
The build-up to this one has been particularly nerve-wracking and not just because of my normal worries. While I’ve been sending out promotional copies and answering questions from bloggers, I’ve also started a new job as a literacy support officer in a secondary school. I get to talk about books and punctuation all day, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea (it certainly isn’t my pupils!) but I love it. On top of that, my daughter’s started secondary school, which seems to mean an awful lot of homework for me, something I wasn’t really expecting.
The main characters of my latest novel, Katherine and Jarin, filled my head for over six months. I watched as they fell in love and struggled over the hurdles I threw at them to overcome. I laughed and cried with them and wrote about them late into the night, long after the rest of my family had gone to sleep. In essence they were my world. But it was a very private one, where only the three of us existed. Now I have to introduce them to everyone else and I’m very nervous about it.
Having said that, there is always wine on publication day and, if I’m lucky, cake. So it’s not all bad.
Thank you so much to Ellesea for allowing me to take over the Ellesea Loves Reading blog. This isn’t something I’ve ever done before and I’ve had great fun doing it.
Under the Warrior’s Protection by Ella Matthews
Might save her life…
With their family name in tatters, Katherine Leofric and her sister are headed for a new life at their brother’s estate. They are escorted by the hardened Jarin, Earl of Borwyn, whom Katherine believes is only after her dowry! Then her sister is abducted on their treacherous journey, and Katherine must rely on Jarin’s protection. Now, seeing a different side to the man she's sworn to hate, it’s her heart that’s most at risk!
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