Driftwood and Amethyst is finally out there!

Sorry for my absence - but remember:
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence


I have been a busy little thing,discovering how the world of Amazon et al work behind the scenes and finding out how best to market my novel. The internet seems the obvious way, using Facebook and Twitter to update those interested parties, but I also need to be out there, which is a little difficult for someone who prefers to hide away with my laptop in a darkened room these days, my health being nothing but unpredictable!
But I have taken the bull by the horns in a not-advocating-bullfighting sort of a way and am gently pushing myself forward using all the media I have available to me at present.

So, with Driftwood now selling as an ebook and a paperback (and a hardback if you feel so inclined, they are lovely) I am on with my second childrens novel, using NaNoWriMo as an opportunity to write a first draft in a month. Writing is the best bit, it's true, but I must admit, the first edit is the exciting part when I get my red pen out, my thesaurus and start whipping the story in to shape!

Being an author is a dream come true. After five years of floundering, the chronic pain and countless procedures  aside, I am starting to see a different life for myself. I never thought, in 1995 when I began teaching, that I would ever do anything else. Teaching really was everything I'd ever wanted. The writing I did during my teaching career was merely to use as a starting point for history, literacy and drama lessons. I could not envisage myself ever writing a children's novel, never mind publishing it.
But life changing events really do happen.
Until two years ago, I honestly saw no way out of a rather dismal cycle of pain and medication reviews. Luckily, my family and friends provided a safety net to catch me whenever I stumbled and fell. My children were there demanding that I shake myself out of it and play trains or castles or do baking again and again and again. My husband's approach was to leave me a few jobs to do then quietly come home and do them himself. My mum is always at the end of the phone or my settee with coffee in hand for heart to hearts, mediating beautifully any crises that arise. My friends (near and far) who are always there for coffee, chat, cake, and more chat to help me back on track when my nerve has faltered. Between my children, my husband, my mum and those friends who turn up regardless with cake and gossip and of course my weekly baking sessions with my boys (more recently we've relied heavily on box kits to make our buns and gingerbread men) I feel like I am having some semblance of a normal life.
In Occupational Therapy, I learned quite quickly that I was very good at avoidance and normalising my behaviour by staying away from situations I find tricky - going out, meeting friends out of the house, simple tasks I can no longer do on my own. But in the house, my life can be quite normal. This place is my sanctuary and after five years of this, I'm happy to play along. My writing has been my silver lining - and I'm so glad I can write.
Time will tell if the book is well received and I do, sincerely, hope that readers will like it.
Driftwood and Amethyst - Kate Muscroft : XLibris