Annette V Hart's Blog: The ramblings of Annette Hart, page 7

Insomnia...

Urgh! I feel yucky and will certainly not be writing much today. I only had just over an hours sleep last night. I got into one of those vicious circles of worrying about not sleeping so getting more tense. And you know you're doomed when you start to hear the dawn chorus! All my concentration is on entertaining my daughter who is off school today but with as little brain power as possible. That's reserved for a minimal amount of driving - in the rain. This incessant downpour is just adding to my gloom!

A double-edged sword...

My children wanted to play Dungeons & Dragons again. I'm pleased I introduced the game to them but it is a double-edged sword. I love the way they get involved in their characters or enjoy drawing the maps but I always have to be Dungeon Master and design some of the maps! And I'm not the best DM: I have to keep looking things up which slows things down!

Starting a new story, a new direction...

I am really excited about the new story I have started although it is a very different style and genre. I have finally entered the world of romantic, WWII fiction, something I have been intending to do for some time.

However, I am enjoying reading Jurassic Park at the moment so I am constantly flipping between reading and writing (and bribing the children to vaccuum and put the washing on!).

An interesting day out...

We took the children down to Winchester for the day, planning to visit the ruined Wolvsey Palace and the Great Hall with the Round Table. But we also stopped by the cathedral and I'm glad we did. It was intriguing seeing the juxtaposition of modern art against the medieval background. I loved Antony Gormley's statue in the damp and spooky crypt. Sadly, I couldn't really enthuse the children with awe at the beautiful caskets holding the bones of ancient Kings. They, too, were more interested in the modern sculptures and materials. The cathedral seems to embrass the tactile and the new: they had a twisted, iron-worked table for votive candles and a corner chapel with chunky, smooth and bright benches.

Cover & Giveaway...

Hooray, my book "Love and Restitution" is published and I am busy trying to promote it online. I have started a giveaway on Goodreads and am making sure the cover image and blurb is everywhere. I'm really pleased with the cover so I hope it draws attention to my book.

Love and Restitution

Hooray! A publication date!...

It looks like my book "Love and Restitution", Athlandia#3, will be published on 10th May. It's already available for pre-order from Amazon! It's exciting and I can't wait for that box of my copies!

Last minute nerves...

My publishers have gone quiet on me while I wait to hear my publication date. They said April and now I'm fighting the irrational, rising panic that something's gone wrong. Between various, imaginative disaster scenarios I have to remind myself that this happened last time too.

I did have a waking nightmare, (before I got to sleep - and then stopping me for ages), in which I suddenly 'remembered' that one of my illustrations had been wrong and other places of text had not been corrected. It took repeated reminders from my husband about precisely how many times I had read through the manuscript to calm me.

In need of direction!

With publication of one book imminent, Iwant to get writing again but I'm not sure which direction to take - and so I'm dithering and doing nothing! If The Keystone takes off I need to reread/rewrite the sequel I've already written. While I could leave my Athlandia series at #3, Love and Restitution, I have written a possible #4 and half written a #5. I also have 2 completely different adult stories running around my head; should I concentrate on these, hoping for success?

All gone quiet...

I've signed off the final manuscript and agreed the latest cover... now everything has gone very quiet while I wait for the publication date. I'm twiddling my thumbs, wondering if I should start something new while wanting to begin PR for this new book but actually doing neither!

Cover news...

I have seen a mock-up of my cover for "Love and Restitution" and really like it - much more than the other two in the series. Maybe one day I will be able to change them to fit in with this, more photographic, one. So hopefully, with just one or two minor changes, we're ready for an April publication!