The Reluctant Author

A strange title to start with? What does it mean? Could it be he didn't want to write this book?

No, it doesn't mean that at all. Allow me to explain for a minute please.

I have thoroughly enjoyed writing and editing the book. It was a pleasure to shape the world of Jacob and Rebecca and a relief to extract it from my head and pour it onto a computer screen.

The reason for my reluctance is that it seems so difficult and convoluted to get anything into print. The publishers seem to take an aeon, the agents aren't much better and worst of all no-one seems to want to offer you any feedback. A familiar and oft-repeated rant, I'm sure you'll agree. It is also a world away from my previous experience in other sectors and just doesn't seem to make sense. I know supply far outweighs demand in publishing, but there doesn't seem to be effective mechanisms to allow talent and potential to emerge. It reminds me of the analogy of the HR Manager, sifting through an enormous pile of CVs, who promptly throws half of them unread into the bin. Why? His reasoning is that 'he wouldn't want to employ anyone unlucky'.

However, this blog isn't about ranting or complaining, it is about opportunity - and I'm very fortunate to be able to pursue the opportunity to see where Jacob's and Rebecca's lives take them over the next few books.

I sat down to write Hell's Garden on October 25th 2012, partly through choice, partly through circumstance. The choice elements were:
Flexible timeMinimal financial investment (electricity, internet and herbal tea mainly)Creative and lower stress outlet than my previous careerThe circumstance elements were:
A good self-employed career in a declining industry. The final straw was a major customer going under, which put my company in difficulty and made me realise that I needed to change direction.Childcare - I have two small children (4 and 2). I spent four nights of the first week of my youngest child's life in a hotel, servicing a major contract 200 miles from home. I don't want that, no matter what the financial rewards.Long-suffering wife with a strong career, who got an opportunity to go full time in a more senior role at about the same time as my company went under.So my life now looks something like this:

Monday - school and nursery run, sit down and write / procrastinate / try and get fit. Pick eldest up from swimming lesson and youngest from nursery, cook tea for them (and us).
Tuesday - school run for eldest, then playgroup with youngest, quick nap (for 2 year old, not me) in the car, then to the park / errands as needed. Pick the eldest up and run her to ballet, entertain the youngest, get them home and fed ready for their mum to come home.
Wednesday - as Monday with a couple of hours extra with just the eldest after school.
Thursday - hand kids to in-laws, write as hard and fast as I can until they hand them back
Friday - as Tuesday minus ballet.
Sat and Sun - weekend as a family.

Pretty normal existence for any family? Yes, but with one exception - check the photo on my profile, marvel at the unkempt and straggly beard, sigh in relief that the sunglasses hide red-rimmed and tired eyes. That's right, I'm male.

Sadly, as one of my next posts will discuss, I am very much in the minority. My child-taming days are spent with women with one part-time exception. We're into the second decade of the 21st century and we're still adhering to the life roles set out in the 1950s (and before).

But, this isn't about 'sadly'. This is about opportunity. I'm amazingly lucky to be able to spend regular time with the kids as they grow up - only six months ago, I barely got to see them during the week and it is an amazingly valuable time to see them learn and develop so fast. On top of that, I'm actually enjoying my new chosen career for the first time in, well, ever . Now, I need to make sure it pays enough to justify doing it until I can no longer think or type. On which note, I'd be amazingly grateful if you would zip along to Amazon and have a look at the book. Links are:

Hell's Garden (UK)

Hell's Garden (US)

In the next few episodes of this blog, I plan on talking about the book, the characters, how I came up with the concept, the roller coaster of breaking into the publishing world and how awesome it is to be a Stay At Home Dad (with hopefully a burgeoning second career in writing). I look forward to getting to know you all. Oh, and if you get here before 16th May, I'm running a giveaway over at Goodreads:

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