The launch of Hunter's Moon
My third novel, Hunter’s Moon is now out. And I can tell you, it’s been in the works for quite some time. I published my second novel, Old Blood, in December 2021. And by that point, I was already writing my third book. If I’d been able to stay on target, Hunter’s Moon would have come out sometime last year.
But sometimes life throws you a curveball… or in my case, two.
So what happened?Last year started out well enough. I was coming off having written and published my second novel since the pandemic, on track to fulfilling a lifelong goal of being a multi-book published author. I’d started writing my third book, and balancing my writing time with client work had begun to make progress on it.
But life doesn’t always play by the rules. And when you’re on a high, you can almost always expect that lurking around the corner is a low ready to scupper your plans.
My low was two-fold.
Back in New York my mother was being treated for cancer. And my parents, being the stoic upper lipped types, failed to discuss just how bad things were. Thinking back on it, I’m not sure they fully realized, or if they did, wanted to accept the situation. By the time I went over in September of last year, things had progressed to a pretty dire place.
We brought my mother home from hospital and took care of her in her last week at home. I won’t lie. It was incredibly difficult and I’m not sure that any of us were prepared for how difficult it was going to be. But we worked as a team. My dad, cousin, and a close, dear friend of the family.
We persevered.
These were some of the most difficult days of my life. And some of the most rewarding. I wouldn’t trade them for anything. I got to make memories with my mother right up until the last moments of her life. And I miss her.
But that wasn’t the end of it. I returned to London and was home for a short time when we got news my brother had passed away… just a little over a month after my mother. You can’t imagine the shock of that phone call. The unexpected nature of it. Another loss landing right in the midst of a grief I already found difficult to manage.
So I went back to New York. And spent the next couple of weeks helping my father, who’d been ill and had surgery after my mother’s passing, supported him and my nephew and worked with them to make all the arrangements. We were already in full-on grieving mode. I couldn’t imagine how any of us could feel any worse in the moment.
It was a difficult time. We all chose to handle it in our own way.
The writingAt some point, in the middle of finishing working with one client, and starting a new engagement with two others, I sat down and checked in on where I’d left off with the manuscript for my third novel. I’d pretty much stopped writing it mid-sentence, a testament to the sudden nature of everything that had happened.
The book gave me an on-ramp to reengaging with… something. I found talking to people difficult. I didn’t want to talk about what had happened. I internalized a lot of things during that time. But I persevered. I have a great partner whom I can speak with. I have a cat that talks back, making it seem like she’s listening. I had some great groups of friends and colleagues with him I could share things.
And I had my book. You see, my mother was a great supporter of my writing. I think that she was very proud of the initiative I took to finally sit down and do what I’d always said I would do since I was about seven years old. It wasn’t so much in what she said to me over the last few years. It was in her actions… buying books for friends and family to the extent that I had people reaching out to me that I hadn’t spoken with in years.
My mother was my biggest supporter and fan.
And I knew that she’d want me to keep writing. She’d want me to finish that book and to carry on. And so I did. I picked up that unfinished manuscript and between November and spring of this year, I completed it. I worked with my editor during the summer to complete it and a new cover designer to give the books a lift I felt they’d deserve.
My mother never saw the new covers, or the new book. But I am pretty sure she would have been proud of them. And of me.
And nowAnd so, finally, it’s finished. The kindle version is now out on Amazon. The paperback version will be out in the next week or two. And in the midst of everything I also returned to my first novel, and gave it the revision and edit it deserved. My first two books got new covers, and with the launch of the third book this week, I also relaunched the first two books, The Weaver and Old Blood.
But that’s not all I’ve done this year. I’ve also written the fourth book in the series, Blood Ties. It needs a set of revisions. It’ll require attention from my editor and proofreader. And of course it’ll need one of these lovely new covers. But the first draft of the book is done. And I know mom would be proud.
I’ve put these books out in the world first and foremost because they are the culmination of a lifelong dream for me. But now they also have the added significance of being something that reminds me of a mother’s love. Going home a couple of years ago and seeing my first book on the coffee table in the living room, and in the hands of the friends and family she so proudly bought the books for reminds me that writing has been a labor of love… and not just my love.
I hope that if you read this, and you look the books up you enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed writing them… and as much as my mother loved proudly handing them out to people.
Feel free to reach out and say hello. And remember to cherish those you love. Because you just never know how things will turn out.
OLD BLOOD SAGAYou can find the books on Amazon.
