Fancy a Date?

Guys, guys, guys. How have you all been?

Life is insane for me at the moment. I miss this blog so much – believe me, I do – but I just never get time to sit into my comfy old blogging seat (grey with dust at this stage) and update you all on what’s happening in my life.

Well, to be fair, not a lot is actually happening, on a day-to-day basis, besides keeping myself and a baby alive, (mostly) clean, and fairly well fed, but that in itself is an achievement.

It’s not what you lot signed up for, though, is it? No. No, it is not. You signed up for hot-off-the-presses insights into the publishing industry, sizzling updates from the coalface of writing, incisive commentary on the cutthroat world of children’s literature. Right? And, finally, I have something sort of like that to share, so I’m here to tell you about it for as long as baby’s nap lasts. In other words, not long.

Onwards!

So. First things first. My little book – you may remember it, it’s called The Eye of the North – now has its own Goodreads page. How exciting! It also has its own page on Amazon.com, which is thrilling also. If you’d like to, you know, go and pre-order it or mark it as ‘to read’, I’d be… well. I’d be tongue-tied with gratitude, frankly. There’s a wonderful blurb all about it on both those fine websites, which should whet the most arid of appetites, and I’m being compared to the great Karen Foxlee, which is just… mind-boggling, and it all feels so insanely real now.

Squee! Photo Credit: MsSaraKelly via Compfight cc

I can also reveal the date my book will (hopefully) be published – February 14th, 2017. Yes, that’s right. Valentine’s Day. All those years I sat fruitlessly by the front door of my parents’ house waiting for cards from admirers to drop through can suck it, frankly. Next Valentine’s Day, my book is going to be published.

In America and Canada. In hardcover! By Knopf/Random House Children’s Books.

(As you might have guessed from the italics, I’m rather excited).

No Valentine’s card (well, all right, excepting one from my husband and/or baby) can compare with that.

I will hopefully have a cover to share with you all very soon, and when I get the go-ahead from on high I’ll splash it all over the place… I mean, tastefully and unobtrusively draw attention to it. And after that, all I have to do is wait for the big day!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must be off. I have excited bouncing to do and a baby’s lunch to make. Ta-ta for now, but I hope there’ll be loads more exciting news very soon!