Ticking off the list

The list of things to do is getting shorter...and longer.

First on my list was to sign my contract. Tick! I am pleased to say that I am now an official author of Carina UK. Carina UK is a subsidiary company of Harlequin. Check out their websites to see what kind of company I'm keeping.  http://www.carinauk.com and http://www.harlequin.com I think a lot of people will be surprised to learn what else they publish.  There are even man authors...that write man books. (no I do't mean that kind...although there is probably a few of those as well!), I mean books about cars and stuff. Man stuff.  I must admit I was surprised to find out that Harlequin published something other than romance.  Not that there is anything wrong with romance, I write it, but Harlequin is synonymous with romance.  I mean, who hasn't heard of Mills and Boon?

Second on the list was my copy edit.  Tick! A 'copy editor' went through my manuscript word for word, line by line and made changes and/or suggestions.  Did you know you can track your changes in a word document? I didn't.  It's very cool. I was able to see who made what changes, whether is was me, the copy editor or my editor.  This was all relatively painless and I even managed to get my changes back to Victoria before she needed them. It was after I sent back my changes that I found out the copy editor was a man.  I was hoping I didn't embarrass him with the more, shall we say, intimate scenes.  Little did I know he wrote a manual on how to write erotica. Now who's embarrassed?

Third on the list? Tick! I have sent my editor my plan for a series and hopefully she likes it, especially book 2 I'm currently writing is number two of the series. :)

I should also be sent the cover art for my book, and find out what title they've decided to go with very soon.  I'm so excited!  I can hardly wait to share it with everyone. So book 1 is now complete and out of my hands.  The next time I see it, it'll be on an e-reader as a proper book. 

Number four on the list. Added. When I find out the publication date I will be planning along with my good, and very helpful friends at Beattie and Forbes Booksellers in Napier (www.beattieandforbes.co.nz) a book launch. I am will be hosting one in Wairoa as well.  I'll let you know the details as they come to hand.

Number five on the list is perhaps the most important. It seems like the house cleaner we were looking for may be closer than I thought and hopefully she wants to start soon...my place is still a mess!

Please check out the Home Page of my website (link at the top of this page) to see the updated blurb for my upcoming book.