So here it is!

The time has come to pinch myself yet again as I am delighted to share with you the cover for my second novel.
It is up on Amazon right now for pre-order and is published on Friday March 25th as both an Ebook and paperback.
So, given this is take two for me now, I thought I’d jot some brief notes on how this feels second time around. Is it any less surreal? Is there any less excitement, doing this as a ‘published author’ (for, let me check the calendar, a whole seven months now) rather than a complete newbie? The short answer is…er; no, dear people!

This still feels an absolute surreal privilege and I feel no less lucky to have finally ‘got there’.
But some things have, of course, changed practically and logistically. I do , for instance, feel that I have a better professional understanding now of all the processes on the journey to launching a novel. The structural edits. The copyedit. The cover liaison. The cover reveal. The Pr….and lift-off. The heady drama of these final hectic weeks…
Most important I am learning the essential juggling act of editing and launching one book while writing a new one. This will make experienced authors smile as it is probably the biggest adjustment - the joy of having a deal but realising that with that comes a schedule and a series of deadlines!
I also find that I still feel very nervous, truth be told, about what readers will think. I had expected that to diminish a bit with the second book but I learn that this continuum of nerves is perfectly normal too…just part of the territory as a writer. I suppose because we care so much about our writing and our craft, that will never go away. But I do take heart from the wonderful reviews for my debut. Forgive the boast but as I write I have 65 five-star reviews for Recipes for Melissa and feel very, very blessed so thank you to anyone reading this who has been kind enough to buy and review my first novel. Means a lot to me.  Do hope everyone likes the second!
 

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