The journey of creating my first novel.
Free Fall in Stilettos is being published by Matador Books in 2019.
(Printed copies available to buy from early summer, cover price £10).
This is not the book cover, it's still being designed, but I like the image! So I've chosen to use this as a temporary design for now. It's also the profile picture on my Instagram account (freefall_in_stilettos).
The Beginning & The End
It's been my ambition to write a novel for years. I'd never attempted anything longer than an essay until writing a dissertation at University, well over half my lifetime ago. That was fact not fiction and arguably easier to write. But I wanted to see if I could create my own book and add my name to the crowded bookshelves - and see if I could actually do it!
Having written it, I'd like to say it's been a labour of love, and although I've enjoyed forming the story, the reality has been many re-writes, a lot of impatience, frustration, heaps of time and blaming my laptop when I hated what I wrote! But at age 42, finally I've reached my goal!
The Idea
In my twenties, I worked as a flight attendant and it was during this time that I scribbled notes, when I first thought about creating a novel. The idea of using an airline to form the basis of a story involving a romance was something that captured my imagination.
How I Started
Apart from scribbled notes, I didn’t have a clue! I just started writing. After building a few chapters I looked into publishers to test the water. Everything I read seemed to suggest that it was difficult for a newbie like me to break into the publishing world. I sent off the first few chapters of my novel and most attempts weren’t successful.
Eventually, I got offered two contracts, but I was sceptical about the terms. After further research I was right to be suspicious!
So I looked into self publishing. It was something I always thought of as vanity publishing and that somehow it wouldn't be as worthy. But when I continued to read about it, more writers than ever are now publishing their own works. Amazon KDP and other similar online publishers make that possible for a lot of people. But to achieve my dream of holding my book in my hand and seeing it on a shelf and available to retailers then I needed to opt for a different avenue.
I discovered Matador Books, described in one article as the Rolls Royce of publishing houses. After signing a contract to self publish with them, they will now oversee the book process for me, along with my agreed input. The end result should be a top quality produced book, available to the trade and on the Matador website to the general public. The British library will also stock my book. It's nerve-wracking yet exciting times. I'm waiting to approve the first few typeset pages...