My husband Joe said something to me the other day that gave me pause. “This is the last ever month you won’t be a published author,” he commented, perhaps not realising how that fact blew my mind. And he was right. On May 9th, one short month from today, my novel REALITY CHECK will be on shelves around the country and on Kindles throughout the land. I don’t think it’s actually hit me fully yet, or else I can’t quite comprehend it.
I received the a box of finished first editions last week. I can’t really explain how I felt opening that box and seeing the fruits of my labour neatly bound in the most gorgeous, sparkly cover of all time. Like I said, it still hasn’t really hit me. There have been a couple of moments along the way where I’ve shed a tear - seeing my name on the title page for the first time, reading the quotes from other authors I’ve long admired on the jacket - but if my younger self could see me now… well, she’d be having an absolute shit fit.
It’s hard to truly remember what life was like before you achieved a long-held goal. I can recall the first huge moment where I literally jumped up and down with glee - it was when I scored my first magazine job when I was 22. I could not BELIEVE it. This kind of thing didn’t happen to me. I didn’t have any connections, no private education. I wasn’t even finished my degree. But I had passion in spades and ideas to beat the band, and most importantly, I got very lucky. Right place, right time, right people.
Luck only goes so far, though. To be truly successful, you have to build on every single opportunity you get. Hard graft and enthusiasm combined are really the only way to get ahead, which nobody really wants to hear. You also have to be good at what you do, which sounds like a given but absolutely isn’t.
When it comes to the book, I’ve felt a bit shy when people ask how it all came about. All anyone who wants to become an author wants to know is how I got my break, and I totally get that - I used to plague Louise O’Neill and Sarah Breen with the same question. In my case, I was approached by the publisher. I was already an established journalist, but being approached didn’t come out of the blue. In fact, I’d been letting it be known for YEARS that I ultimately wanted to write fiction. That wasn’t even the first time I’d been approached, it was just the first time it worked out. And while it is a leg up to even get in front of a commissioning editor, it’s also no guarantee of a finished project whatsoever.
By the time the book comes out, it will be nearly two years since that first meeting. It has been the greatest honour of my life to see this project through to fruition, and I am so, so proud of myself and it. I am an author. I am a PENGUIN author! Nope, I still can’t quite believe it.
The next few weeks are going to be weird/amazing. I will be going from interviewer to interviewee in order to promote REALITY CHECK, posing for photos, appearing on radio and television and hosting events. People are going to be buying, receiving, reading and (gulp) reviewing my book baby. That is *terrifying* but I already know not to read the reviews, and never ever to look at GoodReads. Only horror that way lies.
And then it will all go quiet, which I’m actually quite looking forward to. I can back to book baby number two, and give her my full attention (my books so far are all girls, don’t ask me why). I want to be like Adele - pop out of hibernation once in a while in full glam to shout about my work, and then retreat to my quiet quarters to create again. Like .01% of her sales would be nice, too.
Thank you all for reading and for your support. You can pre-order the book from any of these amazing retailers. E-books and Audible work a little differently, but it will also be available there. The cover is so gorge and sparkly though, it’ll look only massive on your bookshelf - sure, buy three or four! LOL.
Super proud parents xx
Really excited about this! Can't wait to see it on the shelves!