Today, Monday 22nd August I’m about to begin my final read through of Watercolours in the Rain. The book has been edited, revisions done and it’s almost ready to go off to my beta readers. Once that’s been done and any tweaks necessary undertaken, it will be handed over for formatting.
The cover, which is finished but still under wraps, is amazing. Jane Dixon Smith has always produced great covers for my books and this time is no exception.
Publication date isn’t fixed yet but I expect the book will be available for purchase in early October.
And then…
I have to admit I’ve got into my normal ‘what happens next…’ mode. I think this lull once a book has been completed and you’re trying to come up with a new plot is sometimes not only one of the most difficult times, but also the scariest. There is always this fear that there may not be another book in me. That I’m all written out. Reading and reviewing as well as being a writer, alerts you to the fact there is a huge amount of romantic fiction on the market. This means coming up with something that doesn’t trespass on anyone else’s ideas. For me it’s a bit of a wander in the wilderness for a while until that light bulb moment happens. Not that easy but I think I’ve done it – cue a huge sigh of relief! And the trigger? A song on the morning’s radio breakfast show – yes it was as simple as that. I guess I should have known it would take something like that as music has always played an important role in my writing.
So now it’s all about sorting out characters and fleshing out the story line as I get ready to begin my eighth writing journey this coming autumn.
And as far as Watercolours in the Rain is concerned, I’ll be back with the cover reveal week commencing 26th September. And there will be a book tour kicking off on Monday 10th October, both with Brook Cottage Books. So see you there…
JO LAMBERT BOOKS 
This post genuinely resonates with me, Jo. Recently I had a conversation with a writer friend around the issue of ‘…this fear that there may not be another book…’ When I completed Book 2 (which I am – at the direction of my editor – about to radically revise) I genuinely believed I might have nothing else. (Book 3 was/is a massive ‘maybe’ & possibly pants.) My friend insisted that after some space, the ideas would come flooding in. Sure enough they have – from a mysterious place called ‘Somewhere.’
I don’t write in the same genre as you & although I know romance is a hugely competitive market I don’t think you’re alone. The idea that we might be all written out is, I’m sure, commonplace & terrifying. And I totally identify with the light bulb analogy – I regularly bang on about it! I had one yesterday & you have clearly had yours!
Here’s to our next stories! xXx
LikeLike
I read Daphne Du Maurier’s biography and that is what happened to her. After a huge number of really successful books she found inspiration had abandoned her and she never wrote again. It was a very depressing time for her. I sometimes think our ideas are gifted to us from a higher level up there in the ether. It’s never ceases to amaze me, how things simply arrive unprompted when you seem to have been wracking your brains for days without success. Good luck with your writing Carol xxxx
LikeLike