30TH NOVEMBER, 2018
A whole month has passed since my last update. This year has flown by and it’s difficult to believe that from tomorrow there are only 31 days left in 2018.
I have a busy end to the year. When I left work five years ago I honestly believed that settling down to full time writing would see me balancing my time properly. No more would there be a day job which shunted my writing into evenings and weekends. No, life was going to be far less busy. Of course, that simply hasn’t happened.
Now I am probably as busy as I was when working full time. Of course there are days when the writing has to take a back seat. Dental and GP appointments, getting my hair done, meeting friends, shopping or going out with my husband for our regular Tuesday lunch dates – predictably there’s always some non-writing event cropping up. Although I realised these things were a natural part of my life at first I found it frustrating. I wanted to hit the targets I had set myself and at the time that meant getting as much writing in as I could. What I soon learnt, however, was that you can have writing overload and taking these intermittent breaks can actually improve your work. You’re fresher when you come back to the PC. Your thoughts are clearer, you feel more enthusiastic and you have a clear map in your head of what happens next to move the story on.
Of course there is more to this new life than simply writing novels. I also run an active blog and produce regular updates on my book website. The blog – Jo Lambert – A Writer’s Journey hosts a weekly Q & A session for writers, giving them an opportunity to promote their work. It’s also involved in publication date promos and book reviews for fellow authors. Yes I do actually find the time to read!
As this month draws to a close my rewrite of The Other Side of Morning – now under its new title Wicked Game has just left the building for formatting. Once again Jane Dixon Smith who has been with me since I published my very first book back in 2008, has produced a fabulous cover.
Publication date is 7th January I’ll be back to advise about pre-ordering a little later in the month. I also have a book tour commencing 10th January with Rachel’s Random Resources
The Boys of Summer, my debut for Choc Lit, is due out in 2019 and I should be getting down to edits in the New Year.
Other news in the run up to Christmas is that I have a Festive Offer on Summer Moved On and Watercolours in the Rain at 99p/99c each. These are linked contemporary romances set in South Devon so you get two books for the price of one.
So at the moment with Wicked Game off my hands I’m able to give my full concentration to my current WIP, a contemporary coastal romance set in South Cornwall. Currently sitting at 66,000 words, there’s still some way to go but I’m hoping to have the first draft ready just before Christmas. Then I’ll take a break and be ready to start editing straight after we’ve welcomed in 2019.
And that just about winds up November’s news. All that remains is for me to wish everyone reading this a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. See you in 2019!
JO LAMBERT BOOKS 