Good afternoon!

After everything I said about NOT writing another book this year... well, I lied. How can I not?! I had an idea for a novel a couple of years ago and I have been working on the plot outline this afternoon as well as submitting The Towpath to a couple of agents. I absolutely hate the submission process but I am ready for it now, having written the synopsis (a short and a long version) and edited the final draft of the manuscript. It has gone off to several agents / publishers and all I can do is hope one of them sees a glimmer of promise in the story. Until then, I will start work on book number six!

So... to my new novel! The title came to me in about ten seconds flat. It will be called Time and Tide. It is set in the Cornish creekside village of Lerryn and is about a woman called Kitty who is approached on a remote beach by a man dressed in what can only be described as a World War One fancy dress outfit. He seems confused as he stumbles towards her and asks if she speaks English. She says of course she speaks English! He frowns and asks her for water. She hands him her bottle and he drinks it all in one go. He then asks where on earth he is and, bemused, she replies that this is Cornwall, England. His face turns grey and he says that can't possibly be. Just a few moments ago he was fighting against the Germans in Arleux, Northern France. 

'This is the 28th of April, 1917, right?' he asked.

Kitty's blood ran cold as her eyes swept over his face, his clothing and his great, big, muddy boots.

'It's the 28th of April alright, yes...' she stammered, feeling the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. 'Right date, wrong year.'

Edward screwed up his face in confusion.

'What do you mean wrong year?'

Kitty swallowed hard. Why the hell hadn't she stayed at home today and baked some bloody cakes?

'It's not 1917. We've moved on a hundred years from then. Today is the 28th of April. But the year is 2017.'

I'll keep you posted... :)

Happy New Year!

Well, after a snotty Christmas that affected just about the whole family, we're finally into the new year and already it's been a busy one.

I've had The Towpath read by an independent editor who has given me some great advice and a small list of changes, which I am about to do. I will then start the submission process and wait to see if anybody likes it! I am then going to re-visit The Boggins of Willow Drove and a short story I wrote about a year ago about a Robin. It was meant to be the text for a children's picture book but it ended up being far too long so I'm going to be a bit harsh and cut it back by at least half and see if I can shape it into something submittable. (I'm not sure that is even a word.) 

A lot of people often ask me how many books I've written and are surprised when I say five, seeing as only two are published. So for the record, my published books are The Charm and Finding Vega, and can be found on Amazon in both eBook or paperback format. My third book is The Boggins of Willow Drove, a children's book. The fourth is Bad Habits, adult fiction about a schoolteacher who reinvents herself and The Towpath, is my fifth novel, which I have just finished and is based on a true story.

I chose not to self-publish Boggins because it's for children and children like real books. So ideally I wanted to get it published and out there on the shelves. Also I wasn't entirely happy with the finished novel and after receiving some amazing feedback from an agent who told me the submission was great but needed just that extra bit of magic, I took their advice and am going to re-work it. As for Bad Habits, the 'naughty book', I am going to try to get that on Amazon in the next few months. So watch this space!

I have a walking blog you might like to take a look at. It's called Fenland Ramblings and is all about my love of walking. It's quite new and I probably started it at the wrong time of year weather-wise, but it will feature lots of local walks to me and the odd far-flung one when I am travelling so please have a read and let me know what you think. Toodle pip!

http://fenlandramblings.tracyhefferon.com/