Compared to pretty much everyone in Victoria and much of the rest of the world, my 2020 has been pretty damn easy.
Okay, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to have the full Angelina Jolie operation, but I’ve still got my hair and a new rack, so whatevs. Mostly, I’ve been hanging around on the Gold Coast editing draft after draft of my first book, The Second Son, out on 2/2/2021. And when I’m not editing, I’m writing the sequel, which is proving tricky but fun because I love (and hate) my characters.
If it wasn’t for Covid…
I would have been attending writing festivals and conferences, meeting the booksellers who hold my future publishing success in their hands. An added bonus would have been meeting other authors and becoming part of my new community. I imagine walking up to the bar and finding myself ensconced between Candice Fox, Kate Mildenhall and Sarah Krasnostein and sharing a good bottle of red.
I would hug Anna Downes for giving me my first ever review (a really awesome, she-totally-gets-me review). I need to buy Anna a spectacular bottle of champagne the moment I see her, and then drink it with her. And I would buy drinks for Garry Disher, Christian White, Kate London, Greg Woodland, Fiona Hardy, Kat from Pit Stop Coffee and Books and Charlie Tyler for their reviews too. Hell, drinks for everyone.
And another pack of dark-chocolate bullets for Garry Disher because he saved me from a massive bullet-related faux pas.
My year if-not-for-Covid fantasy seems to involve a lot of drinking doesn’t it?
I would have hand delivered my bound proof to my favourite bookseller, Simon McDonald at the Potts Point Bookstore. I would deliver bound proofs to every bookseller in Australia and New Zealand!
I know how ridiculously lucky I am to have the freedom to work from home and be the one thing I’ve always wanted to be…a writer. I haven’t been able to have a drink or actually meet any of the aforementioned in the flesh (except Simon of course, because he’s my local bookseller and book recommender of note). Instead I’ve had delightful interactions with them on social media and email.
This is what I know: Australian authors and booksellers are warm, smart and kind humans who have reached out and welcoming this little newbie into their community. This is just a big fat thank you.
If you’re a bookseller and you’re reading this, and you haven’t read The Second Son yet, please contact ">Stef IItalia, Sales Manager, at Text Publishing for a bound proof, and if I can, I will hand deliver it to you.