What are you working on?
I’m currently writing my new YA psychological thriller, which has a tentative release date of August this year. It’s incredibly fascinating to research, and my biggest challenge is knuckling down and getting on with the writing part because the subject matter leads me on so many interesting tangents. I won’t give too much away at this stage, because I’ll be revealing a lot more about it in the coming months. But I feel like it will really appeal to fans of my psychological thriller Small Spaces, though the stories are pretty different!
Are you self-publishing it?
Yes, I am.
Why?
The self-publishing topic is one I could talk about at great length, as there are a number of different reasons why I’ve chosen this route for the foreseeable future with my YA books. For this particular story, I wanted full control of the book’s production, from title and cover design, to promotional material, to any associated merchandise. I did not trust a publishing house to nail it, or to invest any time or money into it. And I want readers all over the world to have access to it. To cut a long story short, the idea of working with a publishing house on this book filled me with dread, whereas running the whole show myself makes me feel creatively happy and fulfilled.
This is all part of a much larger conversation about self-publishing which I will certainly talk about more in future. But the best part about me releasing this book myself is the faster release timeline. Soon I’ll be revealing the title and blurb, followed shortly after by the cover reveal, and then it won’t be long until you can read the book. Yay!
Will there be more Leftover Bay books?
Absolutely! Books 2 and 3 have already been started, and I can’t wait to return to my cosy little coastal town and finish those stories ready for release. While things have quietened down for the Leftovers series temporarily while I complete my YA thriller, I have huge plans for Leftover Bay and its residents. My plan is to release Book 2 later this year. If you’ve read the free Leftovers novella Piece of Cake
(link to download it below), you can have a guess about which character’s story is coming up next.
Have you ever thought of writing for different age groups?
Yes, it’s something I will most likely explore in 2023. When I first took up writing sixteen years ago after not doing any since I was a teen, I played around with picture book ideas and also a middle grade novel (which soon got pretty dark, so I ended up aging it up to suit YA readers). Funnily enough, I’m now interested in exploring middle grade horror, so maybe I will pull out that old manuscript and rewrite it for middle grade readers again as I originally intended. I also have two junior fiction ideas that I’ve started developing, but since I will be illustrating those myself, I need to free up a decent stretch of time to dedicate to that. I have a few books that need to be written first, so for now those ideas will take a back seat. But watch this space! You never know what I might complete on a whim and publish. I’m full of surprises. ;)
What are you reading?
A non-fiction book and an enormous number of online articles related to my work-in-progress manuscript (can’t tell you what they are without spoiling the upcoming book). I’m also enjoying Australian domestic thrillers in my winding down time before bed. I’ve just finished You Need To Know by Nicola Moriarty, and You Had it Coming by B.M. Carroll. My next read is You Read a Lot of Books With 'You' in the Title. (Heh heh.)
What are you watching?
I’ve just started watching Outer Range on Amazon Prime. Only two episodes in and I’m completely transfixed. I’m far too impatient to wait for new episodes dropping weekly, so it’s a challenge for this little binge-watcher. I was going to hold off until the whole season has been released, but I just can’t help myself.
I’m also thrilled to see there’s a new season of Russian Doll releasing later this week on Netflix. It gives me the perfect excuse to rewatch season 1 in preparation.
What are you listening to?
I listen to white noise/background noise while I’m writing, like rain and thunderstorms. And when I’m not writing, I’m listening to A Beginner’s Mind by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine. I gifted myself the CD for my birthday and it’s been on high rotation ever since. (Yes! I still buy and listen to CDs!) Sufjan’s CDs are particularly lovely to own due to the artsy covers.
What’s coming up?
As soon as this manuscript draft is finished, I’ll be finalising the formatting of the US edition of Small Spaces and uploading it across all platforms. Then it will be title/synopsis and cover reveal time for the new novel, and hopefully some news very soon about a US+UK edition of Deep Water.
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