Empty Feeling

It’s a strange feeling when you send a book off. I feel empty. Happy yes, satisfied yes, but it’s as though part of me is missing. It’s been a big part of my life for four months and now that I’ve finally emailed the revisions to my editor I have no reason to sit at my desk each morning and immerse myself in Santo & Penny’s story. And that’s what I’m missing.

There are lot of things I could be doing, tidying my desk, cleaning the house, catching up on paperwork – but none of them are as enjoyable as writing. It takes me into another world – and for the Presents series that I write it takes me into a world of glamour. Of billionaires with their own private jets and beautiful houses in different parts of the world. My hero is usually a workaholic – he wouldn’t be a billionaire if he wasn’t a hard worker – but my heroine has rarely tasted such luxury. She might run her own business, or have a highly paid job, or she might be just an ordinary working girl. In the book I’ve just finished she’s a nanny. But no ordinary nanny. This is the first paragraph:

From the first moment Penny looked into Santo De Luca’s eyes she knew she was in trouble. They were the deepest, darkest brown she had ever seen, framed by long silky lashes, set beneath a pair of equally silky black brows. And they appeared to be looking into her soul, trying to find out what sort of a person she was before she had even spoken.

I think you can tell this is not going to be any ordinary nanny/employer relationship.

So for the next few days I’m going to feel sad that they’ve left me – except that I have other exciting things on the horizon – nothing to do with writing. If you’ve visited my website you might know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t – watch this space!

Wreck

I’m surfacing briefly from my revisions. Santo & Penny’s story has of necessity taken a different twist and it’s taking me far longer than I thought it would to re-write the last few chapters. Actually I have written them but in doing so I’ve lost 4,000 words. If anyone knows where they are…
Yesterday, my DH persuaded me to take a day off and we drove to Blackpool – mainly to see the wrecked cargo ship Riverdance. It’s not actually on Blackpool beach, but a few miles further north. It was hit by a freak wave in gales at the end of January and it’s been there ever since – becoming quite a tourist attraction. There were still crowds of people taking photographs.
It will eventually be floated again but it will need a very high tide, and I understand they’ll need to take some of the fuel off before they do so. One amusing thing I heard was that thousands of packets of McVitie’s chocolate biscuits have been washed ashore. How sad is that for all us chocolate biscuit lovers? Salty chocolate biscuits anyone?

Revisions

Thank you to everyone who said such nice things about my new website. I cannot thank the wonderful Heather enough for creating it.

But the excitement is over. My birthday flowers are dead. And it’s back to reality with a bump. Revisions. A long email from my editor. She was really upbeat about it – she called it a wonderful story – which I’m happy about. But she had reservations about the last few chapters – so I’ll have to re-write them.

I’ve read through her suggestions and I can see exactly where she’s coming from – it’s amazing that I can never see these things for myself. It’s because I’m too close to my work. Unable to see the wood for the trees. I know that when a manuscript is finished it’s wise to put it on one side for a while before giving it it’s final read through, and I did leave this one for a whole week but because of a deadline I couldn’t afford to leave it any longer.

I think it worked though plotting the book out beforehand (which is something I rarely do) and then just going for it without constantly re-reading what I’ve done. So I shall be immersing myself in revisions this week.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY EVERYONE

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.
-Helen Keller

Apparently there are over a billion Valentine’s cards sent every year. How amazing is that? So if you’ve either sent or received a card I hope you’ll enjoy this special day.

And of course I’m more than happy to be sharing this Valentine’s Day with the launch of my new website.

www.margaret-mayo.com

I hope you’ll find the time to take a look and let me know what you think.

Website

W-DAY IS APPROACHING

February 14th

But isn’t February 14th Valentine’s Day? And in that case wouldn’t it be V-Day?

Yes, it would, but I’m sharing the date. W-Day is something very different and far more exciting.

February 14th is the launch date of my brand new website. Website-Day! Those of you who have looked at my website before (or should I say sites because I’ve tried two different ones) will know I’ve had problems with them - simply because I was trying to be clever and build them myself. How self-deluding was that?

Now I’ve had a new one designed for me and it’s being launched on – yes, you’ve got it. Valentine’s Day.

So watch this space for the web address and after you’ve had a look around it let me know what you think.

London

I’m back from London, exhausted but happy. Lunch with my editor went very well. We talked about what she wants from me in the future, and she was sorry she hadn’t read my book yet but things have been manic at the office. I showed her my new synopsis but she wasn’t exactly thrilled with it so that’s going on a back burner for a while.

I met an extremely handsome Scotsman in a kilt in the hotel and I’m wondering whether I can weave a novel around him. Well, not him exactly, but you know what I mean. He certainly had the looks and the build for a M&B hero. I’ve actually not seen many over the years who I’ve thought would be good hero material. There was just one who I once interviewed because I set my book on a stud farm and he owned one. But although his looks were right – he was a very shy man. Definitely not a M&B hero.

And then there was the Centenary Cocktail Party – which was incredible. We were met at the door of The Wallace Collection – where it was held - by stilt walkers dressed like pink flamingos, and then greeted inside by handsome waiters offering glasses of champagne which flowed freely throughout the evening. We were all given long-stemmed red roses, and it was three hours of drinking and eating and talking. So many familiar faces, so many new ones. It’s something that will remain with me for a long time.

It was actually my birthday on that same day and waiting for me in my hotel room when I returned from exploring the new Pancras Station – which is so beautiful – and walking along the Embankment – the weather couldn’t have been better – was a most beautiful flower arrangement from Mills & Boon. I did wonder how I was going to carry it home, but I managed, and it looked lovely, though the flowers are beginning to fade a little now.

Treats

London is calling. Lunch with my editor. The cocktail party. A little bit of glamour in the life of a writer who spends most of her time tapping into her keyboard.

This afternoon I have the task of entering a whole batch of phone numbers into a new phone we’ve bought. Can you think of anything less interesting? It was lovely and sunny this morning and now it’s pouring down with rain, which doesn’t make the task any pleasanter.

Tonight, though, we’re off out to dinner at my daughter’s. She’s cooking a meal for my birthday later this week. So all in all, apart from the unenviable task of entering phone numbers, it’s going to be a lovely week.

Eureka!

When two become one – and I’m not talking about marriage. I’ve been working on a new plot, well two actually because I wasn’t getting anywhere with the first idea. I have them both in the same document and this morning I was working on the first one again when I realised that what I was typing related to the second one. What an idiot, I thought - until - Eureka! This works! So I’ve merged the two plots into one, done a few hatchet jobs here and there, and have a hopeful beginning. I’m going to run it by my editor when I lunch with her next week – so fingers crossed that she likes it.

Some other exciting news as well. My new website is almost ready! So watch this space for the launch date.

New Plot

Here was I feeling sorry for myself because I have a rotten cough and cold but then I began my usual daily reading of other authors’ blogs and discovered that I’m not on my own. The thing is I rarely have colds - one every couple of years – and so I’m feeling particularly low. At least I’ll be better for the Mills & Boon cocktail party next week – which is something to be thankful for.

I’d planned to spend my time this week working on a new plot – but I don’t have the energy or inclination for it, so I’m just going to be delightfully lazy. Reading, watching TV, letting my DH wait on me! I fully expect that he’ll catch my cold and I’ll be cosseting him next, so I don’t feel in the least bit guilty.

Weather

We’ve had such wet windy weather recently that it was a pleasure to wake up to blue skies and a gentle breeze this morning. It was tempting enough to go for a walk. We went to a favourite place for walkers which is a preserved wooded area criss-crossed with pathways and we have never seen the car park so full; I think everyone had the same idea.

Surprisingly, even with so many people there we were virtually alone the whole time. It was blissfully peaceful. All that could be heard was the birds in the tall pine trees, and the occasional drone of a light aircraft from a nearby private air field.

I recalled when I came to this same spot a couple of years ago with my art group. We sat painting for hours, had our lunch in the small picnic area provided and said we must do this again. But we never have. Perhaps one day…

Now I’m back home, I can smell my Sunday roast cooking, and I know it’s going to taste much better after my outdoor trekking. The forest was far more interesting than my treadmill! I meant to take my camera but I forgot. Next time I will and I’ll post some photos.

It's finished!

Good news. The book is finished and winging its way to my editor at this very moment. Well within my deadline. Santo and Penny are no longer a part of my everyday life, and I’m going to miss them. And I’m going to miss writing. It’s strange how empty I feel.

Do you remember me saying that when I like my book my editor always picks it to pieces? Well, when I read this book through – and don’t forget I wrote it more quickly than usual (without constantly revising) – I really liked it. I mean, really really liked it. I needed to make hardly any alterations. So what does it mean I ask myself? Will she, won’t she? The waiting game is about to begin.

But I have all sorts of things to look forward to during the next two months. The first one being Mills & Boon’s Celebration Cocktail Party for their authors on February 7th. (In case you’ve missed it it’s their 100 year anniversary this year.) It meant a spending spree, of course, for something to wear and I found a gorgeous jade green top and a long black skirt. But then I needed something to go over it so I bought a black cape. It wasn’t what I was after but when the shop assistant suggested it and I tried it on, it completed the outfit perfectly.

The End

It's a good day, I’ve finished the first draft of my book. Well in front of schedule. Such a liberating feeling. I’m going to leave it a few days now before I read through it. I worked slightly differently this time. Usually I go over each chapter as I’ve written it, perfecting it time and time again. On this occasion I’ve not read it through at all, just the last few paragraphs each morning to remind where I left off. The reason being that my deadline was looming and I didn’t have time. So I’m either going to find some glaring mistakes or it’s going to be the best book I’ve ever written!!! Actually I don’t know which of my books has sold the most – not off the top of my head anyway. I could look at my records but it’s all time consuming stuff and I have a desk to clear and bills to pay and a thousand and one other jobs that have been neglected. Does anyone else keep a record of which of their books sell better than others?

Busy

I’m still here. The reason I haven’t posted in the last few days is that I’ve got my head down writing. But you probably guessed that. Another ten thousand words to go – roughly three chapters. It doesn’t sound much but the end is of necessity always harder than the beginning because there are always a lot of loose ends to tie up. Nevertheless it has a sort of satisfying feeling to it.
Tonight we’re out with friends for a meal in a nice waterfront restaurant, so I might even imagine that I’m with Penny and Santo. Perhaps I’ll choose an Italian dish to complete the scene.
Actually in one of my scenes Penny & Santo dined in a coastal restaurant that had a balcony jutting out over the cliffs. It was a fantastic place where they sat and watched the sunset over the Mediterranean. It was very conducive to romance. And how I wished I’d been there.

Back to Work

Today is the day I start back to work. The holiday’s over. I’ve been on my treadmill this morning, done my brain training, and now I’m ready. At least I thought I was. I’ve read through my last chapter and I’m raring to go. So why am I finding it so difficult? Why am I procrastinating and writing this blog instead? It’s always the same after a break, it takes me a long time to get back into the flow. Let’s hope it won’t take too long with my deadline zooming ever swiftly towards me.

One other piece of news, I’m having a new website designed and it should be launched by the end of this month. So keep watching this space.

Meanwhile happy reading or writing, whatever you happen to be doing.