With our July book launch done and dusted, our three new mardiwriters share their thoughts and experiences…
Clairey Blanchard — ‘A Perfect Place of Secrets’
“I was a little stunned, when I looked at Amazon and Mardibooks websites on July 1st; it felt surreal to type my name into the search box and my novel appear, for the whole world to see! Not something that happens every day for me. I hosted a local writing group on launch day, who all expressed congratulations on the launch of ‘A Perfect Place of Secrets’ and shared their own progress with writing projects, which was really supportive and encouraging. I dipped into the Mardibooks virtual launch party to congratulate my fellow launchees, Alice and Sue but left the party early for bed, a little exhausted from this writing marathon i’ve just finished! Thanks to the Mardibooks team for all their advice on launching a book and ongoing promotion, it’s a great feeling to become a published author and i’m ready to begin writing the next instalment.”
Sue Nicholls — ‘Be Careful What You Wish For’
“I was alternately washed by excitement and fear. When you have spent what seems like an eternity writing your debut novel you lose any perspective concerning its quality, so making it public is a major leap.
I have been building a social media presence for some time, and a couple of weeks before the launch I began to invite friends, telling them I would be attending with Sean Connery. Next I used Photoshop to substitute James Bond for my husband (purely platonic you understand. Just my date for the evening), and downloaded pictures of Champagne and glasses. On the big day James and I arrived a little early. I poured a glass of virtual fizz, and waited, chatting to my date. Soon friends and family began to arrive and we toasted one another, nibbling canapés. I was there all evening. That’s typical of me, first to arrive and last to leave. At the end Nat King Cole sang ‘The Party’s Over’, just as a hint.”
I have been thrilled by the response to my book so far. I can’t believe that I already have an Amazon review.
Alice Westlake — ‘Under Loch And Quay’
“I wrote Under Loch and Quay as a study, really: an exercise in plotting. My natural tendency is to write novels which are quite impressionistic, and so I wanted to try and write something tightly plotted. I really enjoy reading mystery books with my son Laurie, so I decided to write one. With a mystery, you have to know exactly what is going to happen in every chapter, before you put pen to paper.
When it was finished, I decided it was too good to just relegate to the pile of ‘experiments’ gathering metaphorical dust on my hard-drive. In fact, I had grown to like my characters so much that I was already planning a sequel. The editing and publishing process was straightforward – and next thing I knew, publication date was days away.
With my fellow authors (all of us bringing out debut novels on 1st July) I planned a virtual launch. Friends and family ‘popped in’ to congratulate us on facebook, ask questions, and buy the books. Claire and Sue’s guests were very supportive – there was a camaraderie possibly born of the very hot weather, a sort of Blitz spirit – and I came away feeling that, whether or not I had won any new readers, I had certainly made friends.”
Mardibooks is a collective founded upon the idea that, as writers, we can work together to get each other’s work noticed and enjoyed. If you are a writer looking to be published, send us your submission at hello@mardibooks.com. We would be happy to hear from you.
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