It’s now been just over two weeks since Fractured was published in Australia. Is that all?? It’s been a strange couple of weeks. I was full of anxiety and anticipation about the release, and had a hectic few days at the Perth Writers Festival and my launch party. For the first few days I lurked around bookshops, checking Fractured was on the shelves and asking the poor booksellers how many they’d sold. Only two?? Friends sent me pictures of the book being sold all over Australia: Brisbane airport, Sydney airport, Byron Bay. I’ve been busy doing some publicity, and reviews are starting to trickle in. So far so good…

I feel more relaxed about it all now. My book has been published, it seems to have been received well, it’s everywhere I’d dreamed it would be, and I’m now able to let it go. Apart from publicity, festivals etc, there’s not much else I can do. It’s now up to booksellers and readers to decide on the future of Fractured. I feel satisfied.

While I was waiting for editorial feedback on the original manuscript, I wrote the first draft of a second book. I was pregnant with my 3rd child at the time and knew life would be even busier once I had three little ones at home. As I wrote it, I loved it. But when I re-read it recently, I began to have doubts. I still loved bits of it, but it didn’t feel right. It was a bit wishy-washy, a bit bland. I knew that the concept was good and of course, it was only a first draft, but something was wrong. I made myself send off the synopsis – as it stood – and the first couple of chapters to my publisher. She loved the idea and the writing, but not the plot. We had a chat – not a long one – during which she made some suggestions to really bring the story out. Over the past few days I’ve started to research the subject again, and today I felt that flutter as I knew what I had to write. I haven’t worked out all the details yet, but I know I can elevate the story from the version it is now to a far more complex and (hopefully) interesting book.

And so, I have to leave Fractured behind and start the process again: the problem solving, the frustration, the all-consuming ideas that pester me all day and night until I find the satisfaction and exhilaration when the creative process just works.

I have thrown out my notebooks from Fractured and am armed with a new blank notebook, highlighter pens and half-written manuscript. Wish me luck!