A Week Later

It’s been a whole seven days since I released Sorcery and Stardust into the world. In that time, I’ve had the pleasure of catching up with so many wonderful people and the even greater honour of handing over a hard copy of the book for them to read.

Reviews have started to filter in, people laughingly telling me they can’t sleep because they’re so busy reading (though at this stage, to my knowledge, nobody’s finished it yet) and these comments make me smile like nothing else. I love getting feedback, I love hearing people’s theories, their favourite parts and the bits that made them crazy.

I’ve lain awake in bed myself, wondering if anyone’s reading it, wondering if they’re enjoying it, who their favourite character is, what part they’re up to. The temptation to message everyone and ask a million questions is a lot more difficult to refuse at 3am. But as you can see above, I made a promise!

The discussions so far have been brilliant; I had someone buy a copy and tell me they were worried because it wasn’t their usual genre. I replied that my goal as an author is to move beyond genre, to write a story that has something in it for everyone, that pushes beyond common tropes (some of which I’ve employed quite deliberately) and into a different space. In life we laugh, we cry, we love, we fear, we feel anger and joy and sadness. I want to create places where the characters are real because they feel those things, too, no matter their situation. My friend lit up and said she couldn’t wait to get started, because as an artist (and her art is AMAZING) it’s her goal to paint something that makes people feel, that pulls them out of their comfort zone to a new place, where wonderful things happen. It was a whole new layer of connection between two different types of artists with the same aim, and I adored it.

Orion threw a tantrum because I won’t let him read it yet. He’s eight years old – I told him he would have to be sixteen before I considered it. He was so incensed he cried; he told me Fenris and Arcana and Caelum are part of his life and how could I possibly keep them apart for so many years? We hugged it out. He asked again. I smiled and kissed his head and said the book will be all the more special for waiting, and hey – by the time he’s old enough, he’ll have (with any luck) the entire series to read from start to finish. He was both pleased and not pleased, and it made me smile to see how wholeheartedly he’s embraced the idea. He now goes around telling everyone that he adores the book and the characters even though I’m being unreasonable.

Most of all, I’m just excited to share the story at last: and yes, I’m already well into writing book two, so this is only the beginning in a lot of ways.

This week, I’ve got more amazing catch ups to do, which I’m really looking forward to, and more books to deliver. I’ve also got a brand new niece who I already adore, and in a couple of weeks Mum and I are sneaking interstate to meet her, and to lavish love and attention all over her parents. My heart is so wonderfully full!

What about you? Have you got your copy yet? Have you started it? Who’s your favourite?