The proofs have arrived!

Exciting times in the McCune / Murph household - the uncorrected proofs of Death & Co. have arrived! The picture at the minute is the Hot Key logo but I've seen the first draft of the 'real' cover and absolutely love it - it really captures the spirit of the book!

This is the first time I've ever seen something I wrote bound into an actual book - and it was amazing flicking open the pages and finding my words inside. Up until now the book has only existed on the computer screen or a dog-eared, heavily marked print out. Suddenly the book seems so much more real!

And as if this wasn't cool enough check out what they've done at the start of each chapter - I am loving the 'woodcuttings'. You can catch a sneak peek at the first couple of paragraphs of the Prologue here...

I knew I was going to love Hot Key Books...

... when I saw this video. Because there is nothing worse than a bunch of luvvie types who take themselves too seriously :-D

And know the best bit? Not only are they accepting submissions but they accept full manuscripts by email! Is your book ready? Go for it!

It's all a bit exciting...

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Just a quick hello after a madly busy few months. I'm very conscious of not updating the blog but hopefully you'll forgive me when you hear that so far this year we / I have...

a) renovated a house.
b) moved into new house
c) got my 3 book deal *faints*
and finally... drum roll ...
d) we are having a baby! Very soon! In a few weeks! *faints again*

I won't bore you with the details of the move, lots of you will have done it and know how stressful it is. We were looking for a house for a long time (as previously mentioned in this post) so it was great when we finally found a house with office space for two writers! It needed lots of work - but we're now at the 'picking curtains' stage, rather than the 're-wire and re-plumb' stage!

As for the book deal - well it's been interesting! Not least because up until now my two trusted readers have been my lovely agent Gillie and my friend and writing mentor Bernie McGill. Now I've had to expand the 'reading circle' to include all the lovely people at Hot Key Books, especially my editor Emily Thomas.

It's always strange letting new people read your work. Writing comes from inside you so when someone reads it I always feel a bit exposed - like I've laid down a little piece of my soul for people to pet or spit upon as they choose! I'll be writing more in the blog about the whole editing process - as well as a rather fabulous group of writing ladies who have kept me sane through finishing the book, submitting it and dealing with the ups and downs of negotiations and edits. Forget the A-Team - they are the PWA! More on them soon...

And as for the baby bit... Well, I'll be able to tell you more about that soon enough. For now my stomach is moving from side to side Alien-style which is half-endearing and half-freaky. All tips for juggling newborns and writing gratefully received!

Some very exciting news! It's a deal!

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You may have noticed the blog has been very, very quiet. That's because I had some very exciting but top secret news. I am over the moon to tell you that I have a 3 book deal with the fab Hot Key Books!

The book is called Death & Co. and tells the story of 15 year old Adam, a reluctant Luman - one of a special group of people charged with sending souls safely into the afterlife. Thing is, all Adam wants is to be normal - hang out with his friends, go to school - and if he's lucky eventually get to snog the lovely Melissa Morgan. Unfortunately Adam's family and the Luman world have other ideas...

I started this blog to keep track of the up and down road to getting published as a newbie author - and two years on I can finally crack open the champagne. I've been so touched by the comments and emails I've received here, especially because I have a habit of disappearing for long stretches - so thank you to all of you who read the blog and rooted for me over the last couple of years. I hope it will encourage you to know - no matter how tough the market is out there new authors are still getting published. You could be next!

I'll keep you up to date but provisional publication date for Death & Co. is May 2013 worldwide - and I reckon I can sneak a few teaser extracts out before then!