It’s March and more importantly the day of the spring Equinox, so spring is now here officially!
However, as far as I’m concerned spring has already sprung, especially since I spotted the first buds threatening to blossom on the apple trees in my garden in early March. So once again nature reminds me that time marches on as I finish my final draft of A Spring Romance with the Earl, the next book in the Romance with the Earl series.
This Year’s Book Writing Goals
The truth is this year; I not only aimed to write just another sweet romance book featuring Jess Smith (my favourite long-suffering copywriter) and the handsome Earl of Birling Grove. But I also wanted to write a book that could fully stand alone as a complete story, whilst also being part of a longer series
Secondly I wanted the book to be completed by March so I could put it up in time for spring.
Thirdly, I wanted to write a much longer book so that you could get to know the quirky villagers of Birling Grove a little better, around 75,000 words or thereabouts.
Slings and Arrows
However, life happened as it has a tendency to do. Firstly, the second book grew to be a lot longer than I planned. A whole lot longer, nearly 90,000 words in total as the villagers of Birling Grove ganged up on me and totally wrestled the story from my hands. Eek!
Secondly, it meant that editing has taken a lot longer than I initially predicted, including featuring more of the goings-on in the village, a little more of the original cast of characters and introducing brand new (dashing!) ones.
Thirdly, life’s slings and arrows also managed to successfully disrupt my schedule. I won’t bore you to tears with the details, because it always reads like the author’s equivalent of the dog ate my homework.
All Work and No Play
So I tried to compensate by chaining myself to the desk and doubling my working hours each day, but for some strange reason this always results in the typewriter scene from The Shining.
All work and no play, makes Kate a dull girl….
So in order to prevent myself from breaking down the bathroom door with an axe, I’m afraid this latest book is going to need longer to bake.
The Late British Book-Off
It is rather frustrating that I can’t get this book out sooner to my readers, but as a distinctly unmacho wordsmith I have a horrid tendency of burning out at around 4,000-5000 words per day. And there is nothing worse than rushing a book out and ending up with a soggy bottom.
Mary Berry says there is nothing worse than a soggy bottom...
The Late British Book-Off
I cannot give an exact date for publication at the moment because of editing schedules and such, but I will let you know in advance as soon as it’s ready to publish. In the meantime the working cover is below:
Just keep your eyes peeled for an email with further details, that will be wending its way into your inbox. Otherwise I’ll won’t be blogging regularly unless there’s an update for the book, so that I can fully concentrate on getting a Spring Romance out.
So in the meantime, sorry for the wait, thank you for your patience and I’ll get the next book out as soon as I can, because I can’t wait to share Jess’s latest adventures, romantic and otherwise with my readers.
In the meantime, another short romance story The Girl in the Red Scarf has recently been made available on Amazon. To get your copy just click here.
Happy reading!
Kate