I haven’t finished my (uncontracted) second novel. I’ve written what I’m calling a third draft, but it’s actually the first complete draft, as I gave up on my second draft around 65,000 words in, after I completely lost direction. Now I have a couple of weeks to fix it up before I send it to my first editor and agent, Alexandra Nahlous. But first I need to re-read it myself and incorporate feedback from my husband and my writers’ group.

All the same, I’ve never written a second novel before, and never will again, so I thought it was worth recording something about what it was like before I forget. All the way through I was wishing that someone more experienced than me would run a course on writing a second novel. In other words I was floundering, or at least felt I was. With the benefit of hindsight I realise that this is only the second novel I’ve ever completed, and the required skills were much the same as those I drew upon to complete the first. Plus persistence.

Did you know that one of the ancient Roman words for cake was placenta, derived from the Greek plakous, meaning flat?

Or that although it’s now understood that Marie Antoinette probably never said ‘Let them eat cake’ of the starving masses beyond the gates of Versailles, cheap dry cake mixes made with surplus molasses may have helped millions of hungry American families survive the Great Depression?

Like the tarot, cake makes frequent appearances in my debut romantic novel, Mystic Ridge.

I’ve searched for and read an awful lot of these path to publication posts, and I never believed I’d have an excuse to write one. But now I do.

It’s been a whole week since I signed an offer memo from Harlequin, and by the time I post this, I will also have a signed contract. They plan to publish my yet to be retitled trade paperback and eBook in September 2023.

It might seem strange that the first book I review on this blog isn’t a romance. I love reading romance, so I’m sure it’ll only be a matter of time before a new release excites me so much I want to blog about it. I’m a big fan of Minnie Darke, and I hear she’s beavering away at a new novel. Jo Riccioni, from my very own writer’s group has a romantic fantasy in the works, which I’m sure I’ll promote shamelessly.

I recently viewed this circa 1630s painting, by Frenchman Georges De La Tour at the European Masterpieces exhibition at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art, a week or so before Brisbane went into lockdown. (Now I’m in lockdown in northern NSW as a result, but that’s another story.)

I ’ve wanted to write a novel for years. After doing a course at Writing NSW with famed romance author Anne Gracie, I decided to turn my hand to romance. The wonderful Romance Writers of Australia organise courses and conferences where novices like me can learn the craft of romance writing and find mentoring and support. And my own mini-powerhouse of a writer’s group has encouraged me every step of the way. Thanks Jo Riccioni, Sam Milton & Suzanne Brown.