A Year Online & “Professional” Authordom

According to the lovely cup reminder, it has been a year since I started this little blog in a corner of the internet I can call my own. Not too much has changed but there has been some subtle differences over the year.

I’m now a part of an anonymous review site and read books for free (yay!) in exchange for truthful reviews. This gives me a great source of inspiration and entertainment for those boring days.

I also finished the first draft of ‘While I Slept’ over the summer which is languishing on my external hard drive, safe but in need of love and attention. I’m hoping I can find a space in my university schedule big enough to fill with editing it. Then I’ll start thinking about agents and publishers and possible failure.

The biggest change to date (as novel writing and reading is a staple of almost any writer out there) is that I am, as of today, technically a professional writer. I’ve had stories published before but the most recent ‘My Oasis Tower’ has been bought and published in ‘Looking Landwards’. Since money has changed hands, I am now a professional. Great stuff! Though I think my family is still holding out for the massive success from future novels. I expect it won’t be a lot of money in future but who knows what and where another year will bring!

You can find Looking Landwards, written in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the institution of agricultural engineers (lots of anniversaries going around here) and edited by Ian Whates of Newcon Press here.

I attended the book launch today and haven’t had that much fun professionally since the London book fair! There was free wine and I got to sit on a stage with a panel for signings and speeches about our individual stories! My father had a proud moment and videoed my bit so I expect that will make an appearance soon, too, for the curious.

Thanks for reading and I hope everyone’s year has gone at least as well as mine.

Holly Ice

Interests, Inspirations, Fantasy and writing fiction