I’ve indulged in daydreams and fantasies all my life. In my case…that’s a bloody long time.
I’ve fulfilled a lot of my dreams, apart from the most important one. My book. That one was shoved onto the back-burner years ago. An unrealistic goal––a bit like turning pro. golfer at sixty-eight. But isn’t that what dreams are all about?
Destiny—now that’s one of my favourite words: I met my very first editor, Victoria Villaseñor, at a local library where she was delivering quick novel consultations at the time. Long story short––I asked her if she’d edit my book. It was called Mirrorland. She said it was nothing like a mirror land, so I changed it to Parallel Lives.
Genealogy: I’ve always been fascinated by this subject. What’s that got to do with writing?
This is a family photo of my great, great aunt Phoebe. Yep, she’s a Komodo dragon! In fact, I visited her earlier this year whilst cruising around Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia. Komodo dragons have an incredibly thick skin with armoured scales…and that’s what you need when you get your edits back.
But I love a challenge. Bring it on.
Consequently, Parallel Lives has been through many incarnations, and through Victoria, I met Nicci Robinson, her editing partner-in-words, who changed it up some more. I’m sure you’re all familiar with the term BOGOF…if you’re not, it means “buy one, get one free” ––that’s not quite the case, but on many an occasion I’ve said it to them, and it’s given me a bit of satisfaction. Less lethal than a bite from the Komodo dragon.
It’s taken a few years to get Parallel Lives to the stage it’s at. It had a word count of over five hundred thousand words. Yes, you read it correctly. I guess that’s why editing is such a crucial part of the procedure. Hence…it’s become a trilogy! I’ve just finished the second book which has gone off to those “nasty people” who seem to find some sort of sadistic pleasure in telling me where I’ve gone wrong.
I opted for self-publishing because I wanted to keep the characters and plot as they are, and I didn’t want a watered-down version of my book.
I can describe the whole process as the most thrilling experience of my life. It’s even surpassed the buzz of my first solo in a little plane!
Parallel Lives is out on 1st September 2018 and is up for pre-order on Amazon right now. Lesfic reviewer, Kitty Author, had an ARC copy and thought it was an “exceptionally well written story of love, personal discovery, and passion.” You can read more of what she said by clicking here. Please give it a whirl.
And remember:
It’s never too late to realise your dreams.
Karen Klyne 