Writing a book is only part of the journey to becoming a published author. There are so many people in the background that often get mentioned in the acknowledgements but I can honestly say that my latest book, The Web They Wove, wouldn’t have happened without the amazing input from the following wonderful people;
ARC Readers
Gathering a group of trusted and committed early readers of the book is difficult. Ideally finding a bunch of strangers who have an interest in the crime genre, who are willing to read and give constructive feedback is no mean feat, and I have been blessed with a group of 15 of the most wonderful readers. I won’t list them individually but you know who you are and as the first to read and give feedback I thank you from the very bottom of my heart. Thank God I didn’t go with the original blurb!
Police advisors
A massive thanks for Graham Bartlett for your words of wisdom and insights into the world of policing. You have taken the shroud of mystery away from many of the procedures and my writing is all the better for it.
My Editor, Rebecca Millar.
I spent a long time researching and vetting someone who I could work with that understood exactly where I wanted to be and what I want to achieve with my books and my writing career. It’s no mean feat to edit a book written by someone who has completely forgotten everything she learnt about the English language and grammar in school, and for your patience and understanding I applaud you. You also made the entire process a lot less scary that I had expected, and you gently encouraged me to push my writing further – thank you Rebecca, I can’t wait to work with again (if you’ll have me of course!)
Social Media Manager, Sam Brownley
A last-minute addition to the team, but what an addition! Sam Brownley if there was an award for ‘keeping an author sane and on track’ then you would win hands down. With so much going on in my personal life, I knew I would struggle to give the book launch the attention it deserved and needed. Sam and I met through a Facebook group last year, and it was one of those times when you know you’ve met someone you just have to work with. We didn’t know how or when but we knew we would make one hell of a team, and boy did we. If you saw any of the promo activity on social media or received a newsletter, then Super Sam was the one behind it. I can’t thank you enough for everything you did, and continue to do. Roll on Book 3!
Reviewers, blog tour participants, readers.
As authors, we are nothing without people that read out books and then go to the trouble of writing a review. I’ve said it before in a previous blog post and the sentiment is still the same – our readers are our boss! We learn from your feedback; we value the effort you put in to writing a review and we thrive on the loyalty you bring to our books and the characters within their pages. Thank you, from the very depths of my heart, thank you all so much.
If you would like to read some of the reviews for The Lie She Told and The Web They Wove, head over to GoodReads or check them out on Amazon.
