this writer’s journey
When my daughter was a baby, I began a novel based on one scene and an emotion.
A group of teenagers stood on the surface of a strange planet. They had no idea why they were there—and neither did I. A timely article about children removed from their mother’s custody provided the emotion. That scene came to be indelibly linked with a bereft mother in my mind.
Thus began a writing project which surfaced and re-surfaced over the years, as I worked to discover who those teens were and what they were doing on that planet—
until two years ago, when my writing world grew gray and uninspiring and I knew something had to change. I could quit, or
or I could self-publish.
Self-publishing sounded scary, far scarier than anything I had ever done. But with that thought, my world took on renewed color and zest. And I realized that if my efforts were to face the wider world, there was work still to be done.
What might have been one book about those teens standing on that planet had grown to two—and then three. A trilogy. But an unfinished trilogy. Plus a companion volume about a child in hiding who appears in book one.
I didn’t have to experience the terror of publishing right off. First I had to revise and polish.
delaying fears
I took a class (and repeated it) on how to self-publish. I found a wonderful illustrator for the book covers. And a copyeditor. And formatters. A year went by, each step a new experience.
I further managed to delay publication by making editorial changes, formatting changes.
But eventually I had to step out of the way and free the book into the world.
In August 2020, Pawn Quest went live in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three teens, three links to a mystery extending far beyond Earth . . .
And with the pandemic it was easier to bring out another book than to promote the first.
In December 2020, Ty’s Choice was published on Amazon as well. Ten-year-old Ty’s Mum needs tablets from the vita-med fabricator. But when the fab stops working, Ty must go Outside and if he’s caught, he’ll be chipped, never to go home again.
The books are available on Amazon in both Kindle and print formats. Please consider leaving a review.
Kate Harrington 