Saturday, January 26, 2008

We have a title...

After discussion and consideration between the team at Hachette, my agent, and moi, we have decided on the title:

As Darkness Falls

As Darkness Falls will be released in September, here in Australia.

I'm very pleased with the title, and excited that it's all starting to happen; the revised first two chapters are in, ready for production to start on samplers; the graphic designer is working on the cover; and I'm in the throes of completing final revisions, for submission next week. Then it will be head down on book 2, until the final edits come back. There's no word yet on publication in other countries, but Hachette will shortly be taking it to their international associates so we'll keep our fingers crossed that they want it!

And in other news, the workshop proposal that Valerie Parv and I submitted for the Romance Writers of America conference in San Francisco at the end of July has been accepted; so I've now registered for the conference, and will have to start looking at airfares. It will only be a quick trip to SF with maybe just a day or two of sight-seeing before the conference, but I'm looking forward to it!

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Round up

What's been happening since I last posted?

We had a pleasant dinner on Christmas night at the home or friends of ours, and a quiet New Year's Eve at home.

I had a lovely few days in Sydney, with my mother and my sister. Highlights included meeting my agent, the wonderful Clare Forster, and lunching with her at the Customs House restaurant with views of Sydney Harbour. On the Friday evening, Mum and I went and saw Billy Elliot: the Musical, which we both enjoyed a great deal. On the Saturday evening, after all three of us had had dinner, Andrea and I joined the crowds at the opening events of the Sydney Festival - free concerts on six stages around the Domain, Hyde Park, and environs. We just missed Paul Kelly, but saw Brian Wilson (of Beach Boys fame), and then wandered to Hyde Park where a salsa band was getting many people dancing - including me! (Can't resist good music!)

In between, we did some shopping, ate, visited the Museum of Contemporary Art, and generally had a relaxed time enjoying the sights and each other's company.

Since getting home, I've been working on the edits for the book, and yesterday I had a great meeting with a local police sergeant who was very helpful in providing advice and answering questions about police procedures.

And around here, the grass has grown high because of recent rains, the blackberries are ripening, there's still hyacinth orchids flowering, and the dams are full. Life is mostly pretty good!