It’s easy to be excited about 2017. Just 20 days into the month, Alfie Slider vs the Shape Shifter is published! I’ve got a book launch, school visits, author events, comicon and more planned to promote the heck out my first book next year. It’s going to be amazing!

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Click here to join the launch day Thunderclap!

I’ve been blown away by the pre-order sales I’ve made myself, I have copies of the book in hand and delivered them in my local area on Christmas Eve. Children (and a few adults) unwrapped copies of Alfie Slider vs the Shape Shifter for Christmas. Wow!

Order your paperback copy here!

I’m going to start the next round of edits on Alfie Slider vs the Frozen Prince, too. Feedback from beta readers has been very encouraging, and I’m looking forward to polishing it to a publication-ready shine.

Mirrorball is going great, too. Dan is working on the big finish, and I think the timing should work out well; Alfie 2 edits will be done when Mirrorball first draft is done which will leave me free to write something new – but what? Alfie 3, or one of the ideas that have been stewing for a while looking to be written? Sasha Stone, Eboracum, Words of Power…

But looking back on 2016 is more of a mixed bag. For me, personally, it was an amazing year. I’ve had work included in six anthologies, had successes in almost 20 competitions and, of course, got Shape Shifter published. It felt like a much tougher year for the world, though; Wars, Refugees, Terrorism, Extremism, Division…there have been times when I’ve felt helpless, that the world is being taken in a nightmarish direction. And of course it was the year of celebrity deaths, where every week seemed to see the end of another icon including recently the death of the wonderful Carrie Fisher. It will come as no surprise that this geek girl was hugely influence by Princess Leia, and by Carrie herself, from the first time I saw Star Wars at age 5, up until the present day.

I won’t be sorry to say goodbye to 2016, and I am very excited to meet 2017. In 2015, I proved that I had the talent to write. In 2016, I laid the groundwork to make writing a career. 2017 will be the year that I live my dream; a published author, spending time with children encouraging them to read, write and change the world.

Happy New Year.