As an author the question I get asked the most is: what are you writing next? Or When's your next book out? In the past I've not been good at forward planning. After the release of a new book, I usually have only a few vague notes jotted in my phone or a skeleton of a manuscript on my laptop. But in the last few weeks of 2017, I got my act together and signed 2 (2!) book contracts for middle grade readers.
The first is a top sekrit project for Hinkler Books for kids aged 8-12. The writing is well underway and this one should be released in 2018. I can't say much about what it's actually about at this stage (more on that soon, promise!) but I can say it's the wildest research I've ever done for a book (my Google search history is TERRIFYING) and it promises to be a super fun read.
The second is with my home publisher, UQP books. It's a verse novel for middle grade readers called The Little Wave. The story weaves three very different characters together across the northern beaches of Sydney and outback NSW. There's cricket, surfing, bugs, movie nights and pen pals and I can't wait to share it with you sometime in 2019.
In the meantime, I'm also writing a YA, set in steamy Singapore. Mostly it's just a bunch of notes in my phone and the start of a manuscript, but I hope to have a finished first draft by the end of the year. Goals!
Whatever you're working on in 2018, good luck. Don't worry about daily word counts or other writer's 3-book deals, 30 overseas sales and movie options. This is YOUR race and you can run it any way you like - fast, slow or stop-start. Find a project that makes your heart beat faster, put your bum in a seat every now and again and get that all-important first draft done. I believe in you. X
