Big Big News - My Debut Novel will Land in 2023

The publishing dream is coming true? Yes.

The announcement has been published in the trade website where such things are shared, Publisher's Marketplace, so it must be true!

Sourcebooks Landmark bought my debut novel, ADRIFT, and it will be in bookstores spring of 2023!!!

At "Published on Main" to celebrate selling the book.

I'm beyond excited to be able to type these words. Being published has been a dream at the back of my mind since I was a kid. Put on hold for other stuff - an engineering degree, a planning degree, working to minimize climate change, cuddling cats - but always there, simmering.

I've been really lucky in my publishing journey so far - I got an excellent agent with my first book, and once I'd revised it under her guidance, she sold it within months to an editor and publisher I'm very pleased to work with. (Note: that description makes the process sound fast, it was not fast, I do not write or revise quickly, publishing does not move quickly!)

It's unusual to get to this point with the first book one writes, so I'm pretty chuffed. I've benefited massively from the generous advice of other writers who read drafts (including very early, very iffy drafts) and gave insightful feedback and encouragement. Befriending other writers has been the best part of this process (well, and getting paid, that's good too). Also could not have done it without my partner Peter who had to help me brainstorm solutions to plot problems for a book I wouldn't let him read.

Writing = so many hours in cafes. So much tea.

I'm looking forward to the book actually getting onto shelves in stores next year and seeing how people react to it! Subscribe to my newsletter below if you want to get a reminder when it's ready for pre-order. Or follow me on twitter. Pretty sure I'll mention it once or twice on there.

If folks are interested, I can do a future blog post that speaks to how many years it took me to finish this book, where the idea came from, querying it, etc. If you have questions, pop them in the comments below.

Now I'm off to eat cake! I think a key to surviving publishing is to celebrate every milestone with gusto.

This is what the deal announcement looks like, and yes, the website has strong 1999 web vibes, it's a Publisher's Marketplace thing no one can explain.