Look at it. Ain’t it stunning. I am a very, very lucky writer.

It’s hard to explain what it’s like getting your cover. It’s a moment that’s filled with trepidation and excitement and hope. If you’re like me, you’ll have a clear image of what (you hope) it will look like. An image that has played around in your head since you wrote the first draft.

And then the email comes in… and you wait while it loads. And those seconds feel like the longest in the world.

But when the cover for CONTROL came in, I was overwhelmed with joy and relief and gratitude. It’s better than anything I could have hoped for. It’s exactly what I had imagined, only more. More awesome and more striking and well more!

I’m working on my edits for the book right now. So knowing how beautiful it will look when it’s finished gave me a real boost. My only struggle is to make sure the finished book is worthy of a cover like that!

The post Control cover reveal appeared first on Kim Curran.

The post World Book Day appeared first on Kim Curran.

I’m ashamed to say, I’d not heard of the Space Centre before the event. But I wish I had. It’s an amazing venue with rocket ships and pieces of the moon and astronaut suits and absolutely everything anyone who even cares remotely about space could want. The planetarium show is especially jaw-dropping.

(The PGM-17 Thor simulating take-off to the delight of kids)

I was there to do a couple of readings and have a Q&A. And I was amazed that quite a few people decided to take a break from exploring the mysteries of the universe to listen to me read from SHIFT and talk about how it was inspired by Quantum Physics.

(Seeing my face five meters high was a little unsettling.)

It was great to see how many young kids were excited about fiction and many of them had plans of being writers themselves. So I answered their questions as best as I could. And even signed a few copies of my book for them afterward.

A great big thanks to everyone at NSC for arranging the event and particularly to Josh for taking such good care of me.

I’ll definitely be going back soon.

The post An event that was out of this world appeared first on Kim Curran.

 ❤❤❤❤❤❤

‘Urgh couples in love. Makes me sick. I mean just look at them. They’re so bloody smug.’

‘I think they’re cute. Makes me feel, I don’t know…’ 

‘If you say warm inside I might have to stick my arrow up your arse.’ 

‘No. They give me the feeling of a job well done.’

‘Oh please, where’s a good vomitorium when you need one?’ 

‘Hey, if it wasn’t for them we would be out of a job. Not a pretty thought in today’s financial climate. Just, face it. These couples you find so utterly repellent are our raison d’etre, mon petite amie.’ 

‘What you talking French for? You’re Greek!’ 

‘The language of love!’

‘Love. Pah!’

‘It makes the world go round!’

‘No, Jupiter sees to that. While we get to sit around all day firing arrows into dumb schmucks.’

‘And making their lives complete.’

‘And what thanks to we get for it? I’m mean, back in the day, OK. We’d get some votives, a prayer or something. But now, they put it all down to bloody hormones and primal instincts. That Darwin has a lot to answer for.’

‘I don’t know what you’re complaining about. At least people know who you are.’

‘People know who you are.’

‘Only old farts and private school brats. And they forget me as soon as they’ve graduated. No, none of your normal teenagers have ever heard of me.’ 

‘There’s that great big bloody statue of you in Piccadilly Square.’

‘That’s not me, as you well know. It’s the Angel of Christian Charity.’

‘Yeees, but everyone calls it Eros, all those fat tourists pointing their stubby fingers at it and saying “Gee, there’s Eros.” That has to count for something?’

‘I guess. But it’s not like you. I mean you’re everywhere. Especially this time of year. Can’t move for chubby little pictures of you.’

‘Oh. Thanks for reminding me. Look it’s puppy fat, OK? I’ve been on the Atkins for years and I can’t shift it. And look at you. All lean and in your prime. Where as I’m stuck in the body of a podgy pre-pubescent, forever doomed to help people get it on, and the only thing I can get on is this bloody nappy. Ooo, I dream about burying my shaft into some of these hotties, I can tell you.’

‘Oh please.’

‘Hey, you can talk. You got it on with that Psycho…’

‘Psyche’

‘…Psyche bint. She was a bit of all right, if I remember. How did that work out in the end?’

‘Hmm. Not well.’

‘Mummy get involved did she?’

‘Look. My mother is a very passionate woman and loves me very much. It’s just that sometimes she happens to think that some of the women I bring home aren’t good enough for me. And your mother’s no angel either.’

‘Hey, don’t you compare my mum to yours. Mine might be a veteran slag, but at least she doesn’t go around giving people’s wives away and starting wars!’

‘Troy was a long time ago.’ 

‘Yeah, tell that to the Trojans. Oh you can’t. They’re all dead!’ 

‘Look just lay off my mother all right?’

‘All right.’

‘So have you never been in love?’

‘I thought I was once. There was this nymph. In a wood outside of Rome. I’d gone there to try and escape the orgies, when I saw her. She was skipping through the glen, her hair floating in the breeze, her skin shimmering in the sunlight, her big breasts bouncing …’

‘Cupid!’

‘And she stopped. And smiled at me. Just smiled. And I got this weird feeling in my stomach. Like butterflies dancing.’

‘What did you do?’

‘Burp. Turned out it wasn’t love. Just too many dates.’

‘Oh.’

‘So how many times have you, you know, done it.’

‘Been in love?’

‘Well, not exactly–’ 

‘About 1000. I’m addicted. You know, not the actual relationship part, but the process of falling in love. The romance, the stolen glances, that first tender kiss.’

‘The getting your end away.’

‘Why do you have to sully everything? Love is magical. It’s wonderful.’ 

‘It’s bullshit! Come on. What’s the divorce rate these days? 40? 50%. It made sense back when people only lived to be 25. But now they’re living to be 100. You seriously think that love can sustain that long?’ 

‘Well I don’t know about your lot. But the couples I put together, stay together. Look over there. See that old silver-haired couple, on the bench, the ones holding hands? I put them together back in 1946. And they are still in love.’

‘Yes, but he’s deaf and she’s bonkers. She thinks she’s Cleopatra.’ 

‘And he’s her Marc Anthony. You see, love can conquer all. It can outlast the age.’ 

‘You know if this god of love thing doesn’t work out for you, you could make a fine living writing greetings cards.’ 

‘But I mean it. I’ve seen all the great lovers. Lancelot and Guinevere, Romeo and Juliet, Napoleon and Josephine…

‘Posh and Becks? And how did it work out for all of them? Hmmm. Dead or miserable. Seriously. If that’s what love does to you, you can keep it.’

‘But without it, life would have no meaning. Just look at them. Humans. On the face of the planet for a few meagre years. And then, blink, they’re gone. And what do they have to show for it? Without love, there will be no one to remember them, no children to carry on their name. All their struggles, their petty strivings to get this job, buy that car, have that holiday, it all comes to nothing without love.’ 

‘You are seriously putting me off my lunch now.’ 

‘Come on, admit it. You wouldn’t do anything else.’

‘I don’t know. There’s an opening for a god of vengeance going.’

‘Are you saying you don’t get a special glow when you look at their faces after that first arrow hits and they see the object of their desire.’

‘That is kind of nice, I guess.’

‘Come on. We’ve got the best jobs in the world. We get to make people happy. Even if just for a fleeting moment, they are truly happy. How many people get to say that?’ 

‘I suppose.’ 

‘Suppose nothing. Love is the greatest gift in the world.’

‘And we are its couriers.’

‘Look. I’d better go. There’s a jogging couple I plan on smiting. Reckon if I get the angle just right I can get them with one arrow. Save on stocks.’

‘I’d better be off too. There’s some yummy mummies over by the playground that need a good seeing to.’

‘Seeing that they fall in love, you mean.’

‘If you say so.’ 

‘You’re incorrigible’

‘But incapable.’

‘So same time next year.’

‘Same time next year. But can we go somewhere warmer? I’m freezing my rosy cheeks off in this get up.’ 

‘How about Rio de Janeiro?’ 

‘Now you are talking. See you around.’

‘Not if I see you first.’

 ❤❤❤❤❤❤

The post Love’s Couriers – A short story for Valentine’s Day. appeared first on Kim Curran.

First off, let me start by saying there’s no such thing as ‘the right’ way of getting a book deal. Or anything, for that matter. Anyone who tells you there is should be regarded with a healthy dose of suspicion and perhaps have stuff thrown at them. There is no magic recipe. No secret formula. If there were, and if I knew it, I’d have retired to Belize by now and you wouldn’t be reading this. You’d be reading about how I’d just taken my yacht out to go diving with manatee. But I don’t and so you’re not. Every single writer I know has taken a different path and each one of them has achieved success on their terms.

That said, while there is no right way, there are wrong ways. Easy mistakes that can be avoided. Pitfalls that are so very easy to fall into. And, believe me, I know. I made EVERY ONE of these mistakes. While I laugh at them now, I also cringe and hit myself. But then, hindsight is 20/20 and all that.

So, here are the 10 things I think you shouldn’t do if you want to get a book deal.

1) Don’t submit to an agent when you’ve only finished your first three chapters

I know, it’s tempting. You know that all an agent asks for is the first three chapters. You also know that their response times are three months. Well, you can finish the rest of your book in three months, right? So why wait? Do a quick proof of your opening chapters and send them off!

Wrong. And I’ll tell you for why. First off, even if the best thing in the world happens and the agent loves your first three chapters, they may well get back to you in a couple of days – if not hours – after you submit. And then where will you be? Hoping to write 60,000 words over a weekend? No, you’ll have to reply to the nice agent and say the rest of the book isn’t ready yet. Which makes you look like you don’t know what you’re doing. Because you don’t know what you’re doing! They may be kind and say send the rest when you’re done. But most likely, you’ll be sent to the ‘time-waster’ pile.

The other thing about sending your opening chapters before you’re finished is that they will very likely change a huge amount by the time you’ve got to the end of your first draft. Characters you didn’t know you would write about will come into existence. Plots will change. You may even switch the narrative style half way through. One of my characters changed sex by chapter six. Publishing is a slow-moving business. And you only get one shot to get it right. So take your time. Make sure it’s the best book it can be. And then, and only then. send it off.

2) Don’t fear the edit

Once you’ve finished your first draft celebrate. Have champagne. Eat cake. Go dancing. Take a yak out for a spin. Whatever floats your boat. You have accomplished something remarkable. You really have. And you deserve to give yourself a big old pat on the back.

Only, don’t think you’ve finished.

Writing is rewriting. And once you’ve finished your first draft, there is more hard work ahead. But don’t be afraid of it. I’ve come to love the editing stage. It’s when the book truly starts to take shape.

Most writers over write, so for them, the edit means cutting out flab: unnecessary descriptions, dialogue where the character repeats what they’ve just said two chapters ago, whole characters who are really not needed. Ditch them and feel lighter and freer for it.

Me, I underwrite. Enormously. My first drafts are about 20k shy of what the final word count will be. So edits are a chance for me to start adding depth, descriptions, more dialogue, to tease out the themes and plots I now have clear in my mind because I have a final structure to work towards.

Edit and keep editing until you know it’s the best book it can be. Only then are you ready to submit.

3) Don’t spend more of your query letter talking about you, than your book

Yep, I did just this. It’s embarrassing, but I am going to share my very first query letter with you. (Attached to the only three chapters I had written at that point. Like I said, I made EVERY ONE of these mistakes!)

Dear Agent,

I am approaching you as from the Writers and Artists Yearbook I can see you represent the kind of book I have written.

But before I tell you about my book, let me tell you a bit about myself. I was born in Ireland and moved to England when I was seven, bringing with me a love of stories…

OK, I’ll stop right there as I’m cringing to write any more. It went on. And on. And got worse. I may have even mentioned my dog. I’ve blocked most of it out. What the hell was I thinking!

Unless you’re a minor royal or a football star, no agent really wants to know about your life. Especially when it has absolutely zero bearing on what you have written. They do want to know about your book. In as quick and as enticing a way as possible.

They also want to know why you have chosen to write to them, beyond plucking their name out of the W&A Yearbook. Do your research. Find out about the kind of books they represent, and the kind of books they are looking for. So many agents are now on Twitter and other Social Media that there’s really no excuse for not knowing at least a little about them.

That said, don’t be creepy. I have an agent friend who received a submission that began, ‘I saw from twitter that your favourite perfume is XXX. So I have sprayed this on my MS in the hope it will make you think favourably of me.” Yeah, don’t do that. That sucks and you’ll end up straight in the bin. If not in prison.

In contrast to my first, here is the query letter I sent when I had a little more of a clue what I was doing:

Dear xxx,

I understand you’re looking for gripping stories, driven by strong characters (I had read this in a recent article they had written). Which is exactly what I hope you’ll find in my novel, The Border Lord.

The Border Lord is an urban fantasy for young adults – in the tradition of Alan Garner but with the modern edge of writers like Anthony Horowitz. It tells the story of a tough, city girl called Megan Fletcher, who’s never walked away from a fight in her life. But when she finds herself mixed up in a world of ancient myths, elemental creatures and magic swords, she quickly learns she’ll have to rely on more than her fists to survive.

I’ve been an advertising copywriter for over a decade working on videogames and teen brands, which has given me a deep understanding of the teen market.

The manuscript is complete at 65,000 words and it is the first in a planned series. I have enclosed my first three chapters and synopsis for your consideration. Thank you in advance for your time. I look forward to hearing from you.

OK, so even this is hugely flawed although it did get me 20 requests for fulls. Some agents hate it when you compare your book to other writers. Other agents insist on it.

You can’t always get it 100% right. But you can avoid getting it 100% wrong!

4) Don’t hit refresh every 5 seconds

OK, this is a tough one. As we all do it. Especially now that the majority of agents are accepting submissions by email. Time was, you only had to wait for the post every morning to discover your fate. And when the postman had gone, you could get on with the rest of your day.

Today, The Answer could come any second. Yes, it’s 1am and you checked your email 5 seconds ago. But they might just have sent it. Better hit refresh again.

Stop it! This way madness lies. And Vitamin D deficiency. Again, I know, because I did it. And then had to take heavy-duty Vitamin D supplements as a result.

Here’s the thing. Agents are like kettles. A watched one never boils. Or replies or whatever. With my first book, The Border Lord, I sat and waited. And waited. I hate to think of the hours I spent just watching my inbox. In contrast, with Shift, the book I wrote that actually got me the publishing deal, I sent it from a beach in Mexico and then went and had a mojito, fully convinced I wouldn’t hear back for months. When I did hear back a few days later, I was lazing in a hammock in Belize. A far better use of my time!

5) Don’t waste time waiting. Get writing!

This follows on from the previous point. Once you’ve written a book, and made it the best book it can be, send it off and forget about it. Seriously. Hard to do, but really, really important for your mental health. Get on with writing something new. If you’ve done the last book justice in editing it and editing it, you’ll be sick of it anyway. So getting stuck into something fresh is good for your mind. It will also be a great way to avoid obsessing about your email inbox.

So here’s what you do:

Write. Revise. Submit. Write something else.

The same is true of short stories, articles. Even if you come back to the previous project, you will have grown as a writer, and so if you re-work it after you hear back from agents / editors it will become a better book, with a better chance of getting a deal this time.

I know plenty of writers who have spent 6 years writing the same book over and over and it has, in the end, got them a deal. But for me, the best thing is to move on and try something new. I spent over 2 years working on The Border Lord and waiting for replies. But it just wasn’t meant to be. When I finally put it aside and wrote something new, that something was Shift. It was picked up by the first agent who read it and it got me the deal.

And you know what? I’m just about ready to return to The Border Lord as now I can see really clearly what was wrong with it. And if I do re-work it, it will be a far superior book than it was as I’ve grown so much as a writer.

6) Don’t sign with the first agent who offers

OK, this isn’t an absolute no no. I did sign with the first agent who offered and I’m very happy with him. But I wouldn’t recommend it. Do as I say, not as I did!

The reason is this, there are different agents and different writers and you need to make sure you find the right one for you. That’s so hard, especially if you’ve been struggling to get an agent and you feel you’re lucky to have had even one offer. But if you get one offer, I fully believe, you’ll get another.

Agents are like boyfriend/girlfriends in a weird kind of way. You’re going to enter into a relationship together that will, with hope, last a really long time. So get to know them before you say yes. Meet them if you can. Call them if you can’t. Chat with them on Twitter and try and work out if they’re the kind of agent that you’re after.

Some agents will be very editorial, others will hand-hold you through the whole process, others are there to kick down doors and bust balls and get you killer deals. Work out what kind of agent you want and measure the prospective agent against your list.

So what do you do if an agent offers and you want to hold them off for a bit? Don’t worry, agents are used to this. They hate it. But they’re used to it. Some may put pressure on you to sign with them then and there. Others will advise you go away and think about it. Either way – go away and think about it!

Give them a timeframe in which you will come back with an answer, whether that’s a couple of days or a couple of weeks. Then contact the other agents you queried and let them know the situation. They will either step out there and then, or they’ll quickly read your MS to make sure they’re not missing anything. Either way, you’ll have your answer.

Then you can decide which is the perfect agent for you. They will be the one who loves your book like you do, whose suggestions resonate with you, and who has a clear vision for your future as a writer. There will be heartache ahead, so you want to make sure you have the right person on your side.

7) Don’t think that getting an agent is the hard bit over with

Again, guilty as charged. I thought that once you signed with an agent everything would be plain sailing. That getting a deal was a sure thing. But that’s not always the case.

I know plenty of writers who couldn’t sell their first book (some of whom were then dumped by their agent – because they probably weren’t the right one for them in the first place.) Much like the fact that it’s not always your first book that gets you your agent, it’s not always the first book you go out with that gets you your deal.

The way to survive when you’re out on submission with publishers? The very same as when you’re querying agents. Keep writing. If it does happen that the publishers all turn you down, then you will be neck deep in a new book, which very well could be The One. It will also help keep the momentum going between you and your agent if you have new ideas to discuss with them. And they may even be able to pitch your new book at the near-miss editors.

Above all, keep the faith. It’s hard work and a crazy emotional rollercoaster of a ride. But if you keep buckled in and keep writing you will get there.

8) Don’t follow all of the editors you’re subbing to on Twitter

Again, I did this. And it nearly broke me. Here’s why.

I knew that Shift was going to an acquisitions meeting at Strange Chemistry on Thursday. I knew because my agent had told me, but also because I was following the editor on twitter and she tweeted, ‘Off to my first acquisitions meeting.’ I waited and watched her feed for hours, waiting for the next update. And you know what it was?

“I hate crushing people’s dreams.”

Of course I KNEW this was about me. It was MY dream she was crushing. MY hope that was shattered. It had to be a no. I was at work at the time and I had to grip the side of my desk so hard to stop myself from just turning into a sobbing mess I nearly broke the table. This was my dream publisher. And if they said no, there was no hope.

An hour later, I get a call from my agent. I got the deal.

Of course that tweet wasn’t about me. But of course I thought it was. And you will too. You’ll read into everything they tweet. Every time they talk about a good MS, you’ll think it could be you. Every time they joke about some crap they’ve been sent? Same thing. You’ll also see them chatting with other authors and get angry that they didn’t reply to your brilliantly witty tweet, replying to their brilliantly witty tweet about their lunch. This applies to agents as well.

In fact, the best thing is to stay off Twitter all together when you’re out on sub. Yet again, if only I had taken my own advice!

9) Don’t read your reviews

When you get the deal – and I do believe that with the right combination of talent and tenacity it will be when, rather than if – your book baby will go out there into the real world where people will read it and discuss it and above all review it. And not all of those reviews will be good.

No book gets all good reviews. If you don’t believe it, go to Goodreads.com and search for your absolute favourite book of all time and read the one-star reviews. They’ll be there. And while you might take comfort from this fact, when it comes to your own reviews, the bad ones will make you into a crazy person.

OK, maybe not. Maybe you have the hide of a rhino and the self-esteem of a super model. But if you’re like most writers you’ll be a bundle of anxieties wrapped in a blanket, drinking tea. And one semi-bad review can be enough to send you into a spiral of self doubt that will make you want to give up writing.

My solution. Don’t read them. Just DON’T. It will take will power. Especially at 2am after a few glasses of wine, but just like texting exs – don’t do it.

The truth is the good reviews will find you. Your editor or agent will send them your way. Your friends will. The reviewer will tweet you with a link telling you how much they enjoyed it. Either way, they come your way. And as for the bad ones, forget about them.

I know lots of reviewers find this idea annoying. As if writers somehow think we’re too good to read their reviews. And that’s not it at all. I love reviewers. Good or bad, they bring attention to books that would otherwise go missed. But reviews are for readers, not for writers. Writers know the flaws in their books, believe me. They just don’t need them brutally pointed out by someone who ‘doesn’t normally read these kinds of thing.’

10) Don’t do it alone

A lot of people think writing is a solitary job. And for a large part, it can be. The writing aspect anyway. But if you do spend too much time alone, locked in your writing palace, not only will you go mad, you’ll also lose touch with the reasons you’re writing.

No one can make a perfect book by themselves. It takes other readers. And that’s why I think beta readers are so important.

Beta reader is just a fancy term for getting other people to read your work when it’s still in draft – beta – stage. They can be invaluable, as all writers get too close to their work and need input from others. But be careful who you choose to beta for you.

As much as a good reader can transform a book from something rough into something beautiful, a bad reader can crush it. Be wary of having other writers beta, in case they try and make you write like them. Be equally wary of friends who will only say “this is awesome!” Lovely to hear, but ultimately, useless.

Find a balance with people who know what they’re talking about and are unafraid to tell you.

It’s not just the right team of betas you need. It’s the right team of friends. It’s a tough, tough business. Which is why it’s crucial that you surround yourself with positive people, who want the best for you, as well as other writers who can guide you through the ups and downs and share in the insanities along the way.

If your friends and family aren’t supportive of your writing, don’t talk to them about it, and find people who will be. Get out there and go to conventions and writers’ circles and meetups and make friends with other writers. Even if you just reach out to people on Twitter. Twitter is 90% writers, judging by my Twitter feed, all tweeting about how they should be writing!

So that’s it. The many mistakes I made along the way. And sure, it worked out in the end. Like I said in a post about the things I would change in my life, some mistakes have to be made. But I’d have saved myself a hell of a lot of heartache if I’d only followed my own advice. But what fun would that be?

Now, I’m off to check my email and see if my agent has replied to my latest book. I mean, he’s had it three hours already!

The post 10 things not to do to get a book deal – and beyond appeared first on Kim Curran.

What is the working title of your book?

Shift

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I was sitting on a bus on my way home from work, watching everyone scurrying about in the rain and thinking about all the choices we make. At the same time, I was thinking about a book I’d just read on Quantum Physics, and BAM! The idea arrived in my head: what if you could change your decisions the way light changes from particle to wave. I started scribbling and Shift was born.

What genre does your book fall under?

Teen/Young Adult Thriller

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

My friend Regan Warner already did the casting for me, which you can see here. And I think it’s pretty close.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

When Scott Tyler realises he can undo any decisions he’s ever made he thinks it’s going to be really cool, but as his world starts to unravel, he realises – it’s going to get him kills.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

About 5 months.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Fair Coin by EC Myers and Flip by Martyn Bedford, for the mind-bending, quantum-physics fun. Will Hill’s Department 19 Series, for the secret government division. Charlie Higson’s The Dead for the gruesome qualities.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

As explained above, it was inspired by a quantum physics, in particular the Double Slit Experiment.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

It’s got a deliciously hideous bad guy and brains explode.

Now, over to the next, Next Big Things:

Laura Lam, my book sister and author of the magical Pantomime – coming from Strange Chemistry next year.

Den Patrick, author, book seller and all round great guy.

Chris Farnell, Tweeter par excellence and author of Mark II, a book which takes a ‘deft, witty approach to mortality and grief.’

Adam Christopher, hero of New Pulp and author of Empire State and Seven Wonders. If you love comics and noir, be sure to check him out.

More coming soon.

The post The Next Big Thing appeared first on Kim Curran.

That’s not to say I’m feeling the flat sense of anti-climax I know a lot of debut authors experience. I’m still excited and positive and hopeful. It’s just that I’m exactly as excited and positive and hopeful as I was the day or the week before SHIFT was published.

I think it’s been made slightly more complex by the fact that I had four sort of launches before the book came out. I did a panel at Blackwells Charing Cross on August 16^th, where the lovely Den Patrick arranged to have copies of my book for sale. That was the first time I got to see my book for sale in a shop (launch 1). I then had the Strange Chemistry launch party on the 23^rd August, followed by a small gathering with my friends and family the day after (launch 2 & 3). And finally, I did a reading and signing in the Book Cellar in Chicago on the 30^th August. All of this before the official publication date (launch 4)! So when the 6^th September came around, I already felt like it was fully launched and out there in the world.

Added to this is the fact that ARCs of Shift have been out with reviewers for months and the idea of a single publication day has blurred.

People have started texting and tweeting me pics when they see Shift in a shop or when it arrives on their doorstep. And that’s never getting old. Neither is signing books for people. It’s only then when it feels real for me. When I see the physical book on a shelf, or in someone’s hand. That’s when the loony grin breaks out.

First copy of Shift spotted in the wild be @daydreamin_star

A year ago, my husband asked me what my measure of success was. Not an easy question to answer, as it can boil down to so many things. For some, success is all about sales. For others, it’s all about awards. Or peer approval. Or reviews. Or a hundred other ways you can measure your goals. (I recommend you ask yourself that question, it can help focus your efforts so you know you’re working towards the right thing.) For me, it was seeing my book in a shop. And last week, that happened – all across the globe.

So how am I feeling? Pretty damn good.

The post PUBLICATION. A WEEK ON. appeared first on Kim Curran.

I was there primarily to attend WorldCon – the world Science Fiction Convention. But I also did a reading in a funky indie bookshop called The Book Cellar with fellow Angry Robots, Adam Christopher and Chuck Wendig and Strange Chemistry sister Gwenda Bond to launch all of our books. (If you haven’t already ordered Seven Wonders, Mockingbird or Blackwood, do so NOW. You’ll thank me for it. I promise. Go on. Do it. I’ll wait…. Done? OK, good. Back to Worldcon.)

The Book Cellar. Which was rammed when I came to do my reading

Me and Gwenda after the reading.

WorldCon itself was… well, it was mental. Not one but two hotels filled with sci-fi’s finest. George RR Martin was there, although I decided not to go and chat with him this time, as I wanted to keep the memory of our time at EasterCon pure and safe. (Realising he had no recollection of me would be crushing.) Neil Gaiman – yes, Neil ‘The God’ Gaiman – snuck in one night and while I was frozen to the spot with fan-girl nerves, friends Adam and Laura Lam did get a picture with him. I’m right behind the camera grinning like an insane woman.

Adam, Neil and Laura

The highlight of cons for me is always meeting new people. Especially getting to meet other writers. So many writers (myself included) are essentially misanthropic loaners, who like nothing more than spending all day with the voices in our heads. But when you get a bunch of people who generally don’t like other people together and something pretty awesome happens. We all get on. Like, amazingly. Perhaps it’s because other writers Get It. They get the insanity that comes with being a writer. They get the heartache that comes with rejection. And the blissful highs that come with success. And it turns into a kind of group therapy, where you leave feeling a little less alone and a lot more drunk. Because there’s one other thing writers seem to have in common. A love of booze.

Sure, there are lots of writers out there who don’t want other writers to succeed. Who will do whatever it takes to crush the spark of glory in others. But forget them. They’re miserable, lonely, gits, carving voodoo effigies of other writers out of their own earwax. And good luck to them. They may sell a gazillion copies of their books by any means necessary. But they’ll have lost their soul in the process.

So, back to WorldCon.

It was not only my first WorldCon it was also my first visit to the States. And so I spent as much time exploring the beautiful city of Chicago as I did in the con itself. I only made it to two panels – New Pulp and Doom and Gloom in YA – and both were brilliantly informative. Although there was a little less profanity in the YA panel, which was a shame.

I also went to the Hugo’s – the Oscars of the SciFi world. Where John Scalzi did an amazing job of keeping 1000 people entertained while the brightest stars of science fiction were rewarded with very cool rocket ship statues.

Chicago itself is a stunning city. I went on the River Architecture Tour with Amanda and Laura and learned a lot about the stunning buildings that fill the city.

Me, Laura and Amanda chilling out on the river.

Skydeck Chicago

I also ate, A LOT! I had a traditional Chicago Pizza (which is a deep as a mattress and they put the cheese on before the sauce, I know!) at Pizza Uno which was delicious. I also had pancakes for breakfast twice from WildBerry’s and if I’d stayed any longer I would have developed diabetes. My highlight was the Millennium Park and Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate sculpture.

The Cloud Gate – know as The Bean by locals.

I could have spent all day just staring at that. I also went to the Art Institute and wandered around the modern wing. I have decided that abstract art is the perfect cure for soul lag. For me anyway; I almost felt my soul catch up with me while gazing into a Rothko. I could go on and on about art, but I can sense most of you skimming over this as it is. So, yet again, back to WorldCon!

It was brilliant to hang out with my fellow Angry Robot/Strange Chemistry family. And family perfectly describes us. There’s so much support and love between us all, it’s a little sickening at times. I feel constantly overwhelmed and honoured to be a part of that family. There was an AR stand at the con where Super Salesman Mike Underwood was camped practically 24/7 from what I could work out. The stand was rammed with all of the awesome AR and SC titles. And despite that tough competition I managed to sell a few copies of Shift. I’ll tell you now, signing books for strangers – that’s never getting old. I love it!  Although I apologise for my atrocious handwriting.

The AR stand.

So WorldCon was scary, amazing, weird, wonderful, expensive! ($15 dollar cocktails and too many amazing books to buy) cool and crazy. And I can’t wait for London 2014 when I get to do it all again.

Shout outs to those people who made WorldCon an amazing event for me:

@Gwend, @mitochondrial, @ChuckWendig, @sblackmoore, @ALRutter, @LR_Lam, @wes_chu @Julianna__Scott (Jen) @leecollinsfict (Peter), Victoria (sorry, Victoria, I’m blanking on your surname), @ghostfinder, @MikeRUnderwood @LeeAHarris @EmApocalyptic and many, many more!

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He bought me a flying lesson.

As soon as he told me, I was skipping around the house like a nutter. I have always wanted to learn how to fly. Especially after last year in Belize when Chris and I were flown around the country  by our own pilot as it was cheaper than getting cars. Plus, one of my favourite books is Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, which is all about his years flying treacherous mail routes across the African Sahara and the South American Andes. And on Thursday that became a reality.

We arrived at the West London Aero Club and I was taken to meet Justin, who was to be my instructor. I had fully expected to be taken up in a plane for a sight-seeing tour. But Justin told me very early on that that wasn’t going to be the case. I was actually going to be flying the plane. So I had better pay attention.

He took out a model plane and talked me through how the controls worked and the physics of flight. And before I knew it I was climbing into a Piper Warrior, putting my headphones on and strapping myself in.

Then it was full throttle, pull back on the stick and we were flying.

Actually I was flying. For the 60min lesson, I was in control of the plane for about 40mins. Of course, Justin always had his hands an inch away from the controls should I do something crazy, like put us into a spin or stall at 1000ft. But as I don’t have a death wish, I didn’t do any of those things. I focused entirely on keeping us level and in the air.

It’s hard to describe how amazing it was. I didn’t feel free, or like I was bird-like. Instead my awe came from how overwhelmed I was by what a feat of engineering is flight. It’s a true case of humanity’s mastery over nature. And yet when you’re up there, moving up, down, left and right, it feels so very natural: like the plane becomes an extension of yourself.

When I finally came down (physically at least, I’m still floating emotionally) Justin said “Oh, oh. I recognise that look.”

I had the bug. I couldn’t wait to get back up there.

I now want to get my pilot’s licence – I just need to win the lottery or land that elusive film deal. For now, I’ll have to make do with my pilot’s cap. Which I am refusing to take off.

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But what I mean to say is thank you, to all of you who came and made my very first panel and reading as an author so amazing. Especially when you could have been sitting in a park somewhere sipping Pimms. (Seriously, were you mad?)

Me reading the prologue from Shift. Thankfully, it was very short. 

Thanks also to the amazingly talented, intelligent and kind authors – Tom Pollock, Laure Eve, James Dawson, Will Hill and Tanya Byrne – with whom I was lucky enough to be sharing the panel and signing. And much respect to Liz De Jager, another incredibly talented, intelligent and kind author, who moderated the proceedings with a firm but gentle hand. I often found myself forgetting I was at the front of the room as I was so rapt in listening to everyone else read and talk about their experiences as writers.

Yesterday wasn’t just my first author panel. It was also the first time I got to see printed copies of Shift. In a book shop. On a 3 for 2 desk of all things. It’s always been my dream to be on a 3 for 2 desk. And when I saw the books there everything went a little blurry for a bit.

The dream coming true.

I also signed my first ever books. People I’d never met before actually bought copies of Shift and asked me to sign them. That’s still sinking in. (Apologies for the shocking handwriting; my hands were shaking).

To say it was an exciting day is a bit of an understatement. In fact, I think I’ve run out of whatever chemical controls excitement in the brain (adrenalin? endorphin?) as I’m just feeling vaguely baffled. Like, did that actually all just happen?

There are so many benchmarks along the way in being a writer. Completing your first draft. Querying for the first time. Getting an agent. Getting a deal. But I reckon, seeing your book on sale in an actual bookshop, being bought by actual people, might come close to beating them all.

Me signing one of my first books. 

A blurry pic of Tom, Will and Tanya signing copies of their books. “Once they’re signed, they can’t be given back!” 

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