Update on my Latest Book - The Wendy House

My latest book, The Wendy House, working title, has given me more than my share of headaches as well as plunging me into depths of despair. At one point, I found I could no longer continue with it and left it alone, yet from my laptop it continued to call out to me to reread and continue editing. In the end I sat down, initially for a few minutes, then maybe an hour until I sat down for hours and hours until I had rewritten every chapter several times.

After writing the end for the second time, I sent a copy to a friend I knew would be brutally honest. I had nothing to lose having lost my will to live for so long. A few days later I received a phone call ... "It is the best book you have ever written, I loved all the others, but The Wendy House is beautifully written and painfully sad, I couldn't put it down."

Taken aback at such words, I then asked my old editor, Jo Field (now retired) if she would cast her professional eye over The Wendy House, Jo knows me and my style (having edited all previous five books) so I know she will be honest and guide me to bring my book to the best it can be. This morning, just four days after sending Jo a copy, I received this email... "I agree with your friend: I think this is the best you’ve ever written. I am finding it thoroughly engrossing and hard to put down. There are necessarily a few minor errors that require copy-editing, but I am only part way through (Chapter 16), so won’t give you my over-all comments until I have finished, but rest assured, thus far there is no indication that it will require any re-writing. I think you are immensely brave to tackle this very difficult subject and in such a clever way. "

It made me cry and although I know there is still much polishing to do to make The Wendy House as perfect as possible, at last I feel that all the hours I've worked, all the tears I've shed with frustration and all the anger I've focused on myself, maybe after all, it has been worth it.

Thank you so much for stopping by and listening to me because it is down to you that I write.

Catch up again very soon.

Love

Pauline

xxx