Saturday April 29th 2017 is here at last. It feels like an age since I signed my two book publishing deal with Bloodhound Books, but it was only at the start of February. Now Bad to the Bone is released, and I have to admit to an immense amount of relief at that.
Writing - the physical act of writing the words and (hopefully) forming cohesive sentences, paragraphs, pages, and chapters - is a solitary act. More takes place inside the head than ever does on the keyboard, because the process you go through means you discard so much of what initially goes through your mind as you type. And you have to do that part alone.
A book does not make the journey from conception to publication without an awful lot of involvement from other people, however. There is encouragement and support from family and friends, help and advice in creating a social media presence, the faith and hard work from your publishers, and even more encouragement and support from fellow writers.
But writing and publishing a book is only part of the process. Hopefully you'll sell a few copies as well, and where would we be during this stage without reviewers and bloggers? Their opinions can make or break a book at my level, and I tip my hat to them for their hard work, dedication, and above all their honesty. We put ourselves out there, we offer our work up for public consumption, and we must be big enough to accept constructive criticism.
I may never reach the level of a Michael Connelly, but Bad to the Bone is a book written because I am driven to write. It's honest, and it is a book I am proud of, too.