My new book, Out of Date is here and its for grown-ups!
I’m one of those writers that probably has a dozen bits of books scribbled in notebooks and on scraps of paper …..and probably 10 more running around in my mind. My head is never quiet…. like my kids!
I’ve published 4 books in the ‘A Dog Called Bear’ series and I’m so proud of that. Writing children’s books is a joy, but I wanted to do something for grown-ups.
It was time to write something in my own voice.
I’ve spent the past 8 weeks being very anti-social and got this book out of my imagination and onto paper. In my everyday life, I use humour to deal with, or diffuse, situations that are awkward or ugly. Maybe humour is a deflection, who knows, but it works for me and helps me to cope with things. I wanted to use my sense of humour to deal with some real situations.
There were times writing ‘Out of Date’ where I was laughing so much, that my face hurt. However, just because I found it funny didn’t mean that other people would.
I sent it out to my very own coven and also to a couple of people who don’t know me, who don’t know my voice or my humour, and I asked for honest feedback. They say you shouldn’t ask you family or friends because they will err on the side of kindness rather than constructive criticism – well, I’m lucky because my guys are very straight talkers. Whilst they may not be rude about it, they will tell me where I’ve gone on a tangent that doesn’t make sense, or lost the plot a bit – or wandered off from it completely.
And that’s what they did. They told me what they thought and gave me honest feedback.
When you get feedback, you don’t have to listen to it of course, BUT you do need to bear in mind that feedback is incredibly valuable. If you send something out to 20 random people and they’re all confused about the same thing or all hate it for the same reason – then you have to listen.
If one of them doesn’t get along with your work, then fair enough. We’re a world of individuals and what you produce may not be to everyone’s taste – a bit like a meal. Some people love mushrooms, some people gag at the thought of them. Listen to feedback but don’t alter the integrity of your work because of it.
I developed the character of Freya, who is on the other side of 50, divorced and a single parent. She’s funny, articulate and brilliant combination of feisty and honest. She’s had great times…. and not so great times. Something that we’ve all experienced.
Freya decides that 3 years after another divorce, she’s ready to dip a toe back into the dating puddle. I say puddle because Freya has a list of what she’s looking for, and it doesn’t necessarily fit what’s on offer in her age group!
With her habit of speaking before she thinks and her bad language, Freya’s an acquired taste. She needs someone with his own hair and teeth, who can look past her life numbers and see her. The question is, how the hell does she find him?
With the help of her friends, she tries the weird and wonderful world of online dating. Let’s just say, things don’t go to plan for Freya and she ends up on a rollercoaster of emotional highs and lows, and some gross bits too!
I won’t tell you about the dating dollops that Freya meets but for a book that may well come under the title of ‘Chick Lit’ and ‘Romantic Comedy’, don’t be put off! I know a few people who would do well to read it, and take note of the dreadful dates… because some people, especially those of us with some life experience behind us, well….we notice everything!
I really hope that you enjoy the book, and that it makes you laugh. I hope that the characters are relatable to you.
I’ve already started work on part 2 because I want to explore how the relationships in Out of Date develop. I became so involved with their lives, and I want to know, do they work out or crash and burn?
As Freya says, life isn’t always a Disney movie……….
Out of Date is available on Amazon