Life Update: I Published A Book

 Well, it's been a while! Between a bad bout of mental health problems and the global pandemic, I've not found the time to update this little part of the internet. Here we are, though! Post depression pit and potentially nearing the end of the pandemic yet somehow, still better than ever.

I started writing a book when I was seventeen. Correction, I started writing many books when I was seventeen. I was freshly leaving Sixth Form and didn't have many friends to spend break times and lunch times with. They'd all gone off to college or other schools, or simply found new friends. So I spent every hour I could in the library. I know, boring.

It started off just being a bit of time I took to myself to catch up on homework but it started to feel really lonely. This was around the time I'd downloaded Wattpad and found myself caught up in reading a million different stories written by young writers like myself. It was unfiltered and completely raw, and I loved the fact their work looked like mine. Grammatical errors and all, it felt so much more real to me that my stories could matter.

Thus began the first draft. Not of this book, though. I kept around six drafts in my unpublished before starting this one. The inspiration came from Pretty Little Liars, how Alison Dilaurentis' disappearance became fascinating. I wanted to write something similar!

Originally, the title was The Mystifying Case of Arabella Fletcher (thanks Arctic Monkeys for the inspiration for the name!) and I had this idea of this girl who confessed to a crime she didn't commit, but it was to cover up something much worse.

After quitting sixth form and going to college, I worked on the first draft more and more but I didn't have my own laptop. This meant that when I started making friends, my time for writing was severely diminished.

Fast forward to December 2020. At one of my lowest times, mid pandemic. My boyfriend, Will, bought my a MacBook for Christmas. I was so stunned I didn't even cry. It was such a kind, thoughtful gift and he was so excited for me to start properly writing that I got straight into it.

By the end of Feb, I'd reworked my original first draft of Arabella's story and by end of March it was fully edited with a title change and a cover.

Thus, I bring to you...Redeeming Arabella ! My first novel and fully available to purchase now on Amazon. 

I am so proud of it and can't believe I'm a published author! I'm currently writing my next one so if you like this one, stay tuned.

G x