I decided that as I have a blog anyway, I should make the most of it and diarise the progress of writing my first novel.

In some ways this has happened out of the blue. In others it hasn’t.

I have been writing for as long as I can remember. Anything factual or opinionated I have been happy to share with an audience. I’ve been known to shove articles, blogs and reports under the noses of friends and family for them to read. But my fiction has remained something that I kept to myself. That was until last year. I entered a competition and for the first time was open with my literature, getting some excellent advice off my best friends aunt. (Just in case you’re wondering, I didn’t win – but c’est la vie!)

Until a month ago I was working on a different novel and a few people were aware of it, but on February 14th 2009 that all changed.

Having read the Twilight saga at alarming pace and thoroughly enjoying it, I decided to find out a bit more about Stephanie Meyer. The idea for her first book had developed from a dream she’d had. Like any aspiring novelist (and there are a good number of us out there) I wished it could be that simple for me. Amazing ideas don’t just show up out of the blue all the time. If they did there’d be many more J.K.Rowling’s in the world.

My subconscious must have tapped into this desire for an idea, and been working overtime without my knowledge. I woke up far too early on the morning of Saturday the 14th. I was so excited I phoned Suzi to share my idea, with far more energy than anyone can tolerate at that hour on a weekend morning. Within hours I was doing all the research I could and by the end of the week I had a pile of books to dig through and develop the idea further.

This past month I have been working on the story (which now consists of books 1, 2 & 3), doing research (more of that in another blog) and have been thinking about it constantly (to the point where I find myself sleep deprived because my brain won’t shut down!)

Discussing it through with friends has been the exciting bit. I’m so grateful for the offers to proof read, more than I know what to do with. I also can’t believe how supportive my friends are being and how seriously they are taking it. I’m trying not to think of the pressure now to actually deliver something worth reading!