It's been a week and a day since my debut novel Belle of the Back Streets was released in hardback and as an ebook. And in that time, there have been eight 5* reviews on Amazon and seven 5* reviews on NetGalley too.
It's been a whirl of a week. I gave a talk at The Word in South Shields, one of my favourite buildings in the north-east. It's the national centre for the written word. There was even a pretty good turn out too. For someone who wouldn't have said boo to a goose in the past, I'm slowly getting to grips with public speaking. Mind you, I've got a long way to go before I perfect my patter.
At The Word someone asked how I create my characters. My honest answer - for why lie? - is that I don't know. Characters come to me in my head, unformed, waiting behind my ears for their turn on the page. Only then do they speak, wear a hat, smoke a pipe, break bread and eat soup, be grumpy, be happy, be young, old... well, the list goes on.
"I'm sorry," I said to the person who asked the question. "I'm not evading your question but I truly don't know."
I need to work on that.. not to bluff my way through it, not to create something that isn't there, but to try to figure out for myself my own creative process. And in doing so, hopefully help others who want to write, or those who (like me!) just want to know.
Now out in hardback and e-book.
Kindle e-book just 99p until January 1st 2019
Website: glendayoungbooks.com
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