Hiya Indiebird,
Thanks for your comments and questions.
Why did Lily come to our world?
Who is Andrew’s father?
Who or what came back through from the other realm when lily and sam went the other way the final time?
Why did Sam get taken in the 1st place?
How did they all meet?
Is Nutters a real place and can I visit it?
how long was Sam ‘there’ for the 1st time?
What happened the 1st time she was there?
Jack is very odd….what is the significance…imho he’s not good?
Why choose Cameron and not Andrew or one of Sams kids?
Why did Lily come? Who said she did? What if she is as human as Sam and just spent some time there?
Andrew’s father? I know, and Lily knows. You might find out one day.
What came through? Maybe something, maybe just a feeling and it was nothing.
How did they meet? Sam and Kate went to school together, Lily moved there a year or so before Sam disappeared.
Is Nutters real? Not that I’m aware of, if you find it do let me know! Now there’s a business opportunity for someone.
Why did Sam get taken? Ah now that I am writing, in detail and what happened to her while she was gone.
Jack? Jack is lovely! He’s just like a number of men that I know and doesn’t cope well.
Why Cameron? Ah, I have my reasons! Lily might explain for you at some point.
I love getting email like this, makes a change from spam, soap nut orders and it makes me smile too.
Sarah - Hi - it’s fantastic!!!!! The book… I’ve just about managed to break away from it coz I just had to send this email to you. I’m a fussy bugger when it comes to books. I give’em a chapter and if I’m not hooked by then I abandon them. I was straight into your book though - had me by the first paragraph, sentence even. I love the everyday paraphanalia descriptions of the kids chaos. Identify with it or what?!! It feels like it could be me the story is happening to. It’s like I’m there on the pages. The way of being with the children, that way of caring, those values, the we-like-healthy-wholefoods-and-oh-what-the-heck-we scoff-marshmellows-on-hot-chocolate-aswell approach. Then there’s that feeling of something building up (I’m up to Ch. 5), something incredibly unbelievable, amongst the vivid descriptions of such hectic normality. Now that’s like sweet and sour sauce, which I love, or like steaming hot apple pie with the freeze of ice-cream, which is even better! Contrasts dancing about each other, creating possibilities. Stunning. Gotta get back to it. Right now. Love from Diane.
Although I disagree with the sweet and sour thing, can’t stand it, but hot apple pie with ice cream or better yet hot chocolate fudge cake with vanilla ice cream - Yumm!
Diane has her own business and we know her quite well. You can track down her brilliant Potions book via her Potions Club.
I’m sure I’m driving my cover designer nuts! He sent over the first draft of the cover, rather than the works in progress and it is truly stunning. I love it.
But.
We need to tone down one of the colours a touch, brighten and enhance an area, change the font, colour and position of the title, same with my name. All fairly minor alterations I think, considering the huge amount of work that’s gone into this. But picky. Then again, I feel I need to be picky, this needs to be right.
It’s so close now and I’m getting all excited. I’ll be sure to post it up here when it’s ready, but for now it’s under wraps and top secret. You’ll love it though, I’m sure of it.
Did you know they come in blocks of ten? I didn’t but I do now, and I now own a block of ten. I bought them last night and am waiting on the paperwork to come through so I can register them with my business name - Ethics Trading.
This is the first step in a lengthy process to get The Portal Between onto Amazon and into regular bookshop and library distribution channels.
So, I’m also tweaking the manuscript for this new edition with slight adjustments on formatting and layout as well as new wording on the copyright and dedication pages. If anyone reading has any constructive feedback to offer, now is the time to get in touch. Thanks for yours Aunty A, I’ll have a look as soon as I’ve finished the accounts and my tea.
Also, if anyone who has read The Portal Between has any questions that they’d like answered in the next book(s) then please do pipe up and ask. You might get your answer, you might not, but it’s worth asking.
Thinking about coins and dragons at the moment…..
Partly courtesy of some friends of mine who took the pictures (yes I’ll credit you both in the new edition) and partly thanks to an American photographer friend who is having fun tone mapping the images to create a composite without barbed wire, fence posts etc. Jeff, you’ll be credited too.
So now we have a tree - all detailed and looking lovely. This is real progress but it needs a nice spooky background and something eyecatching too!
Watch this space….
The new cover for The Portal Between is being designed as I type and I am hopeful that we can agree the final draft by the end of January. Then I can assign the ISBN number and begin to push it down the various distribution channels.
It could hit Amazon by Easter if it all goes according to schedule and should then be available to order through a bookshop near you. In fact, if anyone feels like giving it a boost, when it’s on the catalogues it would be helpful for you to go and ask for it!
You’ll still be able to buy from me through here and I’ll still scrawl in copies if you want me too.
In the meantime I have demands for the sequel so I’d better get on with it, just as soon as I make a nice big mug of tea.
It’s January 2nd and the New Year is here. A warm welcome to 2008, may you bring prosperity to us all.
I’m starting work on the next Portal book today. The main writing is done and the story is essentially there, but I’m editing and rewriting now. The working title is “The Portal Sundered” and it picks up a short time after The Portal Between ended. It’s going to take a while so don’t go champing at the bit for it just yet!
The Portal Between is closer to it’s re-release, complete with new cover, ISBN and barcode and should be available to order through your local bookshop very soon. But, once again, it’s going to take some time but I’ll post here when I know dates.
