And ... breathe.
There's a big figurative holding-of-breath in between releasing a book and waiting for it to finally make its way to readers.
The self-doubt starts to kick in: 'Does that joke work? Did I put in enough work to make that relationship hit home? Will readers love Character A as much as I do, or is he just annoying?'
I think I can start to relax a little, now that 'End of a Century' is out in the wild, because readers seem to be taking Des, Poppy and the gang to their hearts, at least if the early reviews are anything to go by.
'Beautiful, poignant, romantic!' declares Amazon reviewer 'AK', adding: 'I finished this in two sessions – one of those books you want to read quickly, but enjoy so much you don't want it to end.'
'End of a Century is definitely worth a 5 star review,' says Ms J Sowerby, also on Amazon, giving the book five stars, 'because I loved it so much.'
Over on GoodReads, Daisy Hollands comments: 'This book has it all. Romance. Mystery. Nostalgia. Witty dialogue. A gentle but gripping plot. I loved it.'
All very heartwarming to hear – as is all the love for one of my favourite characters in the book. 'There are some great secondary characters,' says Ms J Sowerby, 'especially Roy. He’s the man who knows everything and everyone. He also provides free weed and wise words.'
Paulette Kidd, meanwhile, declares Roy: 'Probably the greatest character in the book (who I’d love an origins story of)'.
Roy arrived late in the writing process, replacing an anonymous neighbour who provided some handy exposition and not much more. Once he arrived, he insisted on hanging around. Characters do that, sometimes.
You'll meet Roy several times throughout 'End of a Century', so I won't say too much about him here – except that he's one of those characters a writer has to use sparingly. He's a strong flavour, is Roy. The trick is to give readers just enough of him to leave them wanting more...
The ending, too, seems to have hit the spot for most readers so far. 'Perfect' is a word I'm more than happy to have seen used several times in this context!
So, all very positive and encouraging. But what do you think? Find out for yourself!
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