Welcome to the small seaside town of Dalton, where people’s peace and quiet are about to be brutally disturbed…
The long wait is over. Kingsrise is now available in print and as an eBook.
Get your copy on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, or check out what people are saying about it on Goodreads.
Phew! Got there in the end.
In 2017, at a conference in Berlin, Germany, a colleague asked me: “What’s the one thing you’d really like to achieve? Your secret ambition?” Or something along those lines. I don’t remember the exact wording of the question, but my answer was instantaneous: “Write and publish a novel.”
It was something I’d been wanting to do ever since I could read (so roughly from the age of seven), and while I was still at school and later at university, I wrote a lot of stuff. Fanfiction, mostly, let’s be honest, but also a full-length novel (which I haven’t looked at in a long time). Then, after I moved to London, and started working full time, life sort of got in the way.
But that evening, when my colleague asked me that question, I didn’t even need to think about the answer. And the idea stuck. I started writing Kingsrise a few months later. At the time, all I had was this rough idea of someone discovering a body by a lake (or a large body of water, anyway), and the young DI who investigates the case realising that the ‘victim’ is… well, no spoilers.
For the next two years, I wrote and revised what was to be Kingsrise mostly on my phone on the way to and from work. In 2019, I sent one of the later drafts out for a development edit. Then followed more revisions.
Did this book take a long time to get into the shape it is today? Yes, it did. Was it worth it? Yes, it absolutely was.
The querying process – as any writer will tell you – is gruelling. I’d already made up my mind that I was likely to self-publish even as I reached out to agents, but being rejected still hurt.
Yet, now, here we are. My little book is out in the world for everyone to read (and I hope a lot of people will read it, and – importantly – like it).
I’m a nervous wreck
I won’t lie, the last couple of weeks have been quite anxiety-inducing and I’m pretty nervous as I write this.
I have a brain which tends to over-emphasize everything that doesn’t go well while undervaluing my achievements. As a result, criticism impacts me far more – and sticks with me for far longer – than praise does. But even if that wasn’t the case, who wouldn’t fear scorn being poured on something this close to their heart?
For now, however, I’m going to try not to worry too much, and simply celebrate my book baby as it takes its first steps. (While clutching a glass of champagne in my trembling hands).
Before I do, though, I’d really like to thank a few people.
Thank you! 🙂
My friend Kathi, who designed a truly stunning cover. Check out her website for more of her designs.
My editors, Kate and Tim, who helped me get the text into shape and make it what it is today.
My family and friends – my mum, my brother, my dad (photographer extraordinaire), my aunts, uncles, cousins, Heather, Emma, Ellie, Alanna, Michael, Bex, Verena, Christine, Rebecca, Tina, Jess – thank you for all your support and encouragement.
I honestly could not have done it without any of you.
And to you, lovely readers, thank you for taking the time to read my novel – I do hope you enjoy it. If you do, drop me a line, or leave a review – it would mean so much to me as I once again retreat into my little writer’s nook to work on the sequel.
For now, a German edition of Kingsrise will follow shortly.
And for everyone wondering how to pronounce some of the protagonists’ names, check out this little video.
Speak to you soon, folks! 🙂
Anne