Here’s where I am so far.
A few years ago, I wrote an historical novel titled Queen of Incense. It’s the story of the journey of Bilqis of Saba, the Queen of Sheba, and her journey from ancient Mryb to Jerusalem in 950 B.C. to meet Solomon, the King of the Jews. This was my first novel. It still needs polishing and is the back burner while I work on another project. I’ll get back to her soon.
After the Queen, I wrote another novel, Anthra’s Moon, a YA fantasy about a young girl named Ysabel who journeys across a dangerous, unknown land to rescue the baby Princess Alys. The royal child was abducted by a monstrous bird called the Anthra, while Ysabel was tending the baby.
Anthra’s Moon is almost ready for publication. I’m trying to decide if I should go the old fashioned route and send my ms to agents who accept unknown writers or self-publish.
Can I do both? I’m ready to self-publish; I enlisted the help of an excellent editor, Joanna Rose to edit my novel and tattoo artist Pete Davies to do the cover art. All I need is to post my book on Amazon Kindle and I’m off, I think, I hope. We’ll see.
Join me on my adventure and I’ll share with you the toils of the road, like facing your self-doubt and vowing that yes, indeed, you can and will write your novel and at that moment (happens every time) you’ll receive a gift from your glorious muse, like the solution to a problem you’re struggling with in your story.
And I’ll discuss what I’ve found helpful from other writers: “The first 12 years are the hardest,” is my favorite tip.
Signe Kopps 