I’m finally published – woo-hoo!

After years of dreaming, countless hours of writing and, quite possibly, the craziest year of my life so far, my very first novel has now been unleashed on an unsuspecting world…

P-Day itself was a little bit of a mixed day for me. I’d agreed to take part in an interview for my local BBC Radio station and they asked me not to go to a bookshop to see my book until Friday so that they could ‘capture the moment live on air’. My boyfriend, Bob, said he couldn’t wait, so he went into his local WHSmith, where the assistant said she'd restocked the shelf four times with copies of Fairytale of New York and they had sold out within an hour each time! Meanwhile, throughout the day I was receiving picture messages from incredibly excited friends and family, showing my book on the shelves at Tesco, WHSmith and Sainsbury’s. I think the enormity of the whole thing finally hit me and, to be completely honest, it just all got too much. Not being able to see my book meant that it felt like everyone else was enjoying a party I wasn’t invited to, so I didn’t feel as over the moon as I thought I would.

That said, I received so many wonderful messages, emails and tweets from people all over the world, so this helped me a lot!

Friday was a million times better – not least because I finally got to see my book on the shelves of my favourite bookshop... The day before, I’d received several panicked calls from the researcher at BBC Radio WM as she was having problems finding a Waterstones that actually had a copy of my book in stock! Apparently they had sold out nationally before P-day even arrived! In the end, the lovely people at HC couriered 25 copies to the Birmingham New Street store so that the interview was able to go ahead.

The feeling when I saw my books in my favourite bookshop was beyond description – better than I could have imagined in my wildest dreams. I was struck by just how beautiful they looked and the emotion I felt was immense. At the same time, I was trying to keep it together enough to speak to Cayte, the reporter from Radio WM, who was asking me to describe my reaction – I was determined not to lose the plot completely live on air! What was so lovely was that they had arranged my books on a separate table, so it looked completely amazing and the overall effect took my breath away.

Then, I actually bought a copy of my own book – which was brilliant and fulfilled an ambition I’ve long held. For years, every time Bob and I set foot in the bookshop, I’d say, “One day, my book will be here and I’ll buy a copy,” – so it finally coming true was a momentous occasion. The icing on the cake came when the manageress asked me to sign the copies for them. It felt more than a little naughty to be scribbling my name in 25 brand new books, and I half-expected security to throw me out of the store at any moment!

The interview worked really well and they gave Fairytale a brilliant plug - you can listen to it here (my bit starts at 2:07:48)

On Friday evening, I met up with my closest friends to celebrate the launch of Fairytale of New York. The whole evening was incredibly special – I even had fireworks! (Well, to be honest, my local football club was having its annual fireworks display as we drove past on our way to the restaurant, but it was as good as my own display!)

It's all incredibly exciting and I'm still taking it all in – I think it'll be a while till I get used to all of this! My travel article for The Sunday Telegraph is due to appear on November 22nd and there are lots more things in the pipeline, which you should hear about soon…

I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has so kindly bought my book – I’ve been blown away by the support I’ve received and it means more to me than I could ever hope to convey here. I’ve included a thank-you in my acknowledgements at the front of Fairytale for everyone on authonomy.com and I mean everything I’ve said there – this community is the best ever and I’m so proud to be a part of it.

So for now it’s back down to earth with a bump as I carry on writing Welcome to My World, but the experience of reaching publication has been a truly memorable one and it’s spurred me on to create something special for when P-Day 2010 arrives!