I started 2012 with a sense of trepidation. I was about to turn 50 - yikes - and was really hoping that 50 would turn out to be the new 40. And in some ways it has already proven to be true. The expression life begins at 40 applies to 50 too! The first three months of this year have been incredible - life changing even.
First off - 50 wasn't as traumatic as I thought it would be. Surrounded by good friends and family, it was rather nice in fact. Then a few weeks later I went down to London and the South Coast to see more friends and family. But just before I went away I had set my novel up on Amazon's special promotion for a few days. It meant that book was essentially free for 60 hours on all Amazon sites. I expected there to be a few more downloads - after all who can resist a free book. However, I was not prepared for the shock of seeing it shoot up to #1 in the free charts, ahead of such brilliant books such as Pride and Prejudice. At the end of the promotion nearly 12,000 people had downloaded it. I had expected no more than about 1000.
But I imagined that after the promotion ended the book would drop back into relative obscurity. Except that it didn't. It carried on selling - fast. So much so that it briefly reached #2 in the Amazon sales chart. And since that time, although sales have naturally slowed down, it continues to sell far more than it did before the promotion.
Increased sales also led to more reviews - mostly good I'm pleased to see. And finally just when I thought life was going so well, I got the results of my MA - a Distinction, no less. I was stunned. I decided to do something special to celebrate the success of the book and my MA - so I booked a holiday in Sicily for later this year. I'm already day dreaming about the potential for a Sicilian novella.
It just goes to show how much difference a year can make. This time last year we were making plans to leave Ireland. I felt like a failure for not getting a job. I was also considering dropping out of the MA course because I felt guilty at the expense of it. My novel had just been launched on Amazon and a grand total of about 30 people had bought it in the first month, and I probably knew most of them. A year later over 17,000 have downloaded it or bought the paperback.
But the one constant thing I had both last year and this year - my friends and family - who encouraged me to carry on with my dreams.
Thanks everyone XXX
