Happy Blogaversary!

Yes indeedy, my blog is officially one year old  (Wahooo!!) and I thought I'd host a little party!
Who to invite though, that's the problem? 
Well, a few of my favourite authors of course -

Roald Dahl - a genius in the art of writing for children and despite not being with us any more his work lives on forever. 

Cressida Cowell - author of the fabulous How To Train Your Dragon Books

Stephanie Meyer - I loved the Twilight Series and can't wait for The Host to be released as a film in March 2013

Suzanne Collins - Hunger Games trilogy is a masterclass in plotting and voice , adooore it!!!

Laini Taylor - Daughter of Smoke and Bone is incredible, read it now and then buy the sequel!

Kristin Cashore - Beautiful writer, read Graceling or Fire for some fantasic  fantasy world building.


I'll also need to invite some of the people who have written fab books on writing  - my personal favourites are these -

Harry Bingham - Getting Published - author and founder of the writers workshop  penned this very helpful book that covers all aspects of the journey to publication.

Nicola Morgan - Write  to be Published -  the crabbit old bag herself offers up some great advice on writing, agents and getting published.

Mary Kole - How to write Irresistible Kidlit. Mary is an American agent and her book was one of my Christmas presents (to myself!) It offers up very specific advice for childrens and YA authors, covers a great deal of writing craft and offers up examples from books on the market right now. Love this book, definitely recommend it to you all if you have any crimbo money lying around waiting to be spent!


Must not forget to invite some of the other blogs I've been reading over the past couple of years that have offered up such brilliant advice and support.

Notes from the Slushpile
Wonderful blog by Candy Gourlay, Maureen Lynas and others with a wealth of information. A must read!

Help I need a Publisher
Unfortunately Nicola Morgans blog is no longer active but has some brilliant posts on everything about writing.

Tall tales and short stories
If you love reading interviews with other authors and agents this is the blog for you! It's on a break at the moment but will hopefully be back with more insights into the writing process soon.

Kidlit.com
This is Mary Kole's blog, full of brilliant posts on the craft of writing plus a plethora of info on everything agent.


Most of all though,  I must invite all the lovely people who read or follow my blog - THANK YOU!!!!!
Let's face it, as writers we all want an audience and it's amazing to know that someone out there is reading what I post and your comments or emails really help me to know I'm not suffering alone!

I'm planning to keep blogging in 2013 and would like to start the year off with a positive vibe. It's all too easy for me to sink into despair or doubt or angst (as my faithful readers may have noticed!) and no doubt I will again as I gear up for another round of submissions but to begin 2013 I'd like to say 

                                               Hurrah for writing!!

 The creative process has far surpassed what I ever imagined when I first began writing two years ago. The journey has led me to discover much about myself, has taught me how to cope with challenges and rejection and just keep going. It has also led to me making some new and very lovely friends so with that in mind I wish everyone super good luck this new year -  including myself!

Let the party start ....