To my lovely suporters,
Let me start with an apology. I am shocked to be reminded by Unbound at how long it's been since I posted an update, and more importantly that I didn't say a big thank you to all my (and Dolly's) supporters the instant we reached 100% funding; achieved on 12th March. Unbound did let most of you know (17th March), but it was a dreadful oversight on my part not to do so myself. Not to make excuses but... actually this is an attempt at a (lame) excuse: I thought I had. I was positive I had. So here is my (belated) thanks to everyone who has pledged/subscribed/pre-ordered Dolly Considine's Hotel. THANK YOU. Getting to 100% was/is a hugely significant milestone for me. My joy undiminished (although perhaps thrown into relief) by retiring after 32 years in social housing the next day and having to postpone my leaving do because of you know what.
In time for (dry) St Patrick’s Day I received a scary three-page style guide from Unbound setting out how they expect the manuscript to look when I submitted it. Yikees. And shortly after, I agreed 30th April as the submission date for my suggested final draft. The biggest surprise going through the current 147k words is how many compound words I use, and how arbitrary (it seems to me) the rules are about hyphenating, or making one word, or leaving it as two words. Thankfully I have my shorter (3801 page) OED to help.
The 147k words is more than I promised Unbound, so I am also looking for some words to lose. Hyphenated words are counted as one (not two) and I wonder if I could …. Hmmmm?
Dolly’s page on Unbound is still live and the book is available for pre-order. I think four have been sold, but what it means is that I am earning royalties. That is so weird. But feel free to encourage encourage encourage.
The bit I am not looking forward to sharing is that (partly thanks to you know what) publication is now likely to be delayed till the middle of 2021. Which is a drag but seems to be true across the publication industry.
If you would like to hear me reading an extract from Dolly Considine’s Hotel, then sign up to join Brixton Book Jam’s virtual readings. The next one is scheduled for 27th April at 19:30 (GMT) and although the reading list is not yet announced I hope to be included in it or the following event (11th May).
http://www.brixtonbookjam.com/ @BrixtonBookJam https://www.facebook.com/brixtonbookjam/
I would love to hear from you so please leave a comment below. Ask questions, make remarks, rant on about you know what. Stay safe. Eamon