I never expected that when I was a
teenager, spending hours in my room writing down the words that kept revolving
around in my mind, that one day I would actually be a published author. I might
have had dreams, but really no one ever expects that kind of thing to happen.
Of course as I got older, life got in the
way. When I gave birth to my son three years ago, I suddenly had all this time
on my hands. What was I supposed to do at three in the morning when my son was
having a feed? Well, I got out my laptop and discovered the wonders of ebooks.
Ebooks were definitely the saving grace of
my sanity in the first year of my son’s life. I could quite often be found, son
nestled feeding on one side, and laptop perched on the arm of the chair on the
other side, an ebook of some variety open. It
didn’t take long however for my reading to turn to writing.
Then of course those long since forgotten
dreams of becoming an author returned, though I still never expected it to
actually happen.
But it did, and I definitely did a happy
dance when I received my first contract offer.
How did that happen, you may be wondering?
Well, I was on a publisher's site one day looking to purchase a book, when I saw that they were holding an original fiction contest, one of the prizes being, having your story published.
I had been writing for fun in one way, shape, or form for years, and I'd had an idea for a story kicking around for a while that I was considering writing, but just hadn’t. It was long and complicated compared to the short stories I usually wrote, and I just didn’t have the time.
Well, I was on a publisher's site one day looking to purchase a book, when I saw that they were holding an original fiction contest, one of the prizes being, having your story published.
I had been writing for fun in one way, shape, or form for years, and I'd had an idea for a story kicking around for a while that I was considering writing, but just hadn’t. It was long and complicated compared to the short stories I usually wrote, and I just didn’t have the time.
When I saw the contest though, I decided I
would give it a go -- worst happens no one likes it, and I keep writing for fun, best happens they like it and I get published.
You couldn’t have wiped the grin off my
face when the email came through letting me know they were interested in
publishing my work.
Suddenly a whole new world was opened to
me. All of the stories I had been writing that no one really read, I wondered
whether people would like to read those as well.
That was when my friend Tamaria Soana, a
fellow author, brought the Love Again Anthology to my attention. She told me
she was going to write a story for it and I knew straight away that I already
had a piece I had written a while ago that suited the anthology perfectly.
So I submitted Life in Suitcases to Ruby
Lioness Press’s, Love Again Anthology. Low and behold, they liked it and
suddenly I had two publishing contracts.
Life in Suitcases
Elise Morgan’s childhood is seemingly perfect until one tragic event
changes everything. Moved to Abbotts Home for Displaced Children she meets
Anthony Scott and they become fast friends. Once they are out of the 'system'
fate sets them on separate paths. How will they do on their own? One tries life
away from their past, only to decide that the only family they'd ever known was
what they had needed all along.
Of course, as fate would have it, my
publishing career didn’t stop there. I currently have four contracts for
publishing, two novellas and two novels.
I guess what I wanted to share with you by
telling you how I got published, is that you never know unless you give it a
go. If you had told me six months ago that I was going to have four of my works
published, I would have laughed in your face, yet here I am.
Anything is possible even if you are an
Australian from the remotest city in the world.
If you would like to find out more about my
original fiction, check out my blog at
mkendallauthor.blogspot.com/.
mkendallauthor.blogspot.com/.
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