Yin and Yang (Or: The Ups and Downs of a Novelist's Life)

If you've ever doubted the life of a novelist is filled with peaks and troughs, you only need to look at a typical week. It's crazy, this job . . . I've worked in high-stress industries before, but never have I experienced the highs and lows of the writing life.

Here's a look at my past week.



Highs (yay!):

- A lovely review of Build A Man from Carol of Dizzy C's Little BookBlog. Thank you, Carol!

- The wonderful Helen Redders baking home-made Jaffa Cakes in honour of Serenity, my main character in Build A Man, who loves them. Totally made my day!

- Three different people asking me on the same day when the sequel to Build A Man is due out (late May, in case you were wondering). :)

- A Facebook friend letting me know she spotted someone on the Toronto subway reading The Hating Game.

Lows (boo!):

- Writing a scene. Deleting it. Writing it again. Deleting it again. Pounding the desk in frustration.

- Discovering I won't be able to get my 2011-Amazon-withheld-money-due-to-international-tax-issues released without a very lengthy procedure. Pounding desk in frustration.

- Going on Goodreads and accidentally seeing a, well, not exactly complimentary review of my one my books (I say accidentally because I really try not to read my own reviews)! I'm more hardened now than I was, but still...

- Having a nightmare where I open my novel and everything is covered in so much red ink I can't even make out the text underneath it.

So there you have it! The yin and the yang of a novelist's life. But you know what? 

I wouldn't trade it in for anything.

Have a great weekend, everyone!