I am over the moon to announce my debut historical novel The Engraver’s Secret will be published by Harper Collins Australia in April 2024 in Australia, New Zealand and UK.
The path to publication is unpredictable. It can take an author in numerous directions. Usually, a book is first published in its original language before being translated and published in foreign languages. Before being published in English, however, my book was translated into Dutch and published as De Graveur by Horizon Publishing in Belgium and the Netherlands in February 2022.
It was exciting to visit bookshops in The Hague, Amsterdam, Antwerp and Mechelen and see De Graveur in front windows and on shelves. My excitement will be even greater when I see the newly-titled The Engraver’s Secret in bookshops in my hometown of Melbourne and further afield.
When I began writing fiction in 2014, I didn’t look too far into the future to imagine my fiction-writing journey. I took it one month at a time. Told myself to get the first draft finished. Attended an Arvon writing retreat in Devon and began the second draft. Participated in an online Curtis Brown Creative writing course and worked on the next draft. Over the years, I attended further retreats and conferences to meet fellow writers, more courses to hone my skills, more drafts to sharpen the story. After four years, I started to imagine what could happen if I kept working on this dream.
I signed with my literary agent, Amanda Preston from Luigi Bonomi Associates in London, in 2019. Amanda was the first person in the industry who believed in my story and my ability to write it. She provided me with incredible advice and encouragement. Another draft followed.
What a journey it has been – and continues to be – as I work with the team at Harper Collins Australia to prepare The Engraver’s Secret for publication. A second book, unrelated to the first, is waiting in the wings for me to finish writing. The journey continues.
If you ever wonder what could happen if you keep spurring yourself onwards to follow a dream…keep wondering, keep pushing yourself. Don’t give up until your dream becomes reality.