W.I.P. Wednesday - 8th Feb

I follow many authors and new writers via facebook, twitter and blogs. 

Often I see questions I feel sure are for research for their latest WIP, or what their word count for that day is,  or the fact that twitter/facebook is keeping them from working and wonder.....What are they working on now?  When will we see the next book?

Now we can find out with W.I.P. Wednesday

Today Liz Harris joins us.......

Photo courtesy of author

Unlike some of the authors who've preceded me in this fab column, you'll only know me if we've already met in person, or on twitter and/or Facebook, so let me introduce myself – my name's Elizabeth Harris, but I'm always known as Liz. On twitter I'm known as @lizharrisauthor.

My first novel, The Road Back, is coming out later this year, in September.  It's the story of Patricia and Kalden, who are fated to meet.  Their story has been described as 'a sumptuous tale of love and adventure set against the sweeping and little-known backdrop of Ladakh, north of the Himalayas ' which throws together two people from radically different cultures with explosive results.

Hearing that Choc Lit loved my novel and was going to publish it, was a mega emotional moment, and set in motion a frenzy of activities and emotions, some of wish I'd anticipated in my wildest dreams of being published; some of which I hadn't.

I'd anticipated having photos done *shudders at the memory*, copy edits, thinking about the book cover, getting a website sorted, and so on.  What I hadn't anticipated was that my current WIP was no longer a novel that I was hoping to get published; it had become a novel that had a very strong chance of getting published (fingers crossed!), and my attitude to the WIP changed. 

Don't get me wrong – I still love the characters in my WIP.  I adore the attractive hero, Connor Maguire; I'm excited by the dynamic relationship between him and Ellen O'Sullivan; by their environment - Wyoming; by everything going on around them.  But knowing as I work on the WIP that it's very likely to get published (touch wood!), is both SCARY and WONDERFUL. 

It's SCARY because I'm suddenly feeling the weight of expectation.  The people who will have read my first novel, and (I hope!!) loved it, will expect to feel the same way about my second.  I'm not saying that it's a bad thing for a writer to be conscious of that expectation – I don't think it is; it's just that it's something I hadn't expected to feel.

And it's WONDERFUL because I know as I write my WIP that Connor and Ellen will be going from my laptop into the world, and their story will be read.  That is such a terrific feeling!

Bye for now!

Liz

Liz has a People's Friend Pocket novel, A Dangerous Heart!, coming out on

22^nd March, 2012.

A website/blog is in the process of being set up.  It will be at www.lizharrisauthor.com

Follow Liz on twitter and on Facebook.

Thanks, Liz.  The Road Back sounds very interesting :)

DizzyC