Paperback coming soon (I’m just waiting for my copy to arrive so I can be sure the printing worked out okay!)
I wrote up a little bit on Instagram about the journey it has been, but I thought I’d share that here as well. It’s not really related to the book, but it’s about me and why I’m publishing this book now.
In March 2020, I had been unemployed for six months and, though my parents were financially supporting me, the endless rejection was taking a serious toll on my mental health. The news of the pandemic hit me pretty hard – I have a bunch of hospital related trauma and a heap of health anxiety alongside. I was not in a good place. Something had to change.
It was time to try a different approach: self-publishing.
So in April last year, I picked up the draft of a novel I’d written the summer between my second and third years of uni, and reread it for the first time in years. I rewrote it once, and sent it to some friends. I rewrote it a second time. I polished it, hired a cover designer (thanks to Rena for being amazing @violet.book.design ) and an editor. I read a bunch of marketing books and threw myself into the life of a self-employed writer, and I learnt SO much in the process.
It gave me a purpose in the months of endless, empty days. A structure in amidst the uncertainty. It gave me some much needed hope and a huge amount of satisfaction. I’m really really proud of what I’ve done in the last year, and I’m proud of this novel, and I can’t wait for people to read it!
❤
Max Louise Perry 